The terraced rice fields of Yuanyang are the world's largest, and cover over 1000M of vertical terrain that has been carved by the local Hani minority group. The area was designated a World Heritage site by the UNESCO, which prevents the landscape from being altered. April is the beginning of the rice planting season, when seedlings that have been covered against the cold in hoop-style plastic greenhouses are transplanted by hand to the terraces which have been plowed and prepared by water buffalo. This ancient landscape has started to change, and now 10-20% of the terraces are dry and uncultivated, as young people are choosing to more modern forms of work instead of eeking out a meager living of hard labor.
