September 9, 2009

Wonders built over the centuries- rice terraces of Yuanyang, China

Locations: Yuanyang, Yunnan, China (23° 9' 15 N 102° 44' 52 E)
Date: 26 February 2007; 2.10pm
Camera: Canon 300D with kit lens

Rice is the main staple for most Asians, including Chinese. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that it is the most commonly grown crop in China. In many parts of China, rice is grown on terraces cut over hundreds of years into hillsides. Paddy fields need a lot of water for irrigation and terraces aid the flow and irrigation. One of the most amazing places to see rice terraces in China is Yuanyang in Yunnan. Over the years, it had become a photographers' haven. During the pre-planting season in the first couple of months of the year, the rice terraces are flooded and soaked with water to allow the soil to loosen up as well as to absorb the water. This is the most beautiful period to photograph the terraces as they changes colour and hue during the course of the day as water reflects the sun, sky, mist and so on. Most early mornings (about 5 am), one can see hordes of photographers scrambling for the best vantage points to photograph the sunrise and mist amongst the terraces.

2 comments:

fufu said...

wow... nice shot!! so well captured! erm.. well my next target provinces of china would be guangxi, yunnan, tibet, sichuan and xinjiang =p almost the rest of the places i have been during my previous backpacking trip =) and well this picture reminds me of my turkey trip, the cotton castle in pamukkale

just in case you are interested :
http://lamchingfu.blogspot.com/2008/07/ahfu-world-tour-turkiye-7th-22nd-may.html

ryc : you can actually reply or answer my question here though, anyway here is my email lcfu@hotmail.com =p

Fotografia Viaggio said...

Nice, quiet and poetic.