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GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
Annex 3.
Rice Terraces Systems in Subtropical China
-- Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Location: Xinhua County, Hunan Province, China
The People’s Government of Xinhua County, Hunan Province
August, 2016
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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SUMMARY INFORMATION
Name/Title of the Agricultural Heritage System (local Name and Translation, if
necessary):
Rice Terraces Systems in Subtropical China
-- Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Recommending/Applying Organization:
The People’s Government of Xinhua County, Hunan Province, P. R. China
Country/Location/Site:
This site is located at Xinhua County of Loudi City in central Hunan Province
covering the whole Xinhua County. The core area of the site is located at
N27°28′-27°45′, E110°52′-111°00′, which covers three townships, including
Shuiche town, Fengjia town and Wentian town.
Accessibility of the Site to Capital City or Major Cities:
Xinhua county, about 200 km from Changsha, the capital city of Hunan
Province, boasts great land and rail transportation, with land transportation
connecting Loudi and Huaihua, State Road 207 and Highway S312, S225, S217 and
other highways; Shanghai-kunming Railway, Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway,
Hunan-Guizhou Railway and Luoyang-Zhanjiang Railway pass through. The nearest
airport is Huanghua Airport in Changsha.
Approximate Surface Area:
The total area is 3642 Km2, among which the core area is 460 Km
2.
Agro-Ecological Zone: Low/middle hilly areas for rice terraces in Southern China.
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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Topographic Features:
Its typical landscape is low and middle hills and mountains, with the terrain
tilting from northwest to southeast. There are mountains of Xuefeng (covered with
snow in Winter) towering in the west and north area, low hills and mountains in the
southeast area, Zi River and its tributaries in the center. The highest altitude of this
region is 1,584m and the lowest is 353m, with the relative height difference for over
1,000m.
Climate Type:
It is subtropical monsoon climate with the average annual temperature of
13.7℃, in which the highest temperature can reach 39.0℃, while the lowest
temperature is -13.0℃; the annual precipitation is 1650~1700mm; the average
annual frost-free period is about 260 days; the annual accumulated temperature
(≥10℃) is 5296℃; and the average annual sunlight hour is 1488 hrs.
Approximate Population:
The total population is about 1.4 million, of which population lives in the core
area is about 90,000.
Main Source of Livelihoods:
Food and vegetables for local people are mainly supplied by the Ziquejie
Terraces. The revenue from agriculture and husbandry accounts for one-third of the
total income for farmers.
Ethnicity/Indigenous Population:
This area is dominated by Han people (It was once occupied by multi-ethnics,
including Yao, Miao, Dong and others in the history. Nowadays, lots of customs of
those ethnic groups are still very well retained in this region.)
Summary Information of the Agricultural Heritage System:
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are a typical rice terraces system. This area was
inhabited since Qin and Han Dynasties. The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have a long
history for more than one thousand years since there were the written records about
terraces reclamation in Song Dynasty. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have formed a
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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staggered three-dimensional landscape consists of forest, folk houses, terraces and
waters. For thousands of years, ancient residents in Ziquejie built terraces according
to the local topography, geology, soil, forest vegetation and water features. They
also created an effective natural gravity irrigation system with simple engineering
facilities, which in turn formed traditional farming methods that were compatible
with the environment. These methods are still widely in use till now and serve as a
typical example of soil and water conservation. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces provide
important multiple ecosystem services, such as livelihood security, biodiversity
conservation, and water and soil conservation. Traditional rice varieties of this
region represented by the black tribute rice and red rice have high quality after the
natural and human selection for a long time, which have become the important part
of gene bank. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are the historical and cultural relics
integrating the southern rice culture and the fishing and hunting culture in
mountainous region inhabited by Miao and Yao ethnic groups. Its culture is filled
with local and traditional characteristics, including the Meishan culture, farming
culture, religions, folk houses and residential buildings, food culture, etc.
Nowadays, with the rapid urbanization and industrialization, because of the
outflow of young workers, the labor intensity of agricultural production, the
relatively low profit of traditional agriculture, and some other reasons, Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces are facing the loss of traditional farming techniques and traditional
rice varieties, underdevelopment of terrace infrastructures, and the threats of severe
droughts, etc. In 2012, Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces was selected as one of the China
Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems. The local government and
multi stakeholders initiated a series of projects, which signaled as a prelude of the
agricultural heritage protection and development in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. Being
listed as the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, the dynamic
conservation and adaptive management of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces will be further
promoted and strengthened, which is of great practical significance.
