Terraces in China

Terraces have existed in China since at least the Qin and Han Dynasties. The cultivation of rice requires a large area of ponds, but there are many hills in the southeastern provinces of China, and there are few plains suitable for rice cultivation. In order to solve the food problem, farmers who immigrated here built terraces and used dams to store water, which made it possible to grow rice in a large area in hilly areas and solved the local food problem. However, planting terraced fields consumes much more manpower than the plain, and there is no advantage in yield. Moreover, the vegetation in hilly areas is seriously damaged, so this farming method is gradually eliminated and only continues to exist as a tourist resource.

Yuanyang Terrace is located at the southern foot of Ailao Mountain in Yuanyang County, Yunnan Province. It is a masterpiece handed down from generation to generation by the Hani people, so it is also called Hani Terrace. Known as the most beautiful mountain carving in China ".

Terraces cultivated by Hani people in Yuanyang are adapted to local conditions according to the changes of mountain topography. If the slope is gentle, the farmland will be cultivated, and if the slope is steep, the farmland will be cultivated, even under the ditch. Therefore, there are several acres of terraces, and the small ones are only as big as dustpans, and often there are thousands of acres on a slope. Yuanyang terraced fields are large-scale and magnificent, spanning the four counties of Honghe, Yuanyang, Lvchun and Jinping on the south bank of Honghe. Yuanyang County alone has 6.5438+0.7 million mu of terraced fields, which is the core area of Hani terraced fields in Honghe.

There are three scenic spots in Hani Terrace in Yuanyang: eight scenic spots include Qingkou, Quanfuzhuang, Malicun and Zhulu terraces14,000 mu, Tiger Mouth terraces include nearly 6,000 mu of terraces such as Mengpin, Dongpu, Amunkong and Baoshan Village, and Duoyishu scenic spots include tens of thousands of acres of terraces such as Duoyishu, Ai Chun and Dawazhe. So many terraces are covered by vast forests and endless clouds, forming a magical and magnificent landscape. These scenic spots are the core protected areas that are currently preparing to declare World Heritage. Longji Terrace is located in Longji Mountain, Heping Township, Longsheng Autonomous County, Guangxi, 22 kilometers away from the county seat. It is 80km away from Guilin, and is located between10932' e-10014' n-2535'-2617'. It is called Longshengtai in a broad sense and Longjitai in a narrow sense.

Longji Mountain is nearly 1000 meters above sea level, and the slope is mostly between 26 and 35 degrees, with a maximum slope of 50 degrees. Terraces are distributed between 300- 1 100 meters above sea level. The scenic spot covers an area of 66 square kilometers, which is mainly divided into Ping 'an Zhuangzhai Terrace and Jinkeng Yao Hong Terrace. There are two famous landscapes, "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon" and "Five Tigers in Kowloon", with beautiful and elegant scenery. Yao Hong terraced fields in Jinkeng have three famous landscapes, namely "Great World with Thousand Steps", "Little Music in Western Hills" and "Golden Buddha Top". From the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain, the largest is only one mu, and the smallest is only two or three rows of seedlings, forming an arc project of "hills like snails", "mountains into towers" and "terraces around mountain villages and canals like springs". Terraces are 880 meters above sea level, 380 meters above sea level, and the vertical height difference is 500 meters.

Longji Terrace Scenic Area is mainly divided into Ping 'an Zhuangzhai Terrace and Jinkeng Yao Hong Terrace. Ping An Zhuang Zhai Tai has two famous landscapes, "Seven Stars Accompanying the Moon" and "Five Tigers in Kowloon", with beautiful and elegant scenery. Yao Hong terraced fields in Jinkeng have three famous landscapes, namely "Great World with Thousand Steps", "Little Music in Western Hills" and "Golden Buddha Top", which are magnificent and reach the sky. The whole Longji terraced field scenic spot is beautiful. Ziquejie Terrace is located in Shuiche Town, a mountainous area in the west of Xinhua County, surrounded by more than 80,000 mu of terraces. Its high terrain, large scale and beautiful shape are the best in the world. Ziquejie has beautiful ecological environment, dense terraced fields, primitive forms, criss-crossing buildings, smooth lines, long mountains and high waters, and scattered houses, which fully shows the natural beauty, simple beauty, physical beauty and cultural beauty of terraced fields. Especially with the change of climate in four seasons, the terraced fields in Ziquejie are more graceful, just like fairyland on earth. Shuifeng Highway hovers for more than ten kilometers among these terraces, and the terraces are all over more than a dozen hills with an altitude of 500 meters to 1000 meters. The largest is only 1 mu, and the smallest can only insert dozens of weeds and roll around.

According to the survey, Ziquejie terraced fields have a history of more than 2,000 years, which is the crystallization of the work of Miao, Yao, Dong and Han ancestors. It is a historical heritage of the combination of mountain fishing and hunting culture and rice cultivation culture, and it is a prominent symbolic cultural landscape of Gu Mei. Its large scale, large quantity and beautiful form are rare in the whole province and even the whole country, and its unique farming methods and natural irrigation system.