Qingkou Hani Rice Terraces in Yuanyang County, Honghe

Introduction

Walk from Yuanyang Xinjie Town into Yuanyang Terraced Fields, Qingkou Rice Terraces is at the first sight. The viewing deck of Qingkou Rice Terraces is by the highway. It covers an area of almost 10000mu. The field is just like a sea with twinkling water ripples and it changes all the time. The fields descend down layer by layer. The ridges of the fields show a exquisite outlines of the fields with large-scale red duckweed which makes the fields colorful. The beauty of the terraces are beyond words.

Forest, streams, Villages and terraces are what Hani people cherish. They till the land not to conquer the nature but to accept the “gift” given by God and strike for the harmony of human and nature. Thus, they can create the masterpiece- terraces.

Tranditional & Ethnic Village

Qingkou is a typical Hani Village, which consists of 150 families and has a population of 800 of Hani ethnic minority.This Hani village is mainly presents the common characteristics of the Hani Terraced Fields culture. It maintain an integrated ecosystem among the forest, water system, villages and terraced field. Having been properly exploiting and comprehensively using the natural resources for hundreds of years, it is regarded as a model village in promoting the agricultural development. It not only protects its ecological balance but also promotes its development and civilization. There is also a museum established to showcase the history and culture of Hani people.

The village is shrouded in luxuriant forests where you can here the humming birds and cicadas in summer and experience the primitiveness.Walking around the village along the stone path, you can see the change of time as well as the local unchanged life on magnificent terrace fields. The earth-made houses on the both side of path are well ranked, whose housetop looks like a big mushroom. These houses are called mushroom houses, which are the traditional residences of Hani people. They are comprised of earth-made walls, bamboo or wood frameworks and straw housetops.

The Best Time to Visit Qingkou Hani Rice Terraces

The best moment to enjoy the marvelous rice terraces view is the sunset period. In addition, the sunrise and cloud sea in Laohuzui are also very beautiful.

From November to April, the terraces are in irrigation period. Most amazing pictures on the Internet are shooted at that time. In May, the rice fields turn into green from yellow, right after the farmers did the rice seedlings at the end of spring.

How to Get there?

1. You can take the regular bus from Kunming to Yuanyang in Kunming South Passenger Station at 10:20/12:30/19:00 every day, CNY 139 per, lasting 5 to 6 hours.

2. You can take the regular bus from Kunming to Nansha county then take the mini bus to Xinjie town(CNY 10 per, departing from 7:00~20:00). From Xinjie town to the entrance of the Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces or from the entrance to each scenic spot, you can rent a car to go, CNY 5~10 yuan per.

3. Or you can choose another route to get to Yuanyang: Kunming – Jianshui/Gejiu – Yuanyang.

Recommended Visiting Routes

It is better to arrange two or three hours to visit Rice Terraces. We provide tourists with some tour routes to choose.

3 Days Jianshui and Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces Group Tour
6 Days Kunming Yuanyang Jianshui Photography Tour with Honghe Hani Rice Terraces
8 Days Yunnan Photography Tour with Dongchuan Red Land and Yuanyang Hani Rice Terraces

Travel Tips

Ticket

• The day ticket is CNY 100 (including Duoyishu, Bada, Laohuzui Scenic Areas and Jingkou Folk village).
• The through ticket is CNY 180 ( you can visit the above four scenic areas in ten days of validity).
• The annual ticket is CNY 360 ( you can visit the above four scenic areas in one year of validity).

Accommodation:

There are many hostels in Xinjie Town. If you arrange your accommodation in Xinjie Town, you should take a mini bus to arrive at each scenic area. Apart from Xinjie town, you can also stay at Duoyishu Rice Terraces Scenic Area and Shengcun Village where various hostels and inns are located. The hostel are decorated in Hani ethnic style and offer great chance to view the beautiful rice terraces through windows.

Other Travel tips

The visitors usually set off to Laohuzui Rice Terraces after 4:30 pm, you can check out the time of sunset on the Internet or ask the local people.
The weather forecast of Yuanyang on the Internet may be not exact because the weather of the rice terraces area is always changeable and unpredictable.
The temperature here varies greatly between day and night. Please pay attention to keep warm especially in early morning or at night.