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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Contents 1 System Characteristics .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Food and Livelihood Safety ................................................................................................. 4
1.1.1 Variety of Food Resources ........................................................................................ 4
1.1.2 Variety of Forest Products ......................................................................................... 5
1.1.3 Important Source of Income ...................................................................................... 5
1.1.4 High Quality Traditional Rice Varieties .................................................................... 6
1.2 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function .................................................................................. 7
1.2.1 Biodiversity ............................................................................................................... 7
1.2.2 Ecosystem Services ................................................................................................. 10
1.3 Knowledge Systems and Adapted Technologies ................................................................ 14
1.3.1 Compound Ecological Cultivation Model in Paddy Fields ..................................... 15
1.3.2 Natural Gravity Irrigation System ........................................................................... 17
1.3.3 Traditional Construction and Maintenance Technology of Terraces ....................... 19
1.3.4 Traditional Rice Cultivation Technology ................................................................ 21
1.3.5 Traditional Cultivation Technology for Finger Millet ............................................. 23
1.3.6 Traditional Technology to Maintain Soil Fertility ................................................... 25
1.3.7 Traditional Ecological Technology for Pest Control ............................................... 26
1.3.8 Traditional Farming Tools ....................................................................................... 26
1.4 Cultures, Value Systems and Social Organizations ............................................................ 29
1.4.1 Traditional Belief Featured with Unique Wu Nuo Witchcraft Culture .................... 30
1.4.2 Unique Festivals and Customs ................................................................................ 31
1.4.3 Traditional Folk Arts ............................................................................................... 33
1.4.4 Traditional Villages Featured by Plank Houses....................................................... 36
1.4.5 Unique Hot and Sour Food Culture ......................................................................... 39
1.4.6 Mutual Cooperative Labour Relations .................................................................... 41
1.4.7 Local Rules and Regulations ................................................................................... 42
1.5 Remarkable Landscapes, Land and Water Resources Management Features .................... 43
1.5.1 Composite Landscape ............................................................................................. 43
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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1.5.2 Landscape of Farmlands ......................................................................................... 45
1.5.3 Landscape of Soil and Water Management ............................................................. 47
1.5.4 Village Cultural Landscape ..................................................................................... 48
2 Historic Relevance ........................................................................................................................ 49
2.1 The Origin and Evolution History of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces .................................. 49
2.2 Integrated Culture Promote the Sustainable Development of Terraced Fields ................... 50
2.3 Incorporation of Rice Cultivation with Fishing and Hunting Promote Sustainable
Economic Development ........................................................................................................... 52
2.4 Historical Model of Harmonious and Sustainable Development of Human and Land ...... 53
3 Contemporary Relevance .............................................................................................................. 55
3.1 Important Guarantee to Maintain Sustainable Development of Agriculture ...................... 55
3.2 Important Foundation to Maintain Regional Ecological Balance ...................................... 55
3.3 Typical Model for Utilizing the Multi-functionality of Agriculture ................................... 56
3.4 Important Approach to Improve the Livelihoods for Local Farmers ................................. 56
4 Threats and Challenges ................................................................................................................. 58
4.1 Threats ................................................................................................................................ 58
4.1.1 Relative Low Comparative Benefits of Agricultural Production ............................ 58
4.1.2 Increased Vulnerability of Ecosystem Caused by Extreme Weather ....................... 58
4.1.3 Underdeveloped Infrastructure of Terraced Fields .................................................. 59
4.1.4 Tourism Facilities and Reception Conditions Need to be Improved ....................... 59
4.2 Challenges .......................................................................................................................... 60
4.2.1 Traditional Agriculture Suffers from the Impacts of Modern Agriculture .............. 60
4.2.2 Importance of Agricultural Production Weakened by Urbanization ....................... 60
4.2.3 Traditional Culture Influenced by the Development of Modernization .................. 61
4.2.4 Ecosystems Affected by Many Factors ................................................................... 62
5 Practical Considerations ................................................................................................................ 64
5.1 Ongoing Efforts to Promote the GIAHS ............................................................................ 64
5.2 Potentials and Opportunities for Sustainability and Management of the GIAHS .............. 68
5.2.1 Development Potential ............................................................................................ 68
