Incredible views of rice terraces that look like a stairway to heaven
These stunning images showing abstract swirls of colours and patterns could be mistaken for a collection of paintings. But they are in fact photographs of the breathtaking Hani Rice Terraces, found in the mountains above Yuanyang, in south-west China. They are often described as the 'stairway to heaven' because of the vast layers of land reaching heights of up to 2000 meters above sea level.
Stunning: Hani Terraces are located at Yuanyang County in Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province
Natural wonder: The site is protected by the laws of the People's Republic of China.
The Hani people's ancestors came to the steep mountain area 2,500 years ago. In their struggle against the difficult terrain they transformed the land into terraced rice paddies where they grew rice to make a living.
The creativity of the Hani people has not only transformed the area into a fertile area to grow rice but also a place of artistic beauty. In recognition, the Ming Dynasty emperor granted the title of Skillful Sculpture to the Hani people and the fields have been officially acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site.
Hani people have created fantastic and perfect land art of vast terraced fields in the heritage site
Wonder of the world: Two thousand five hundred years ago, the ancestors of Hani people came from Tibetan Plateau to work this land
Beautiful: The Yuanyang Rice Terraces are situated in the southern Ailao Mountains, dug out by the Hani people
The entire field is irrigated with spring water from the forest above to rejuvenate and prepare for the next growing season
Over quite a long period of time the local people have cultivated a great number of rice species in their farming activities.
The site is protected by the laws of the People's Republic of China and support enough rice for hundreds of thousands of people.
Picture perfect: The water flows down the fields creating this amazing natural scenery
Stairway to heaven: The 1000m of mountain slopes of terraces are still in used today and were created by the people of Hani thousands of years ago
Like a painting: The water which flows down from the mountains are crystal clear while the air is incredibly clean
Yuanyang county lies at an altitude ranging from 140 along the Red River up to nearly 3000 metres above sea level in the Ailao mountains and is about 50km north of the border with Vietnam.
During the winter to early spring season the entire field is irrigated with spring water from the forest above to rejuvenate and prepare for the next growing season.
There is only one harvest per year for the Yuanyang Rice Terrace and planting occurs from March to November every year.
The amazing rice-terraces were built on the red-soil mountains by the Hani people
Without hard work maintaining the terrace walls and irrigation system, the precious top soil would wash down the hillsides into the rivers
The entire field is irrigated with spring water from the forest above to rejuvenate and prepare for the next growing season
Natural beauty: There is only one harvest per year for the Yuanyang Rice Terrace
Close up: The terraces were created by the Hani people thousands of years ago
During the winter to early spring season, the entire field is filled with spring water
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