Yuanyang terrace is located in the south of Ailao Mountain in Yuanyang County, Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province. It is a masterpiece left by Hani people for generations.

Yuanyang terrace is the core area of Honghe Hani terrace. It is a wonder of terrace farming civilization created by the people of all ethnic groups dominated by Hani nationality by taking advantage of special geography and climate. The terraced fields reclaimed by Hani people are large-scale and magnificent. They use their wisdom to change the terraced fields with the changes of mountain terrain. They reclaim the gentle land into large fields, the steep land into small fields, and even the stone gap under the ditch. Therefore, the large terraced fields are several mu, the small ones are only dustpan, and often there are thousands of Mu on one slope

First acquaintance with Yuanyang terrace

According to the ancient "Legend of heaven, earth and man" of Hani nationality, the big fish created the universe, heaven and earth and the first pair of people. The man is called zhita and the woman is called tapo; Tarpo gave birth to 22 babies, the third of whom was a dragon. When the Dragon grew up, he became the Dragon King in the sea. In order to thank tarpo for her upbringing, he presented three bamboo tubes to tarpo, one of which contained rice seeds. In other words, Hani people believe that rice has existed since the beginning of the world.

It shows that Hani people are one of the earliest nationalities to domesticate wild rice, and rice planting is the ancient production content of Hani people. For thousands of years, Hani people have domesticated wild rice into upland rice and improved upland rice into rice in the Sanjiang Basin of Ailao Mountain area. In the unique ecological environment, Sanjiang basin has become one of the areas where human beings domesticated and cultivated rice in the early stage.

On June 22, 2013, the application of Hani Terrace in Yuanyang, Honghe, Yunnan Province for world heritage was considered at the 37th World Heritage conference held in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, and the cultural landscape of Hani Terrace in Honghe, Yunnan, China was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Best viewing time

The best season to watch Yuanyang terraces in a year is from November to April of the next year. At this time, the terraces are in the irrigation period, and the light and shadow effect is excellent. I came to Yuanyang terrace in late April. Some terraces have been planted with seedlings, but in good weather, I can still see beautiful light and shadow.

From mid July to early September, the boundless rice fields will turn into green waves in the sea of clouds, which are beautiful in the changing texture, just like poetry and painting.

Rice transplanting from April to may, festivals in July and autumn harvest at the end of September are the best humanistic experience

Mode of transportation

The best way to browse Yuanyang terraces is by self driving. If not by self driving, you'd better charter a car, because the most beautiful core area of Yuanyang terraces is deep in the mountains and there are many viewing platforms, so self driving can do whatever you want.

However, this does not exclude the way of travel as a backpacker:

High speed railway, it takes about 6 hours to take the high-speed railway from Kunming station to Jianshui, and then take the bus from Jianshui to Yuanyang.

Bus: take the bus from Kunming to Yuanyang from the southern passenger station of Kunming. It runs three times a day and takes about 5 hours.

After arriving at Yuanyang terrace, you can take Hani minibuses to and from various scenic spots in the scenic area, which is equivalent to experiencing the transportation mode of local people

Accommodation in scenic spots

Entering Yuanyang Terrace Scenic Spot, you first pass through Qingkou village, and then Hani town not far away. This is the best and most convenient place for Terrace Scenic Spot infrastructure. It has everything to eat, drink and play, but the scenery is in order. For corrupt tourists, it's best to choose here.

But the most beautiful scenery is deep in the mountains. Crossing Hani Town, you will soon pass Quanfu village, followed by Shengcun village and duoyishu. These are villages and towns with a large number of home stay, and the scenery is also beautiful! The most recommended thing is to live near the Duoyi tree observation platform, because there are the most guest houses and the best scenery. You can get up early and go to Duoyi tree to see the most beautiful sunrise

Viewing location

There are three major scenic spots in Yuanyang Terrace: Bada scenic spot (including more than 14000 mu of terraces in Qingkou, quanfuzhuang, malizhai and Zhulu), huhuzui scenic spot (including nearly 6000 mu of terraces in mengpin, Dongpu, amungkong and baoshanzhai), duoyishu scenic spot (including more than 10000 mu of terraces in duoyishu, Aichun and dawajie). So many terraces, hidden in the vast forest and covered by a sea of clouds, constitute a magical and magnificent landscape.

