Anybody who has ever visited the northern region during the harvestseason cannot help but be astonished at the stunning beauty of terracedfields which undulate around the hillsides and mountainsides as well asstreams and rivers, resembling giant yellow staircases allowing peopleto step from Earth to heaven. Report by Radio The Voice of Vietnam.
Vietnam’s northern mountains provide a wealth of inspiration tophotographers. The region attracts tourists for its unspoiled beauty andwinding terraced fields nestled in the valleys and mountain slopes.Terraced field have become a typical feature of local inhabitants.
The history of terraced fields is associated with thehistory of residence of ethnic groups in Vietnam’s northern mountains.Their cultural values are reflected in the farming experience,production customs, the formation of terraced fields of each ethnicgroup.
Khoang Van Tien of the White Thai ethnicgroup in Dien Bien province told VOV: “Our main production custom is wetrice cultivation. We have utilised desert land for growing wet rice”.
A terraced field has many levels in series and eachlevel is a small field. The more levels there are, the more farmingtechniques the owner has. Given the scarcity of flat land, wet ricegrowers use hillsides to create an even and flat plot of land whichlooks like a three-step staircase. That’s the way terraced fields werecreated, a rare feature of Vietnam’s wet rice civilisation.
Giang A Pua of the Mong ethnic group in Ha Giang province told VOVabout how he chooses the land for growing rice: “The hardest work island reclamation. The field location should not be very sloppy with lessgravel. A good place is where there is thick grass or big trees”.
After a place is chosen, the improvement of soil is very important.The first step is to dig a ditch to supply water to the newly-exploitedfield.
Luong Van Thiet of the Vietnam Museum ofEthnology explains that the digging is undertaken by men, who must beskillful enough to make water flow constantly into the rice fields,particularly during the transplanting of rice seedlings. The water flowsfrom the upper levels down and each piece of field is part of thisirrigation system. If the terraced field is owned by many households,the management and distribution of water is shared between them.
The land exploitation and rice cultivation has been maintained fromgeneration to generation over hundreds of years. Each terraced fieldcreates a beautiful picture on the hillside.
Together with the formation of terraced fields and the sedentaryfarming, ethnic groups the northern mountains have adopted manytraditional festivals and cultural activities associated withagricultural production.
Thao Thu Do of the Mongethnic group in La Ban Tan commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Ha Giangprovince, told VOV: “The Mong people consider a terraced field aninvaluable basket of rice. The field is most beautiful when the paddiesturn yellow. When there are abundant rice, we feel very happy”.
During the harvest time in October, the gold rice field stands out ofgreen forests, creating a magnificent picture in Vietnam’s northernpart.-VNA
Vietnam’s northern mountains provide a wealth of inspiration tophotographers. The region attracts tourists for its unspoiled beauty andwinding terraced fields nestled in the valleys and mountain slopes.Terraced field have become a typical feature of local inhabitants.
The history of terraced fields is associated with thehistory of residence of ethnic groups in Vietnam’s northern mountains.Their cultural values are reflected in the farming experience,production customs, the formation of terraced fields of each ethnicgroup.
Khoang Van Tien of the White Thai ethnicgroup in Dien Bien province told VOV: “Our main production custom is wetrice cultivation. We have utilised desert land for growing wet rice”.
A terraced field has many levels in series and eachlevel is a small field. The more levels there are, the more farmingtechniques the owner has. Given the scarcity of flat land, wet ricegrowers use hillsides to create an even and flat plot of land whichlooks like a three-step staircase. That’s the way terraced fields werecreated, a rare feature of Vietnam’s wet rice civilisation.
Giang A Pua of the Mong ethnic group in Ha Giang province told VOVabout how he chooses the land for growing rice: “The hardest work island reclamation. The field location should not be very sloppy with lessgravel. A good place is where there is thick grass or big trees”.
After a place is chosen, the improvement of soil is very important.The first step is to dig a ditch to supply water to the newly-exploitedfield.
Luong Van Thiet of the Vietnam Museum ofEthnology explains that the digging is undertaken by men, who must beskillful enough to make water flow constantly into the rice fields,particularly during the transplanting of rice seedlings. The water flowsfrom the upper levels down and each piece of field is part of thisirrigation system. If the terraced field is owned by many households,the management and distribution of water is shared between them.
The land exploitation and rice cultivation has been maintained fromgeneration to generation over hundreds of years. Each terraced fieldcreates a beautiful picture on the hillside.
Together with the formation of terraced fields and the sedentaryfarming, ethnic groups the northern mountains have adopted manytraditional festivals and cultural activities associated withagricultural production.
Thao Thu Do of the Mongethnic group in La Ban Tan commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Ha Giangprovince, told VOV: “The Mong people consider a terraced field aninvaluable basket of rice. The field is most beautiful when the paddiesturn yellow. When there are abundant rice, we feel very happy”.
During the harvest time in October, the gold rice field stands out ofgreen forests, creating a magnificent picture in Vietnam’s northernpart.-VNA
