An aerial drone photo taken on May 2, 2025 shows performances during an event marking the beginning of rice planting in the terraced fields in Jiayin Village of Honghe County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)
Rice cultivation, fish farming, and duck raising — all in the awe-inspiring terraces. It is a way of life that weaves a story of ecological harmony, traditional wisdom, and modern innovation.
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013. The terraces cascade down the slopes of the towering Ailao Mountains to the banks of the Honghe River.
Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels to bring water from the forested mountaintops to the terraces. This forms a symbiotic agricultural ecosystem of forests, villages, terraces, and rivers.
As the terraces flourished, so did the popularity of products like red rice, paddy fish, and duck eggs. Coupled with the allure of Hani’s ancient songs, traditional farming methods, and ethnic festivals, the terraces have attracted tourists from around the globe.
An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 26, 2025 shows a view of the terraced fields and traditional Hani houses, known locally as “mushroom houses,” in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 26, 2025 shows villagers maintaining the ridges of terraced fields in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)Tourists visit the terraced fields in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)An aerial drone photo taken on May 2, 2025 shows performances during an event marking the beginning of rice planting in the terraced fields in Jiayin Village of Honghe County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)An aerial drone photo taken on May 2, 2025 shows villagers transplanting rice seedlings in the terraced fields in Jiayin Village of Honghe County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 26, 2025 shows a villager plowing the terraced fields in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)Tourists have dinner at a restaurant of a homestay in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 27, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)Villagers maintain the ridges of terraced fields in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Anhaowei)A villager maintains the thatched roof of traditional Hani houses, known locally as “mushroom houses,” in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)This combo photo shows a drone conducting patrol missions (L, drone photo), and a staff member of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces world heritage management bureau operating drones to carry out patrol missions (R), in Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Feb. 28, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)An aerial drone photo taken on Feb. 26, 2025 shows a view of the terraced fields in Azheke Village of Yuanyang County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)Villagers perform during an event marking the beginning of rice planting in the terraced fields in Jiayin Village of Honghe County of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China’s Yunnan Province, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance,
a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went
back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016,
working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
