Yuanyang County is located on the south bank ofthe Honghe River in southern Yunnan.There areno level areas;the topography is all tall mountainscut by deep valleys.The terraced fields and sea of cloudsform a majestic and beautiful scene and its unique characterhas led people to call them“the heavenly terracedfields of Yuanyang.”Over 360，000 mu of terraced fieldsare distributed across the mountain slopes in a vast anddaunting array of color that fills the scene in all directions.
Yuanyang is rich in tourist venues and is the core area ofthe Honghe River Hani terraced fields now pending recognitionas a world heritage site.
The Hani people first moved into the area at the end ofthe Sui and beginning of the Tang dynasties.They startedconverting wasteland by terracing fields to form rice pad-dies.In the 12 plus centuries since then，generations ofthe Hani have toiled and used their surprising wisdomand willpower to carve out thousands of terraced fieldsfrom the wasteland on the surrounding mountain sides.
On the larger mountains they carved out hundreds of watercanals and dry channels.The canals and dry channelslook like silver belts tightly wrapped around the mountains.
They collect the many large and small streams ofwater flowing down the mountain and resolve the crucialproblem of watering the fields.The fields of Yuanyangare irrigated by streams that flow down from the top ofthe mountain all year long.The local people made thefields according to the topography and geology of theplot so that the many tiers of fields follow the shape ofthe mountain and zigzag as they go up the mountain.
They take advantage of the fact that water flows downhillto gather the continuous flow of water and direct it to thefields to form an automatic irrigation network.From topto bottom，Yuanyang is a mountainous scenic area witha perfectly balanced ecological system consisting of fourphases—forests，water system，village，and fields.
The technique of converting wasteland on the slopesof areas like this with mountains of various altitudesinto terraced fields began to reach China and SoutheastAsia in the 14th century.The Hani people went one stepfurther by turning area of Ailao Mountain into a series ofartworks.As a result，a Ming Dynasty emperor called theHani“miraculous mountain sculptors”and this name has been handed down to the present.
The terraced fields of the Hani people of Yuanyang area large lively and dynamic system，as it has been sinceancient times.It is a human creation that harmoniouslycombines nature and human society in the form of theHani people blending with the natural environment ofAilao Mountain.It is also a combination of history andculture with nature.The rows and rows of terraced fieldsgo up the sides of the mountain like a stairway reachingto the sky.During periods of fog，a great many of thefields are hidden from view and the scene resembles amysterious ladder extending from earth up into the heavens.
Seven different ethnic groups，the Hani，Yi，Dai，Yao，Miao，Zhuang and Han reside in Yuanyang，a typicalmountain area with an ethically mixed population.Thebrilliant mixture of ethnic cultures，with the Hani terracedfield culture as most prominent feature，lends astrong ethnic culture to the area.The traditional local festivalssuch as the Longstreet Banquet and October Festivalof the Hani，the Torch Festival of the Yi and the DanceFlower Festival of the Miao are elegant and colorful.
The terraced fields of the Hani people of Yuanyang arethe product of the history of the culture of rice paddy and crop cultivation，and represent the crystallization of thewisdom of ethnic minority groups through a long periodof survival and development.The Hani people livingin the mountains created the terraced fields to meet therequirements for their survival and development andmanaged to maintain a balance between human developmentand nature through a long period of agriculturalcultivation.This then is the far-reaching significance ofthe terraced fields of the Hani ethnic group：smoothly integratinghuman society with nature.
