The Hani rice terraces of Yunnan, seen through village life

What happens in the video

Little Chinese Everywhere is a travel channel whose seasons follow one traveler’s journeys across China, and this 35-minute episode from April 2023 goes to the Hani rice terraces in the far south of Yunnan province. The creator explains in the description that this is a return visit: years earlier, they stayed in the area for a month as part of a PhD project, and this time they come back to see old friends.

The chapters set out the day. After an introduction to the terraces, the episode moves to Azheke village, then into a friend’s home and on to scenes of everyday Hani life. A tour of the village follows, then a chapter on making clothes, and the episode ends at a village dinner. According to the description, the creator joined that banquet by chance. It is a personal film, and its value is in everyday detail: homes, fields, clothing and a shared meal.

How the Hani terraces work

UNESCO inscribed the Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces as a World Heritage Site in 2013. Its listing describes terraces that cascade down the slopes of the Ailao Mountains toward the Hong River across a core area of about 16,600 hectares. Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people built a network of channels that carries water from the forested mountaintops down through the fields.

UNESCO stresses that the terraces are only one part of a system. Forests on the peaks catch the water, villages sit on the slopes below them, and the terraces fill the hillsides beneath the villages. The listing counts 82 villages with traditional thatched “mushroom” houses, and says red rice is the main crop, grown alongside buffalo, cattle, ducks, fish and eels in the same fields.

Azheke, the village at the center of the video, is one of the best-known examples. CGTN reports that its name means “a place where bamboo forests flourish” in the Hani language and that it has more than 60 mushroom cottages. When young people were leaving and old houses were crumbling, a team led by Sun Yat-sen University professor Bao Jigang drew up the “Azheke Plan” in 2018: the village became a tourism project in which villagers hold a 70% stake and share the income as dividends. In November 2024, UN Tourism named Azheke one of its Best Tourism Villages.

How to visit the Yuanyang terraces

The terraces are in Yuanyang County, in Honghe Prefecture, and they are remote by mainland China standards. Yunnan’s official tourism site, Colorful Yunnan, lists a shuttle bus from Kunming South Bus Terminal to Yuanyang that takes five to six hours, and local minibuses from Xinjie town to the viewpoints. The same page lists chartered vehicles too, a practical choice because the main viewpoints are spread along about 40 km of mountain road.

• When: The terraces are irrigated from November to April, when the flooded fields reflect the sky. Colorful Yunnan says early November is best for freshly filled terraces, and seas of cloud are most likely around New Year and Chinese New Year.
• Where to stand: Duoyishu is the classic sunrise viewpoint; Bada and Laohuzui face the sunset. Each needs an early start or a late finish, so stay nearby.
• What to pack: Days can be mild, but mornings and evenings in the mountains are cold, so bring warm layers.
• Where to stay: Azheke and nearby villages have homestays, cafes and restaurants run by locals, which keeps more of your spending in the community.
• Be a good guest: These are working farms and family homes. Stay on paths along the terrace walls and ask before photographing people.

Mobile data is the lifeline for maps, rides and payments in rural areas; the eSIM and SIM card guide explains your options. For a very different landscape shaped by erosion rather than farmers, see Zhangjiajie’s sandstone pillars.

Mandarin you can use in the villages

Hani is spoken in the villages, but Mandarin is the language you’ll use with hosts and drivers, and a greeting and a thank-you go a long way. Ask before you take photos, and use the bus phrases to check you are on the right minibus. The greetings lesson, bus lesson and photo lesson have these with audio, and the etiquette guide covers being a guest in someone’s home.