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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5.2.2 Development Opportunities .................................................................................... 70
5.3 Expected Impacts of GIAHS on Society and Ecology ....................................................... 73
5.3.1 Social Impacts ......................................................................................................... 73
5.3.2 Ecological Impacts .................................................................................................. 74
5.4 Motivation of the Local Community, the Local/national Authorities and other Relevant
Stakeholders ............................................................................................................................. 74
5.4.1 Local Community.................................................................................................... 74
5.4.2 The People's Government of Xinhua County .......................................................... 75
5.4.3 The People's Government of China ......................................................................... 76
5.4.4 Related Enterprises.................................................................................................. 76
5.4.5 Tourists .................................................................................................................... 77
6 Dynamic Protection Outline of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces ............................................................ 78
6.1 Conservation Baseline ........................................................................................................ 78
6.1.1 A Series of Protection Measures have been Taken .................................................. 78
6.1.2 Guiding Principles for Future Work was Clarified .................................................. 80
6.1.3 Analysis of the Multi-values of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces ...................................... 81
6.1.4 Protection Area and Core Area of Agricultural Heritage Zoned ............................. 86
6.2 Further Initiatives to Promote GIAHS ............................................................................... 87
6.2.1 Protection of Agriculture Ecosystem ....................................................................... 87
6.2.2 Protection of Agricultural Culture ........................................................................... 88
6.2.3 Protection of Agricultural Landscape ...................................................................... 89
6.2.4 Development of Eco-Agriculture ............................................................................ 90
6.2.5 Development of Recreational Agriculture ............................................................... 91
6.2.6 Construction of Cultural self-esteem ....................................................................... 92
6.2.7 Construction of Management Ability ...................................................................... 93
6.3 Strategies to Cope with Threats and Challenges ................................................................ 94
6.3.1 Challenges ............................................................................................................... 94
6.3.2 Strategies to Cope with Challenges ......................................................................... 97
6.4 Financial Support ............................................................................................................... 98
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6.4.1 Financing Channel .................................................................................................. 98
6.4.2 Utilization of Funds................................................................................................. 99
6.4.3 Supervision and Inspection ..................................................................................... 99
Reference ....................................................................................................................................... 101
Appendixes .................................................................................................................................... 103
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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1 System Characteristics
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is located at Xinhua County of Loudi City, Hunan
Province, China. This proposed GIAHS site covers the entire Xinhua County,
including 26 towns, with a total area of 3642 Km2. The core area of this site is located
at N27°28′-27°45′ and E110°52′-111°00′, consists of three towns, namely Shuiche
town, Fengjia town and Wentian town, with a total area of 460 Km2. As a typical rice
terraces agro-ecosystem, Xinhua County has the total area of terraces for more than
200,000mu (15 mu=1 ha), in which the core area accounts for around 80,000 mu.
Those terraces are mostly located at the altitude between 500m and 1000m, with an
average gradient of about 30°, in which the gradient of the steepest area could reach
50° or more. Within Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, the largest piece of paddy filed is no
larger than one mu and the smallest piece of paddy filed can only be planted with
dozens of seedlings. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is famous for its large scale, steep
slopes, small and sophisticated pieces of paddy fields, and its beautiful landscape
(Figure 1).
Figure 1. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces had already been developed into considerable scale in
the Song Dynasty with its heyday arrived in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces has a long history for more than 1,000 years, which is jointly
created by local indigenous people of Miao, Yao and Dong ethnic groups, and Han.
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are the historical and cultural relics that integrated and
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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blended rice culture and the fishing and hunting culture of mountainous region in
southern China, mostly inhabited by Miao and Yao ethnic groups. The traditional
farming methods and the use of natural gravity irrigation system of the Xinhua
Ziquejie Rice Terraces are unique in the rice culture. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have
been successively selected as National AAAA Tourist Attraction, National Scenic
Spot, National Natural and Cultural Heritage, National Water Conservancy Scenic
Area, China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, and one of the first
batch of World Heritage Irrigation Structure nominated by ICID (International
Commission on Irrigation and Drainage).
