Yuanyang Rice Terrace is a highlight of Yunnan Province
Rice terraces are all around Yunnan Province, and Yuanyang is a good place to start. Yuanyang is divided into two: Nansha and Xinjie and we based ourselves in Xinjie for three days. The journey from Jianshui to Xinjie wasn’t easy but not difficult. The bus got us off at Nansha and we took a town bus to Xinjie from there. Xinjie is basically a town for tourists and shopping for people from nearby villages. I’ve never seen that much different kind of minority village people at one place. It was extremely hectic under the daylight and it got quickly calming down at night.
People say the best time to visit the rice terrace is winter, right after a heavy rain. Luckily, we landed in Xinjie on a very sunny day, and it was foggy and rainy the next day. The third day, sunshine on our back, we started our journey to see rice terraces. There are few ways to look around the neighborhood: rent a minivan, take a town bus, and walk. Be aware, you have to pay to get in some villages. We walked to Longshaba, a nearby town. Just like the guidebook described, it was all flooded and the rays of sunshine are bouncing off the water at sunset.
We walked on the rice terraces for hours. Some farmers gardening their field with their water buffalos and cleaning out the paths. There was an absolute tranquility.
It was extremely difficult to select these photos among 423 photos I took this day, but here we are, photos from Yuanyang Rice Terraces.
