There is a ballad going in Yuanyang “If you travel to Yunnan, you should go to Yuanyang for the rice terrace together with the sea of clouds make it a mysterious wonderland”. If you come to Yuanyang, you should never miss Duoyishu Rice Terraces for the amazing sunrise which makes you never want to leave. Duoyishu Rice Terraces, part of Honghe Rice Terraces, was listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2013. It is marked by spectacular terraces that cascade down the slopes of towering Aliao Mountain to the banks of the Hong River. Over the past 1300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels to bring water from the forested mountaintops to terraces. The rice terraces is a testimonial to demonstrate extraordinary harmony between Hani people and their environment, both visually and ecologically.
Duoyishu Rice Terraces scenic area has 400 hectare which is composed of Huangcaoling, Duoyishu, Aichun, Dawazhe, etc. When the sun rises over the surrounded mountains, the rice terraces change its color into golden, shining brilliantly. The mysterious sea of clouds, special mushroom houses and beautiful rice paddies and working Hani people are very harmony.
Hot Yuanyang Rice Terraces Tour:
>> 3 Days Yuanyang Rice Terraces & Hani Culture Discovery Tour
>> 3 Days Yuanyang Rice Terrace Hiking Tour for Hani Culture Exploration
Duoyishu Rice Terraces is the best site to watch sunrise over the rice fields. In the early morning, the sunglow appears splendidly over the mountains and just a few minutes later, the gentle sun begins to show up and rise slowly over the top of the mountains. When the sun rises up the 6000-mu Duoyishu Rice Terraces, the whole villages turns bright and the vast rice terraces look like a mirror, radiating the rays of golden light. What makes Duoyishu sunrise the most beautiful is not only the golden rice terraces, but also the mysterious sea of cloud and Hani people’s mushroom-like houses. No matter you are photographers or not, catch the best moment to keep the amazing Duoyishu Rice Terrace sunrise with your camera.
There are two view decks of Duoyishu Rice Terraces, one is located on the top of the Pugao Old Village, close to the Duoyishu Ticket Booth and the other one is located in Pugao Old Village, very close to the rice terraces. It is suggested that use the higher viewing deck to watch the sun rises over the mountain and photograph the brilliant rice terrace scene. And if you have more time, you can take a walk down to the village and reach the lower deck to catch more beautiful scenery. From the lower deck, travelers can hike down the paddy rice terraces and have more memorable time in the mysterious village.
The sun rises up during 06:00~07:30 and usually around 07:00 in the spring time. If you are professional photographers, you’d better get up at 05:00 and arrive at the viewing decks around 05:30 to find a good location. Otherwise, travelers can come around 06:30.
Different season shows different scenery in Duoyishu Rice Terraces. After the autumn harvest, the rice paddies will be filled with water. During this period, the morning glow and sunset glow reflect on the water and the rice terraces turn into golden. In the winter time, the rice paddies sometimes put on colorful dress and sometimes out on white coat. In the spring time, the cattle is working in the rice fields, the local Hani people is transplanting rice seedlings and after several days, the whole rice terraces turn into green which looks so lively together with green mountains. In the summer time, the sea of clouds over the rice paddies change a lot, making it a beautiful Chinese painting. Travelers can come all the year round and for photographers, the best time is from November to the next March.
Duoyishu Rice Terraces is one of the major areas inside the whole Yuanyang Rice Terraces. There is no separate ticket offered to Duoyishu Rice Terraces. Tourists are required to get there with the ticket for the entire Yuanyang Rice Terraces. The ticket is vilid for several days. Days varies according to different types of ticket you are booked.
Ticket One: It is valid for 3 days. It is 100 Yuan for per person, including four scenic spots Jingkou Folk Village, Bada Rice Terraces, Duoyishu Rice Terraces and Laohuzui Rice Terraces (Tiger Mouth Rice Terraces).
Ticket Two: It is valid for 10 days. It is 180 Yuan for per person, including four scenic spots Jingkou Folk Village, Bada Rice Terraces, Duoyishu Rice Terraces and Laohuzui Rice Terraces (Tiger Mouth Rice Terraces).
Ticket Three: It belongs to annual ticket which is valid for one year. It is about 360 Yuan per person, including four scenic spots Jingkou Folk Village, Bada Rice Terraces, Duoyishu Rice Terraces and Laohuzui Rice Terraces (Tiger Mouth Rice Terraces).
There are many hostels in Duoyishi Scenic Area and some are very close to the higher viewing decks with several minutes’ walking and some are close to the lower viewing deck in Pugao Old Village. For travelers who want to photograph, it is better to stay around the higher viewing decks.