Global (National) Importance
Model for Sustainable Utilization of Water Resources
The most unique feature of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is its natural gravity
irrigation system. Located in the hilly area with prevailing subtropical monsoon
climate, the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are a typical erodible and fragile southern hilly
area with concentrated rainfall and frequent and intense rainstorm. To overcome the
natural hazards, ancestors of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces created a variety of
techniques in water sources conservation, water storage, water retention, water
delivery and irrigation, and they realized the natural gravity irrigation with simple and
effective engineering facilities. With the natural gravity irrigation system applied and
the scientific approach for water management inherited from generation to generation,
ancestors of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces effectively controlled the natural hazards,
such as soil erosion and drought. The natural gravity irrigation system of the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces is a perfect irrigation system and also a perfect water and soil
conservation infrastructure created by the ancestors of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces,
which could be seen as a demonstration model of the harmony between mankind and
nature, water and soil conservation of ecosystems, sustainable development of
agriculture and sustainable utilization of water resources in the southern hilly areas in
the past thousand years. The infrastructure was very well-established and is still in
effective use till now, which can maintain the normal daily routine and production for
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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local farmers as well as maintain the sustainable development of agriculture in the
future. It can be a significant reference for farmers in other similar regions in the
world.
Model for Food Production and Soil and Water Conservation in
Mountainous Regions
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has gone through the transition from fishing and
hunting civilization to agriculture civilization. Historically, this region was a
multi-ethnic community inhabited by many ethnic groups except for Han, including
Miao, Yao, Dong and other ethnic groups. Through the development and cultivation
of limited mountainous land, local ancestors solved the food shortage problem caused
by population growth and set a precedent for rice cultivation agriculture; they also
ensured and inherited the development of civilization and the integration of different
ethnic groups. Meanwhile, terraced cultivation methods adopted at the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces are all in accordance with the local topography and landform, and
play an important role in the water and soil conservation.
Effective Model for Resilience to Extreme Climate Events
The three-dimensional landscape constituted by forest, villages, terraces and river
is formed in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. The forest at the top of the system plays an
important and effective role in water regulation and storage. The natural gravity
irrigation system of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces formed a unique ecosystem jointly
with the forest vegetation and terrain that can provide efficient irrigation even in years
with extreme drought events and thus set a model to successfully deal with the
negative effects of climate change.
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces include terraced agricultural production system,
natural ecosystems, the natural gravity irrigation system, the mountainous cultural
system, and integrated landscape system; the specific characteristics of the system are
mainly reflected in the following aspects:
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1.1 Food and Livelihood Safety
1.1.1 Variety of Food Resources
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces provide land security to ensure the food and
livelihood security for local farmers. The area is the typical region for the cultivation
of middle-season rice, with humid climate and suitable temperature. Rice cultivation
is the most important agriculture development in this region. In addition to rice
production, the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces also produce wheat, corn, beans, potatoes,
oil crops, herbs, vegetables and fruits, etc. Local farmers are good at making use of
local resources. Rice is their major food. The plantation of a variety of crops
guarantees the food security for the future generation in this region.
Table 1. Area and of Output of Crops in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces Core Area
Area (mu) Output(ton) Area (mu) Output(ton)
Rice 821764 386868 55492 26964
Wheat 13610 2724 928 185
Corn 255601 85317 16850 6425
Other cereals 1119 1821 531 450
Beans 38496 5409 2939 423
Tuber crops 88854 29161 13648 4429
Oil crops 117975 11626 9695 736
Herbs 82225 42166 11151 8328
Vegetables 126436 188342 9283 10921
Melons 21106 72711 428 1226
Other crops 152529 15875
In addition to the cultivation of different crops, almost all the rural households in
the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces raise a different number of poultry and livestock to
provide meat, eggs and other related products to enrich their foods and nutrition.
Table 2. Poultry and Livestock Farming in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces Core Area
Stocks
Sales/Home
Slaughtered
Stocks Sales/Home
Slaughtered
Pig (10 thousands) 944988 1575337 64373 97402
Cattle (10 thousands) 206548 83588 13876 7818
Sheep (10 thousands) 92940 94733 7584 8664
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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Poultry (10 thousands) 360 574 28 53
Total meat production(tons)
112252 7315
Egg production (tons)
3245 181
Fish, shrimp and other aquatic organisms, wild or farmed by farmers in paddy
fields in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, ponds and rivers are also the important food
sources for local farmers. The annual output of aquatic product at the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces is about 25,000 tons, among which the annual output of the core area is about
1,200 tons.
