Study On Rice-Planting Tradition And Reservation Of Hani Rice Terrace Cultural Landscape Heritage

Hani rice terrace, member of World Hertiage tentative list,is located near thesouthwest border in Yunnan, China, The unique topographical featuresincluding high mountains and deep valleys, along with its subtropical climate,contribute to the formation of the delicate Hani traditional culture. Based onrice production, the culture not only has its own social structure including agroup of wizards, rich intangible cultural heritage of religious rites and oralepics, but also has its own vernacular Architecture named “Mushroom House”,and the “Forest-settlement-terrace-river” ecological land use pattern.As the most important resource for the locals, Hani rice terrace has playedquite a positive role in the community. Hani-terrace is a live heritage onconsistent evolution, which requires new protection method. However, thelocal rice planting tradition is being threatened by over-populated villages andmodernization, which does harm to the heritage. The ealier tourismdevelopment beyond consideration of UNESCO standard brings economybooming, but accelerating the breaking down of rice-cultivation tradition andthe heritage. So it is urgent to find a efficient and sustainable way to protect theheritage.As a typical landscape heritage in rural area, Hani-terrace refers to two hottopics-"cultural heritage" and "historical villages". This thesis offers a detailed,insightful research of a heritage combined both topics. Based on the sufficentfield studies, the thesis introduces the inner structure of Hani-terrace, andemphasizes the value of rice planting tradition on the Hani-terrace protection.From the analysis of the local economy and peasants’ life style, the thesisreveals the reason why rice planting tradition is being deserted. Compared withother relative heritage protection cases, proper protection method forHani-terrace is purposed.