Yuanyang terraces are widely distributed. In addition to the above three scenic spots, there are also xiaopingzi terraces in Daping Township, nikupu terraces in fengchunling Township, laocaozhai terraces, dayutang terraces in fengchunling Township, shibeizhai terraces and dalaka terraces in xiaoxinjie Township, dawuzhai terraces and Kuluzhai terraces in ganiang Township, rural New Town terraces in shangxincheng, wahuicheng terraces, Potou terraces in salatuo Township, yaozhai terraces in Majie Township, etc., all of which are terraces of thousands of mu, Different shapes and characteristics, but few tourists set foot in it because of the long distance and inconvenient transportation.

In April 2022, the ticket of the scenic spot is 70 yuan for the day pass and 125 yuan for the week. The fee includes Qingkou folk village, Bada terrace viewing platform, duoyishu terrace viewing platform, and huhuzui terrace viewing platform, which is still under repair for special reasons, so it is not open for the time being

Viewing platform of duoyishu Scenic Area

Duoyi tree can be said to be the best place to shoot the sunrise. It has the best scenery, the greatest reputation and the largest number of tourists in China's terrace viewing platform. Although the viewing platform is very large, you still have to get up as soon as possible to get the best shooting position. Don't be lazy!

You can often see the sea of clouds in Duoyi tree. Such a beautiful scenery is like ink painting, which is worth it for tourists who buy tickets to watch the scenery! But you can make a lot of money by meeting the beautiful and layered sunrise or burning clouds. At this time, you can harvest the most rare color terraces, which is as beautiful as overturning God's palette

Huangcaoling beside Duoyi tree

The reason why we emphasize the huangcaoling next to the Duoyi tree is that we will encounter several huangcaolings on the way into the mountain

What you see in huangcaoling is the same terrace as Duoyi tree. Although the angle and field of vision are not as good as Duoyi tree, it is free! It's OK to go down the terrace to the beautiful scenery. At more than 5 p.m., the terrace of Duoyi tree turned blue due to the smooth light, which is also a beauty that can not be missed in the beautiful scenery of the terrace

Four seasons viewing platform

The four seasons viewing platform is not far from Duoyi tree, only one kilometer

Similarly, the four seasons viewing platform also looks at the same terraces as Duoyi tree, but from different angles. The disadvantage is that the field of vision is limited, but the parking lot is large, which is very suitable for RV parking

There are Hani statues on the viewing platform, which is very suitable for taking photos

Four element viewing platform

Walk two or three kilometers from Duoyi tree to SISU viewing platform. SISU viewing platform and Duoyi tree face each other from a distance and can see the sunset, but the vision is limited. Although the scenery is slightly inferior, fortunately, the gap between SISU landscape is large. It is also a flavor to see villages and towns and terraces looming in the clouds

Azhuke Folk Village

One or two kilometers away from the four element viewing platform is azuke folk village

Azuke is a well protected Hani primitive village. The village is full of Hani style adobe and mushroom head houses. When visiting, you can enter the Hani family's home and experience the most distinctive long street banquet in the long street in the village. This is an excellent place to understand and experience Hani culture.

Deep in azuke is the terrace Canyon, which is a good place to take pictures of the cloud sea of terraces. When passing through the terraces, you can also feel the three-dimensional feeling of terraces - each layer of terraces is very high, and the height is outrageous, which is not the feeling you see on the observation platform!