1.1.2 Variety of Forest Products
There are rich forest resources in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. There are about
200,000 ha of forest land, 170,000 ha of forests, 7×106 m
3 of forest volume, and
3.55×106 m
3 of timber volume, of which 1.01×106
m3 are the timber volume of firs
and 4.5×105 m
3 of masson pines. Economic forests mainly consist of honeysuckle,
tea-oil tree, Chinese chestnut, Eucommia ulmoides olive and tea trees, with a total
area of 3443 ha. As one of the important forest resources in local area, phyllostachys
pupescens consists of a total area of 30,000 ha and accumulated 62.34 millionplants.
These important forest resources provide a lot of timber, herbs, foods and other forest
products for local farmers (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Forest products of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraced region
1.1.3 Important Source of Income
As one of the traditional agricultural areas, agriculture and husbandry have
become the main sources of income for local farmers at the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces.
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The GDP of Xinhua County in 2013 was 16.87 billion RMB, of which the primary
industry was 4.66 billion RMB, the secondary industry was 5.70 billion RMB and the
tertiary industry was 6.51 billion RMB, respectively. The ratio of these three
industries was 27.6: 33.8: 38.6 (Figure. 3), in which the proportion of agriculture is far
greater than that of the national average (10%).
Figure 3. Industrial structure of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
1.1.4 High Quality Traditional Rice Varieties
The cultivation of traditional rice varieties in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has
been served as the basis for local agricultural development. These traditional rice
varieties are of high quality and rich in nutrients. In addition to being consumed as
staple food, most of the rice varieties are processed into secondary products or made
into a variety of liquor products for sales. On the one hand, rice cultivation meets the
food needs of local farmers; on the other hand, it also increases the income of local
farmers through the sales of secondary products. Among them, the black tribute rice
and red rice are two most distinctive rice varieties in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
with their high quality (Figure. 4). The black tribute rice is characterized by dwarf
plant and cold-resistant features, but it has the relative low yield of only 250-300 kg
per Mu. The black tribute rice is a kind of round rice with dark and bright brown
colors, which has intense flavor, soft and delicious taste. Since it is rich in selenium,
the black tribute rice can help to build stronger kidneys. The red rice has long stalks
and is characterized by cold-resistant and excellent disease resistance features, but it is
4.66 (27.60%)
5.7 (33.80%)
6.51 (38.60%)
Industrial Structure of the Ziquejie Terraces
(Unit: billion RMB)
Primary industry
Secondary industry
Tertiary industry
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vulnerable to lodging and has the relative low yield of 200-250 kg per Mu. The
planting area that is most suitable for red rice is mountainous area with the altitude of
more than 800 meters. The red rice is a kind of slender rice with crystal clear color
and soft and delicious taste. With high glutinous content and rich iron element, the red
rice has amazing blood tonic function. Currently, traditional rice products of Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces are developed based on the high quality of these important features
of traditional rice varieties and some products have been certified as the organic
products, or the product of geographical indications issued by the Ministry of
Agriculture, which has further promoted local agricultural development and increased
the income of local farmers.
Table 3. Main Trace Element Components in Tribute Rice of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Main Nutrients Common Rice Tribute Rice of
Ziquejie Terraces
Tribute Rice of Ziquejie
Terraces/ Common Rice
Selenium 0.015mg 0.041mg 173%
Iron 4.8mg 16.72mg 248%
Calcium 64mg 138.55mg 116.5%
Zinc 13mg 23.63mg 81.8%
Figure 4. The black tribute rice and red rice in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
1.2 Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function
1.2.1 Biodiversity
(1) Agricultural biodiversity
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There are 8 traditional rice varieties cultivated in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces,
including: Baisha Glutinous rice, Yunnong Glutinous rice and Jing No.1 Glutinous
rice, MaGu red rice and black tribute rice (Figure 5), black rice, purple scented rice
and red rice (See Annexed Table 1). There are also about 150 hybrid rice varieties,
including T-you 705, Ling Liang-you 942, Zhu Liang-you 819, Lu Liang-you 996,
T-you 111, Ⅱ You Hang 2, Yang Liang-you 6, Y Liang-you 1, Y Liang-you 7, Shen
Liang-you 5814, Wu-you 308, Tian-you 998, T-you 272, T-you 207, Jin-you 117,
Feng-you 9, Shen-you 9586, Fengyuan-you 299, and so on.
