Yuanyang County, Yunnan
| Yuanyang County | |
|---|---|
Sunrise over Duoyishu
|
|
 Yuanyang County
|
|
| Coordinates: 23°9′32″N 102°44′41″E / 23.15889°N 102.74472°E | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Province | Yunnan |
| Autonomous prefecture | Honghe |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,292 km2 (885 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 370,000 |
| • Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) |
| Postal code | 662400 |
| Area code(s) | 0873 |
| Website | http://www.hhyy.gov.cn/ |
| Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
| Location | People's Republic of China |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, v |
| Reference | 1111 |
| UNESCO region | Asia-Pacific |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2013 (37th Session) |
Yuanyang County (simplified Chinese: 元阳县; traditional Chinese: 元陽縣; pinyin: Yuányáng Xiàn; Hani: Yeiqyaq) is located in Honghe Prefecture in southeastern Yunnan province, China, along the Red River. It is well known for its spectacular rice-paddy terracing. Part of the area now forms the 45th World Heritage Site in China.
It covers an area of 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 365,000 (2002), of which 88% belong to ethnic minorities and 95% is associated with agriculture. The majority of the inhabitants of the county are from the Hani ethnic group. The GDP of Yuanyang county in 2002 was 630 million Yuan. The administrative seat of the county is the town of Nansha (a.k.a. New Yuanyang) down in the Red River valley at an elevation of 240 meters. It is situated 12 km towards the north-east of the former administrative seat Xinjie (a.k.a. Old Yuanyang or just Yuanyang) to which it is connected by a 27 km long twisting mountain road. To the south of Old Yuanyang, the town of Panzhihua is positioned near the top of another major valley of rice-terraces. There are a total of 928 settlements in Yuanyang county, 826 of them being inhabited by only one single ethnic group.
The town of Old Yuanyang is a Hani minority settlement atop a ridge of the Ailao mountain range at an elevation of around 1570 metres. It is a popular destination with photographers due to the vast areas of nearby mountains which have been cultivated into terraced rice paddies for at least the past 1300 years by the Hani people. Despite the overwhelming scenic beauty of its landscape and colourful local minorities, mass tourism has not developed in this region, mainly due to its remote location, lack of a nearby airport, and until fairly recent, relative inaccessibility due to bad road conditions.
...
Wikipedia