Check more about Where to Stay at Yuanyang Rice Terraces >>
Duoyishu Rice Terraces of Yuanyang Rice Terraces is about 27km from Xinjie Town and 375km from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Duoyishu Rice Terraces cannot be reached by train or flight, because it is situated in the mountainous area that far from railway stations and airports. Normally, tourists get there from Kunming by private car or coach.
Private cars are the hottest choices, because you can get to the scenic area directly. Kunming South Coach Terminal (昆明南客运站) also operates about 3 daily coaches. However, these coaches will not take you to Bata or Yuanyang Rice Terraces directly, but will drop you off at Xinjie Town.
From Xinjie Town, you are required to go further south to the scenic area with a private car or minivans of locals. The car ride takes half an hour around.
In such a remote area of Yuanyang, there is no taxi for you to get around. And if you want to go from one terraces area to another, you can go by local minivans or hiking. Most of the scenic spots are 8-10km apart from each other. The minibuses charge about CNY 5~15 each time.
● About 2.7 kilometers from Bada Rice Terrace
● About 7.2 kilometers from Laohuzui Rice Terrace
Know more about Kunming to Yuanyang >>
To capture the magnificent Duoyishu Rice Terrace, it is good to use wide angle (14mm~24mm, 17mm~35mm) and telephoto lenses (70mm~200mm or above). A tripod and lens hood will make your pictures perfect when shooting sunrise over the rice paddies. Also, polarizer and gradual change grey color lenses will help you get better terrace pictures. The weather of Duoyishu changes a lot and it is good to take waterproofing and damp proofing measure. And you’d better ask more advice from your photography guide.
Hani people would celebrate some traditional festivals, like Hani New Year, Kuzhazha Festival, etc.
Hani New Year is like the Spring Festival of Han. It takes place in the first Dragon Day of the 10th lunar month each year and lasts 5 to 6 days and even as long as 13 days. Every family would prepare chicken, pork to worship their ancestors and family members gather together to enjoy the union. In the last day of the New Year, a Long Table Banquet will be arranged and tables will be laid in the street which can extend to one kilometer long. Each family will serve the most sumptuous dishes to fill up a table and enjoy the banquet together.
Kuzhazha Festival takes place from lunar June 23 to 26 and every family makes sticky rice, sets the feast, makes fresh rice and worships the ancestor.
It is better to arrange three days in Yuanyang to visit several scenic spots of Yuanyang Rice Terraces including Bada Rice Terraces, Duoyishu Rice Terraces, Laohuzui Rice Terraces and Jingkou Folk Villages, Hani Ethnic Market in Shengcun, etc. For most travelers, you arrange your schedules as following:
Day 1: Arrive in Yuanyang in the morning or at noon and first pay a visit to Jingkou Folk Village, and then view the rice paddies on the road to Laohuzui (Tiger Month) Rice Terrace, shoot the amazing Sunset of Laohuzui Rice Terraces. Get back to your hotel in Xinjie Old Town or Duoyishu Rice Terraces.
Day 2: Get up early in the morning and reach the viewing platform of Duoyishu Rice Terraces and watch the sunrise over the villages and have a walk around Duoyishu Rice Terraces like Huangcaoling Spot. Head to Shengcun to attend the Hani ethnic market to explore authentic local life of Hani people. Later, get to Bada Rice Terraces to catch the sea of clouds and sunset view. After the amazing day, get back to your hotel in Xinjin Old Town.
Day 3: In this morning, have a walk to get into Longshuba Rice Terraces and some local villages nearby. After the tour, get back to Kunming from Yuanyang.
>> 4 Days Yuanyang Rice Terrace Photography Tour (Kunming / Yuanyang / Kunming)
Some visitors always chose to stay about 4~5 days, because they prefer to relax and enjoy, not to rush though the sites. During their Yuanyang Rice Terraces tour, they will give them more times to explore the villages and just sock in the scenery!
>> 5 Days Kunming, Jianshui & Yuanyang Rice Terraces Tour (Kunming/Yuanyang/Jianshui/Kunming)
Want more surprises of the diverse Yunnan? Why not extending your tour to more top destinations in one go, such as Kunming famous as Spring City and convenient province capital, Lijiang to meet the best ancient town, mountain and gorge, Dali with profound Dali Old Town and splendid Erhai Lake, Xishuangbanna with exciting tropical flavor and Dai ethnic dances, etc., which usually needs 6-15 days based on your exploration depth!
>> 11 Days Amazing Yunnan Tour (Kunming/Yuanyang/Jianshui/Dali/ Lijiang/Shangri-La)
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