Azuke is now managed with the help of Sun Yat sen University. You need to pay 30 yuan tickets to enter the scenic spot. The tickets will become incentives and dividends to the villagers who protect the buildings, environment and terraces in the village. Therefore, the money is worth spending

Ai Village (AI Chun blue terrace)

Come out from azuke village and walk another two kilometers to Ai Village

It can be seen from the name that this is the place to see the blue terrace! In fact, there are many places to shoot blue terraces, but this is the easiest place to see and reach.

To become a blue terrace, first of all, the angle of the terrace should not be too large, and it must be in the appropriate light (along the light) in order to reflect the blue sky. Therefore, there is a time premise for viewing the blue terrace, that is, the viewing time is best before 10 a.m., which is the bluest at that time. After shooting the Duoyi tree, the most important thing to come to is Ai Village!

Hadanpu Village

Hadanpu village is next to Ai Village

After watching the blue terraces in Ai Village, if you want to get closer to the blue terraces, you can go deep from hadanpu village. At the end of the village is the blue terraces you just saw.

It seems that the scenic spot is intended to facilitate tourists to get close to the blue terraces. In many traditional terraces, several ridges of terraces are built with stone and cement. Therefore, tourists can walk on them at will, which is not only strong and durable, but also do not have to worry about getting stuck with the soil

Joint factory (aicun viewing platform)

After shooting the echun blue terrace, go on for a while, and you will arrive at the joint office factory.

This is a good place to take pictures of the sea of clouds. The small villages in the sea of clouds are looming and very beautiful.

If you can't find the path leading to the terraces, you can go a few hundred meters further. That's the newly built viewing platform of the scenic spot - the viewing platform of Ai Village. It's beautiful to see the sea of clouds on this viewing platform. The only drawback is that the sea of clouds is mixed with electric poles. It's a pity

Dawajie

After shooting the joint office field, continue to move on, passing through Xinzhai is dawajia village.

It is more than ten kilometers away from Duoyi tree. There is no fixed viewing platform. You can park your car on the roadside and see the terraces and villages in the sea of clouds.

Therefore, this is a great place to shoot the sea of clouds and watch the sunset

Bada terrace viewing platform

Bada terrace viewing platform is one of the four scenic spots. It is composed of more than 3000 terraces at the foot of the mountain. The scale is very spectacular.

Here, you can take pictures of the sea of clouds in the morning and the sunset in the afternoon. If you encounter good weather, such as after rain, you can enjoy the sunset in the sea of clouds. The scenery is very beautiful

Bada Village

Like huangcaoling next to Duoyi tree, Bada village can also enter the viewing terrace! When entering, it is free, and there is also a health fee of 10 yuan, which depends on the situation!

If you don't want to enter the Bada toll viewing platform before flowers, Bada village is the best choice. There is an excellent camera stand on the roadside of the village, and its vision is even better than that of the viewing platform in the scenic area. There are no flowers and railings. The only disadvantage is that the space is limited and can only be first come, first served!

In addition, all the way into Bada village, the village has also built a field observation ladder, which can shoot the terraces more closely. If you encounter good weather, such as burning clouds, it is the best place to see the color terraces

Luoma point

On the way from Bada to duoyishu, you can pass through Luoma point, and the terrace is on the roadside, where you can see the sea of clouds

Opposite is Xinjie town. If the sea of clouds is good, the whole new street is like floating on the sea of clouds. No wonder it has the reputation of "sky market".

Mount point

Not far from the horse point is the mount point

The scenery is similar to Luoma point. I only found that this place is very suitable for shooting sunset. After shooting the sunset in Bada, I drove up and found that the skyline is still red. Therefore, this scenery is very beautiful

Qingkou Village

The first stop to enter Yuanyang Terrace Scenic Spot is Qingkou village. The village looks clean and tidy. It looks like a demonstration place for tourists!

There are large terraces behind the village. You can also see a good terrace landscape at the Qingkou wetland observation platform beside the road. You can also take pictures of blue terraces around 5 p.m.

