Rice terraces

RICE TERRACES A rice farmer working on these spectacular, lush-green fields needs a good head for heights. The precisely stepped staircases, which rise almost vertically in some parts, are located about 174 miles (280 km) from Vietnam’s capital city, Hanoi. One of the world’s most widely consumed foods, rice is grown all over southeast Asia and is hugely important to the economy of many countries.

These layered rice fields in the Mu Cang Chai district of northeastern Vietnam were carved out of the mountainsides hundreds of years ago. With simple hand tools, early farmers labored to make use of every scrap of fertile land. Today, the terraces produce much of the country’s rice. Covering about 4,900 acres (2,000 hectares), the plants change color from green to gold with the seasons. Growing rice is still hard work, even today. It is difficult to use machinery on such a steep incline so work is done by hand. After planting, farmers are constantly weeding, and in the run up to harvest, the terraces are kept flooded with stream water carried by farmers down the mountains in bamboo pipes.