Yunhe Rice Terraces are located in Yunhe County,
Zhejiang Province, China. Together with, Yuanyang Rice Terraces in
Yunnan,
Longji Rice Terrace in
Guilin and Ziquejie Rice Terraces, it is one of the most beautiful rice terraces in china. Yunhe Terraces covers a total area of 51 square kilometers, containing mountains, hills, and valleys surrounding it. The altitude of the terraces ranges from 200 to 1,400 meters, which gives Yunhe Rice Terraces amazing scenery. It has great views especially in rainy days. Rainy days are the best time to travel, when steam from river water floats through the terraces, creating a kind of agricultural dreamscape, which make you feel like in a fairyland. Winding in a maze up mountainsides from 200 to 1,400 meters, individual terraces can be constructed of as many as 700 layers. The view of the Rice Terraces is a pretty sight for photography. Many photographers come here to take great photos. If you are an enthusiastic about photography, who not come here to take amazing photos?
The local people living here is mostly She ethnic group, which is a minority with a very small population in China. Visitors can learn about and experience the culture and customs of the ethnic group when they are traveling in this place.
History
Yunhe literally means "peaceful clouds" in Chinese. Yunhe and its surrounding rice terraces have been home to farmers for at least 1,000 years. Yunhe Rice Terrace was initially developed in early Tang Dynasty, and became thriving during Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Up to now it has a history of over 1,000 years. Distributed mainly on the mountains and hills around Chongtou Town, Yunhe County, Yunhe Rice Terraces has been nourishing the local people for a lot of years.
The unique geographical environment of Yunhe Rice Terraces created unique natural landscape of it. At sunrise, the sky is filled with red rolling cloud, with vague shadow of trees underground. Standing upon rice terrace make you feel like entering paradise. Preserved terraces everywhere and sparkling water, golden and shiny, rice terrace is like a straight ladder to the sky, forming with a stunning magnificent picture. At sunset, village and forest are like dressed in a golden scarf shepherd; the landscape is full of praise. The landscape of rice terrace varies throughout the year.
Travel Guide
【 Best time to visit】
Best time to visit Yunhe Rice Terraces is from May to November. This place has a subtropical monsoon climate, with warm and humid temperature. It has four distinct seasons. Due to the complex terrain of this area and large altitude difference, it has a distinct vertical distribution of climate significantly. The annual average temperature is 16.5℃. The extreme minimum temperature of it is -7℃, with frost-free period about average 227 days. Rainy day are mainly concentrated from May to October.
【How to Get There】
Yunhe County is 67 kilometers southwest of Lishui city in Zhejiang Province. Shuttle buses between Yunhe and Lishui are available at Lishui Train Station. To get to Lishui, you should take a train from big cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing first.
Also, you can go directly to the Rice Terraces. It is takes about 2 hours from Wenzhou, and 3 hours from Hangzhou to Yunhe Rice Terraces.