More than 3000 years ago, the ruler of Ancient China Yu, breaking off two branches from a tree standing next to it, used them to get either a piece of meat or grains of rice from the cauldron over the fire - legends differ, but the essence remains: three thousand years ago in China ate rice, and ate it with chopsticks. They learned how to cultivate rice on the picturesque slopes of the Chinese tracts, apparently, even in more ancient times.
There are many countries in the world where the rice cultivation culture is widespread - from Russia to South America and even Europe. But it was in the countries of the Far East and South and Southeast Asia - China, Japan, Vietnam, as well as in India and Indonesia that rice was first cultivated on a huge scale, since it was he who was an integral part of the nutrition of the population of these countries.
Rice poetry of China
China is considered the birthplace of rice. At all times and to this day, it is China that occupies the first lines of agricultural ratings for the cultivation, processing, consumption and export of rice. Therefore, it is logical to assume that it is in China that the world's largest rice plantations are located. And this assumption is really true.
The largest and most famous rice plantations in China are located in such picturesque provinces as Yunnan and Guangxi. Yunnan Province is home to the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, which were listed by UNESCO in 2013, becoming China's 45th World Heritage Site.
It is the man-made beauty, industriously cultivated for many millennia, that caused the Chinese rice terraces to be included in the UNESCO list as a world cultural heritage. They are located at an altitude of 300 to 1,100 meters above sea level, with a slope between 25 and 40 degrees, and sometimes even up to 50. The area they occupy is from 66 sq. M. kilometers and more.
The whole world is also known for the "Longji rice terraces" of the village of Pin An in Guangxi province. There are viewing platforms attracting tourists with poetic names - "Dragon's Ridge", "Nine Dragons and Five Tigers" and "Seven Stars Around the Moon". Rice harvested from Dragon's Ridge is considered one of the best not only in China, but also in the world. This is facilitated by mountain water flowing along the slopes and hills, and fertile soil for the cultivation of this agricultural crop.
Rice paintings in Japan
No less picturesque and fascinating are the rice terraces in other countries of the Far East and Asia: in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and especially in Japan. Here, the artistic principle inherent in the Japanese people creates real miracles in the fields.
One day, in 1993, an enterprising farmer in the village of Inakadate came up with an idea on fields of 15,000 square meters. not only cultivate rice, but also "revitalize" the local economy by attracting tourists, making them interested in both Japanese art and rice fields.
Now, every year specially attracted designers first make a computer project, and then more than 700 people work on the rice fields of the village to create "rice pictures". Every autumn, in September, before the eyes of tourists who are already making a kind of pilgrimage 600 kilometers from Tokyo, wonderful pictures with Japanese popular traditionally folk and cartoons are scattered.
