Hani Terraces

Yuanyang Terrace

synonym

Hani terrace generally refers to Yuanyang terrace

Yuanyang terrace, located in the south of Ailao Mountain in Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province, is a masterpiece left by Hani people for generations. Yuanyang terrace is the core area of Honghe Hani terrace.

Honghe Hani terraced field is a miracle of terraced farming civilization created by Hani people of all ethnic groups by taking advantage of the special geographical climate. The terraces cultivated by Hani people in Yuanyang changed with the mountain and terrain. Large terraces were cultivated when the slope was gentle, small terraces were cultivated when the slope was steep, and even the stone gap under the ridge beside the ditch. Therefore, the terraces were several mu in size, while the small terraces were only dustpan size, often thousands of Mu on one slope.

Located in the south of Yunnan, Honghe Hani terraces are distributed in Yuanyang, Honghe, Jinping and Luchun counties of Honghe Prefecture, with a total area of about 1 million mu. Yuanyang County alone has 170000 Mu terraces. Yuanyang terrace is a landscape painting of Hani people for more than 1300 years.

On June 22, 2013, at the 37th World Heritage conference, the Hani terraces of the Red River were successfully listed in the world heritage list, becoming the 45th world heritage of China, making China the second largest World Heritage country after Spain, only next to Italy.

In February 2020, in order to pay tribute to the vast number of medical workers fighting in the front line of prevention and control, from the end of the epidemic to December 31, 2020, all medical workers in the scenic area (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) are free of charge with valid certificates.

Regional scope

Yuanyang terraces are mainly divided into three scenic spots: Bada scenic spot (including more than 14000 Mu terraces in Qingkou, quanfuzhuang, malizhai and Zhulu), Laohuzui scenic spot (including nearly 6000 mu terraces in mengpin, Dongpu, amengcong and baoshanzhai), and duoyishu scenic spot (including more than 10000 mu terraces in duoyishu, Aichun and dawazhe). Such a large number of terraces, hidden in the vast forest, under the cover of a long sea of clouds, constitute a magical and magnificent landscape.

Yuanyang terraces are widely distributed. In addition to the three scenic spots mentioned above, there are xiaopingzi terraces in Daping Township, nikupu terraces, laocaozhai terraces and dayutang terraces in fengchunling Township, shibeizhai terraces and dalaka terraces in xiaoxinjie Township, dawuzhai terraces and Kuluzhai terraces in ganiang Township, new town terraces and wahuicheng terraces in shangxincheng Township, Potou terraces in Shalatuo Township and yaozhai terraces in Majie township And so on, are tens of thousands of acres of terraces, different shapes, each with its own characteristics, but because of the long road, inconvenient transportation and few tourists set foot in.

Historical development

Since the 1980s, the popularity of Hani terraces in Yuanyang has been increasing, from the closed Ailao Mountain to the whole country and the world. Experts, scholars and tourists from home and abroad come in droves. The first international study on Hani culture in 1993

During the meeting, more than 100 representatives from more than 10 countries, including China, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Thailand, visited the Hani terraces in Quanfu village, Shengcun Township, and were deeply impressed by its magnificent landscape and rich culture. In 1995, the French anthropologist Dr. ouyena also came to Yuanyang to see the tiger mouth terraces. Facing the ten thousand mu terraces under his feet, Dr. ouyena was very excited and refused to leave for a long time. He praised: "the Hani terraces are real earth art, real earth sculpture, and the Hani people are real earth artists!" No matter which peak you climb in Yuanyang, you can see the land filled with terraces, which are like mountains and sea.

Related Legends

The numerous "Tian Shan" seem to be a huge non written history book, which directly shows the long history of Hani ancestors' indomitable struggle and reproduction under the dual pressure of nature and society. According to the ancient legend of heaven, earth and man of Hani nationality, big fish created the universe and the first pair of people. The man is zhita, and the woman is tapa. Tapa gave birth to 22 children, the third of whom is a dragon. When the Dragon grew up, he became the Dragon King in the sea. In order to appreciate tapa's upbringing, he offered three bamboo tubes to tapa, one of which contains rice seeds. In other words, Hani people believe that since the beginning of the world, there has been rice.

It shows that Hani people are one of the earliest nations to domesticate wild rice, and rice planting is the ancient production content of Hani people. For thousands of years, the Hani people have domesticated the wild rice in the Sanjiang valley of Ailao Mountain Area into upland rice, and improved upland rice into rice. In the unique ecological environment, the Sanjiang Valley has become one of the early domestication and cultivation areas for human beings.

On June 22, 2013, the 37th World Heritage conference of Yunnan Honghe Yuanyang Hani terraces was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the cultural landscape of Yunnan Honghe Hani terraces was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Celebrations were held in Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province. The three largest and most concentrated areas of Hani terraces are in Yuanyang County, including Laohuzui, Bada and duoyishu.

