Yuanyang rice terraces weekend escape
Olivia B

Olivia B

France

Reviewed on December 30, 2020

Yuanyang (元阳) in Yunnan is famous for the huge rice terraces built on the cliffs of mountains, at an elevation of about 2000 meters. There are many countries with rice terraces but these ones are among the most amazing i have seen. 66% of people belong to ethnic groups. One of them are the Hani (哈尼), who built, during the course of several centuries, the rice terraces. Bada (坝达), Duoyishu (多依树), Laohuzui (老虎嘴) have been included in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage sites and you will have a spectacular view from those villages. I highly recommend to explore the villages nearby, the markets, and hikes in the countryside; people in the villages are very friendly and you can discover how local people live.

We had a 4 day trip, landed in Kunming, drove to the Stone Forest (1-2hrs drive); then headed to JianShui (3hrs drive) ~ a very nice ancient town, a good spot to stop overnight on the way to yuanYang. And drove another 3hrs to YuanYang where we stayed 2-3 days, the drive there also offers wonderful views of the valley. It was a nice and necessary escape from the Shanghai busy life.

Particularly loved the boutique hotels in Jianshui snd yuanyang.

Great service by Wonder who was very responsive and making sure everything was going well.

Will definitely be back to Yunnan soon!

Date of Experience: December 12, 2020
Trip Type: Traveled as Couples
Tour Customized by: Wonder

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