සංචාරක තෝතැන්නක් වූ ඉපැරණි හෙල්මළු වෙල්යාය

Centuries-old Hani Rice Terraces draw tourists

The Hani Rice Terraces in Yunnan's Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province in the southwest, stretching across mountain slopes at altitudes from 700 to 1,800 meters above sea level, boast a history spanning around 1,200 years and reflect a wisdom of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, covering 16,603.22 hectares in total, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2013.

As the harvest season draws to a close, the terraces present a breathtaking view under sunlight, attracting visitors from across the country.

"I never expected it to be this beautiful, truly overwhelming," said Yunnan tourist Xie Linying.

"The entire landscape is far beyond my expectations. It feels so magnificent, like a wonderland," said Guangdong visitor Chen Lan.

With tourism booming, many young people have returned home, running homestays and restaurants, or designing clothing with Hani folk features. They carry on the centuries-old terrace farming in novel ways.

"We've taken traditional cultural elements in Hani rice terraces into many creative products like bags, musical instruments, and attires. This is very gratifying to [the community] and represents an alternative way to preserve our Hani terraces," said Ma Jichun, chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Yuanyang, one of the four counties that are home to the rice terraces.

In 2023, the Hani Rice Terraces received over 4.23 million visitors, generating more than 3.8 billion yuan (about 540 million U.S. dollars) in revenue, an 18 percent increase from the previous year.

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