As part of my post exam long weekend away gift to myself I decided to venture down to Jianshui and then further south to see the rice terraces of Yuanyang. After a 3 hour bus ride from Jianshui to the township of Xinjie, I grabbed a ride in what I can only refer to as an oversized tuk tuk to make the 40 minute chugalug to within a 1 kilometre hop, slip and slide between muddy rice paddies to the tiny Hani village of Duoyishu. I had enough time before sunset to go wandering round the village (about 20 double storey mud-brick and straw-roofed houses nestled in the middle of the rice paddies) and follow some of the muddy tracks between the paddies to get a better view of the valley and greet the villagers and their ducks, geese and buffalo returning home for the evening. (below) buffalo dung drying on the walls. |
I finished my day of walking at the Bada lookout a few hours before sunset. From there I was treated to extraordinary views of the entire Yuanyang valley, and the grand (and steep) slopes of flooded rice terraces glinting in the late afternoon sun. Magic!
Click here to view the Yuanyang Rice Terraces album.
These terraces are an extraordinary feat of construction and engineering. During my day's wanderings I caught a view of a terrace "wall" being repaired (see right) and was surprised to find that they can be as much as 2 metres high from what I could tell and are built or at least supported with cement blocks filled and covered with mud. Any other work I saw being carried out was aided only with traditional and very basic hand tools (hoes and the like). I would imagine that it would be almost impossible to use anything more sophisticated because of the difficult access for even the smallest machinery. I did catch glimpses of the occasional buffalo hauling the single furrow plough with a man behind steering both the beast and the plough. The source of water to flood the terraces comes mainly from mountain springs fed through channels and terraces higher up the mountain. | I can't help wonder what Grumpa Pietsch would have made of these terraces. |