About this place

Yuanyang lies in the relatively underdeveloped southeast part of Yunnan, Honghe Hani and Yi People's Autonomous Region, about 300km south of Kunming. Yuanyang is renowned for its rice terraces, which claim as the world's largest and most spectacular one, crafted out by bare hands by the Hani people one thousand years ago and is still in use today. Because it is a relatively inaccessible part of Yunnan, the subtropical area escaped heavy development for tourism, and has so far been overlooked by the big masses. It is a self sustaining ecosystem and a perfect example of a symbiosis with nature. During winter to early spring, the entire field is irrigated with spring water from the forest above to rejuvenate and getting prepared for the next season. The Hani people have repeated this for more than a thousand years.