But I think it seems too model and standard. The scenery is beautiful but not amazing enough

Quanfu village scenic spot

On the way from Qingkou village to Bada terrace, you will first pass through Quanfu village scenic spot

It has a wide view and is a good place to take pictures of the sea of clouds! However, due to the insufficient drop of terraces around the scenic spots, the nearby terraces are too large, while the distant terraces are too small, which is a little insufficient for viewing, but its small drop should be a good place to shoot blue terraces

Malizhai tea factory

Not far from the terrace of Quanfu village is the viewing platform of malizhai tea factory

It's OK to take pictures of the sunset, the cloud terrace and the sea. The viewing platform is not big, but there are many people, because there is a small parking lot around, which is easier to park here. The terraces here have a good shape. What you see is the classic Yuanyang terraces

Eagle mouth

Laoyingzui is in Shengcun township. Shengcun is on the way from Bada to Duoyi tree. It is a scenic spot of Cliff Terrace view

Eagle mouth can navigate, but the road is narrow and difficult to go, so there are few people going. Here you can take pictures of the sea of clouds in the morning and the sunset in the afternoon. There is a raised rock in the viewing area. The of the stone is facing malizhai. Sitting on the stone, it is integrated with the terrace village opposite. This is a great place for self photographing

Because it is under the Duoyi tree, if the cloud sea of Duoyi tree is very low in the morning, you can see a very beautiful cloud sea here

Laohuzui terrace viewing platform

Tiger mouth is on the branch line leading to mengpin village, which can be navigated. The only thing comparable to the colorful terraces of Duoyi tree is tiger mouth under the sunset!

Even if the weather is bad, the spectacular lines of tiger mouth will shock you. The tiger mouth in January is the best. In February, farmers will start raising seedlings and put up rows of plastic sheds, but it is still very beautiful!

Screw field

Screw field is under huhuzui to Panzhihua township. The parking position is very humble roadside, so it's not easy to find, but it's worth visiting! There are locals who provide paid guide services in tiger mouth. There will be a fee of more than ten or twenty yuan. Whether to go or not depends on your personal choice!

The terrace planning of screw field is very neat and regular, which is different from the texture of all the terraces seen before. The terraces are arranged in circles in the valley, like the inner shell of screws, so it is called screw field! The screw field during irrigation is very worth shooting. It is very suitable for taking a silhouette when the night falls

Yiwanshui Village

Yiwanshui village is at least ten kilometers away from screw field. It takes a long way to reach Panshan road

The terrace of Yiwanshui village is similar to screw field, but the drop is larger. When I went, the weather was not very good. I withdrew from the village after shooting, and I haven't found out the shooting direction yet!

The cost performance of going to a bowl of water is not very high, but it is very interesting, because it will pass through large terraces planted with bananas. If it wasn't for a bowl of water, I didn't know that bananas were growing here. It is said that bananas here are very delicious without pesticides

Travel recommendation

Day 1 Travel

Qingkou - Hani town - Quanfu village - malizhai - Bada watch the sunset - stay near Duoyi tree

Day 2 travel

Watching the sunrise by trees - SISU viewing platform - aicun blue Terrace - azuke folk village - dawajia watching the sunset

Generally, it is enough for visitors to see the above scenic spots, and some scenic spots can be ignored under non special circumstances

Because it's hard to walk along the eagle mouth road, while the tiger mouth scenic spot is closed. If you have to finish it, you can stay one more day. Refer to the route of the next day, such as:

Day 3 travel

Watching the sunrise by trees - Shengcun Terrace - eagle mouth - Tiger mouth - screw field - a bowl of water village - Tiger mouth sunset

Write at the end

Yuanyang terrace is definitely a destination worthy of travel. There are not only beautiful scenery, but also plain humanities. Entering the scenic area without entering Qingkou, Bada, duoyishu and huhuzui observation platforms is completely free. There are a large number of free observation platforms and rest places along the way, which is worth staying for a few more days.