Hani Terraces: Stairway to Heaven

by Zhu Tier

Where are the Hani villages？ High on mountains.

What do they look like？ Like pony tails hanging from the peaks.

This old ballad remains popular with the Hani ethnic group of southwestern China， vividly depicting the peoples natural living and work environments.

On June 22， 2013， at the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Phnom Penh， Cambodia， Hani terraced fields along with their hillside villages and singular irrigation system were added to UNESCOs World Heritage List as a cultural landscape： Honghe Hani Terraced Fields.

Rising along the slope of the Ailao Mountains in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southeastern Yunnan， the terraces are considered wonders of agricultural development， jointly invented across generations by Hani people and various other ethnic groups around the heritage site. Those inhabiting the area have perfected ways to maximize the benefits of the local climate and geography. They have created agricultural eco-systems integrating forests， villages， terraced fields and irrigation systems， around which myriad farming production technologies and traditional cultural activities developed as well. In some places， as many as 3，700 terraces stretch from the mountain foot all the way up to the peaks at over 2，000 meters above sea level. The entire heritage site covers an area of 166 square kilometers， which includes 82 villages.

Across the farmland， forests on hilltops， terraced fields and villages on hillsides， and irrigation systems at the foot of the hills form an integrated ecological system that meets World Heritage criteria， commented the heritage committee when assessing Hani terraces， adding that the precise and complicated agricultural， forestry， and water diversion systems， which have improved over time thanks to the singular local social and economic systems， showcase an important inter-relationship between humans and the environment.

The history of terraced fields in the area can be traced back more than 2，000 years， when the Hani forefathers relocated to mountains in the south from grasslands in the north. They had to reclaim the land along the mountains before they could farm it. Hani terraces are among early reclaimed arable land that is still in use today. Hani people live atop tall mountains which drop into deep valleys. The hot and dry valley climate causes vast amounts of river water to evaporate， which in turn provides plentiful rainwater for the paddy fields on the mountains.

Along with growing grains， Hani people also farm fish. Since they fertilize with only farmyard manure， their rice is organic， and fish fed insects from the pristine fields sell for double the price of those bred at an ordinary fish farm. These factors have helped many locals amass impressive wealth.

Following approval as a UNESCO heritage site， Hani terraces are sure to be discovered by more people and local tourism will receive a boost. However， the possibility of a huge volume of incoming tourists may also have a negative impact on the local community. “A surge of incoming tourists could change the original villages，”warns Wang Lijun， deputy director of the Institute of Architectural History at the China Architecture Design and Research Group， who participated in formulating the Master Plan of Honghe Hani Terraced Fields Conservancy. Wang suggests developing “low intervention tourism”， which would retain necessary control over visitors wandering and behavior.

Some also worry that development in the name of protection may even pose a greater risk than a surge of tourists. The nature of the heritage determines its value and the means to protect it. As required by the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention， a nominated world heritage site should establish a comprehensive protection and management system.

Hani terraces will not rush into commercial development and the local government will make preservation the priority， assures Wu Hao， Publicity Department chief of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture. The local government has formulated and issued policies to ensure the wholeness and authenticity of the most important elements of the heritage.