New Drones and Modern Techniques Transform Historic Chinese Yuanyang Hani Terraces

New technologies are reshaping farming in China’s Yuanyang Hani Terraces, a culturally and agriculturally significant landscape in Yunnan. Drones now move harvested rice from fields to villages in under 10 minutes, while a new planting method cuts a full day’s transplanting work to two or three hours; improved rice varieties and rice-fish-duck farming are also supporting incomes. The terraces’ long-term preservation still depends on residents maintaining irrigation channels and sharing in economic gains, with cooperatives expanding red-rice sales and distributing profits to farmers.
The Yuanyang Hani Terraces have three major heritage designations: World Cultural Heritage Site, Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System and World Heritage Irrigation Structure.
The terraces lie in the Ailao Mountains on the southern bank of the Red River. Their fragmented plots, steep slopes and narrow paths historically meant farmers carried rice sacks on their backs or used horses.
Azheke Village has pursued a distinctive tourism-development model in which villagers contribute resources, including terraces and houses, to the initiative.
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