Geographical structure

Yuanyang, located in subtropical and temperate zone, is a county in the crevice of Ailao Mountain. Yuanyang Hani terraces are so magnificent and unique. The first is caused by the special geographical structure of nature. Yuanyang is located in the south of Yunnan Province. The terrain distribution of Yunnan Province is characterized by high in the northwest and low in the south. From Zhongdian and Lijiang in the northwest to Simao, Banna, Honghe and Wenshan in the south of Yunnan, the altitude gradually decreases, forming the cold temperate zone and cold zone climate type without summer in the high altitude area of Northwest Yunnan and the subtropical and tropical climate type without winter in the low altitude area of South Yunnan The type of waiting.

From the northwest to the south of Yunnan, with the decrease of altitude, the three-dimensional climate is more and more significant, and the rainfall is also increasing. The largest rainfall in the province is in the Hani inhabited area on the South Bank of the Red River, with an average annual rainfall of 1397.6 mm. The corresponding rice farming is more and more intensive, and the dry land farming is less and less. From the Nujiang River, Lancang River and Yangtze River System in Northwest Yunnan to the river system in South Yunnan, the terraced rice culture has become more and more developed, and finally the Hani nationality area in the southern section of Ailao Mountain on the South Bank of the Red River has formed the most concentrated and developed geographical environment of terraced rice cultivation area in the whole province and the whole country.

Natural climate

Secondly, the specific terrain, climate and other natural conditions of Ailao Mountain also determine that Hani terraces in Yuanyang will inevitably become the most magnificent and unique spectacle. Yuanyang is characterized by high mountains, deep valleys and vertical and horizontal gullies. Most of the mountains in the county are cut by the Honghe River and tengtiaojiang river for hundreds of millions of years. The central part of the county is protruding, and the two sides are low. From a bird's-eye view of the whole area, the mountains are continuous, and the terrain is V-shaped.

The lowest altitude is 144 meters, the highest is 2939.6 meters, and the altitude difference is 2795.6 meters. The climate in the county is mostly subtropical monsoon type, but due to the complex terrain, the three-dimensional climate is prominent.

The average annual temperature in Heba district is 25 degrees, the maximum temperature is 42 degrees, the average annual temperature in high mountain district is 11.6 degrees, and the temperature difference between the two districts is 13.4 degrees. In the journey from the lower and upper part of the river to the high mountain area, we have to experience the changes of tropical, temperate and frigid zones. It is the so-called "one mountain is divided into four seasons, ten li is different in the day".

Heba gorge is known as "dry hot valley area" because of its extremely hot and dry, and the high mountain area is known as "wet and cold area" because of its low temperature and heavy rainfall. The evaporation in the river dam area is large, the cloud density in the high mountain area is high, and the rainfall is abundant. There are 29 tributaries, with a total length of more than 700 kilometers. The total amount of water resources is 2.69 billion cubic meters, the surface water is 2.081 billion cubic meters, the underground water is 609 million cubic meters, and the available water is 147 million cubic meters. These rivers are the source of all the water resources in Yuanyang. The high temperature in low latitude dry hot valley makes the river water evaporate a lot (for example, the maximum evaporation in Nansha area was 2306.5mm in 1995).

With the rise of the hot air mass, the huge amount of water vapor is cooled and oppressed by the cold air mass in the "wet and cold area" of the mountains, forming the condition of Yuanyang with an average annual fog period of 180 days and an average annual rainfall of 1397.6 mm. This is also the reason why the upper half of Yuanyang is covered with heavy fog all the year round, the rainfall is extremely rich, and the sea of clouds is particularly magical and magnificent.

Human factors

There are 63958.4 hectares of forest in the county, including 18167.6 hectares of virgin forest in the East and West Guanyin mountains, and 45790.8 hectares of virgin and secondary forest distributed in various mountains. These forests constitute a huge natural green reservoir. The huge amount of water they conserve forms numerous streams, springs, waterfalls and Longtan on the high mountains, providing water for all terraces, dry lands and all people in the county Livestock water. As the saying goes, "how high is the mountain, how high is the water.".

Generally speaking, the seven ethnic groups living in the same mountain in Yuanyang County live according to the altitude. The Heba area with an altitude of 144 meters to 600 meters is mostly inhabited by Dai people; the gorge area with an altitude of 600 meters to 1000 meters is mostly inhabited by Zhuang people; the lower mountain area with an altitude of 1000 meters to 1400 meters is mostly inhabited by Yi people; the upper mountain area with an altitude of 1400 meters to 2000 meters is mostly inhabited by Hani people; the high mountain area with an altitude of more than 2000 meters is mostly inhabited by Miao and Yao people Most of the Han people live in towns and along highways.

In the upper half of the mountain where Hani people live, the climate is mild, the rainfall is abundant, the average annual temperature is about 15 degrees, and the annual sunshine is 1670 hours, which is very suitable