World Heritage Identification Number: 1111
World Heritage since: 2013
Category: Cultural Heritage
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇨🇳 China
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Resilient Harmony of the Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013, offers a captivating glimpse into the harmonious coexistence of human civilization and nature. Situated in the Yuanyang County of Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, China, this cultural landscape covers an expansive area of 16,603 hectares, nestled within the towering Ailao Mountains and extending to the banks of the Hong River.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China covers 16,603-hectares in Southern Yunnan. It is marked by spectacular terraces that cascade down the slopes of the towering Ailao Mountains to the banks of the Hong River. Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels to bring water from the forested mountaintops to the terraces. They have also created an integrated farming system that involves buffalos, cattle, ducks, fish and eel and supports the production of red rice, the area’s primary crop. The inhabitants worship the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, forests and other natural phenomena including fire. They live in 82 villages situated between the mountaintop forests and the terraces. The villages feature traditional thatched “mushroom” houses. The resilient land management system of the rice terraces demonstrates extraordinary harmony between people and their environment, both visually and ecologically, based on exceptional and long-standing social and religious structures.
Encyclopedia Record: Honghe Hani Rice Terraces
The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces are the system of Hani rice-growing terraces located in Yuanyang County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan, China. The terraces' history spans around 1,200 years. The total area stretches across 1,000,000 acres and four counties: Yuanyang, Honghe, Jinpin and Lüchun, although the core area of the terraces is located in Yuanyang County. In 2013, 16,603 hectares of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces were listed as a World Heritage Site, because of their outstanding resilient construction, unique social-ecological system, and importance to the Hani people.Additional Site Details
Area: 16,603.22 hectares
(v) — Outstanding example of traditional human settlement
Coordinates: 23.0932777778 , 102.7799805556
Image
© Jialiang Gao, www.peace-on-earth.org, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