Figure 5. Traditional Rice Varieties Cultivated in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
In addition to a variety of rice varieties, there are also lots of other crops planted
in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, including corn, potatoes, beans and other traditional
varieties of finger millet, foxtail millet, and Tartary buckwheat. Locally grown
soybean, black bean, rice bean, green bean, broad bean and potatoes are also
traditional varieties and considered as important germplasm resources. Oil crops
planted there mainly include oilseed rape, tea-oil tree and peanuts. There are also
different vegetables, such as cabbage, radish, carrot, celery, squash, peppers and so on;
and fruits, such as chestnut, bayberry, grapes, loquat, grapefruit and so on. In addition,
different kinds of herbal plants are also planted in this region, including honeysuckle,
Officinal Magnolia Bark, Eucommia ulmoides olive, Amur Grape Stem, Medicinal
Evodia Fruit, Cape jasmine, ginkgo, Fragrant Solomonseal Rhizome, lily, gastrodia
elata, pearl barley, Polygonatum, Rhizoma Belamcandae, platycodon grandiflorum ,
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Gynostemma pentaphyllum, Atractylis ovata, Rhizoma Coptidis, Indian Buead,
nodakenin, herbaceous peony, chrysanthemum, Heartleaf Houttuynia Herb,
Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl, honeysuckle and others (See Annexed Table 2).
Many varieties of local livestock like chickens, ducks, pigs, cattle, sheep and
other livestock are also extensively farmed in local area, of which there are three
Yellow Hair Chicken, Barred Plymouth Rock chickens, laying hens, black-bone
chicken and other chicken varieties; in terms of duck varieties, there are Shaoxing
duck, southern egg-laying duck, Beijing ducks and other species (Figure 6); pig
breeds include Landrace pig, Large Yorkshire, Duroc, Xiangxi Black pig, Ningxiang
pigs, DLY (Hybrids of Duroc, Landrace and Large Yorkshire ) and other species;
cattle breeds are Xiangnan Yellow cattle, Xiangxi Yellow cattle, hybrids of Angus
cattle and local cattle breeds, hybirds of Lee Limousin and local cattle breeds, and
hybirds of Simmental Beef Cattle and local cattle breeds, sheep and goat breeds
include black goats and Boar Goats and other species (See Annexed Table 3).
Figure 6. Chicken and Duck Raised in Local Farm House
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are also rich in diversity of aquatic organisms,
including fish, shelled animals, Amphibians, mollusks, insects and other aquatic
organisms, among which there are 23 kinds of fish, including crucian (Figure 7), grass
carp, cyprinoid fish, fresh-water bream and Parabramis pekinensis (See Annexed
Table 4).
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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Figure 7. Small Crucian in Paddy Fields
(2)Associated biodiversity
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are covered by dense forests and its vegetation is in
good conditions. There are 99 plant families with 258 plants genera and 933 species in
this region. Among them, 20 plant species belong to class I, II and III
of national protected plants respectively, with 5 species of class I
national protected plants, including ginkgo, Metasequoia, Taxus chinensis and others;
11 species of second class II national protected plants, including Pseudolarix amabilis,
Emmenopterys henryi, Cercidiphyllum japonicum and others, and 4 species of class
III national protected plants, including Tapiscia sinensis Oliv, Pteroceltis tatarinowii
and others (See Annexed Table 5). Forest coverage of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is
up to 68%, nurturing many precious wildlife resources. There are 41 kinds of animals
listed as class I, II, III national protected animals respectively (not including insects).
Among them, there are 2 class I national protected animals, namely the clouded
leopard and python; 13 class II national protected animals, including Macaque,
Pangolins, otters, large Viverra and others; 26 class III national protected animals,
including fox, yellow weasel, and others. (See Annexed Table 6)
1.2.2 Ecosystem Services
Currently, the classification system for ecosystem services widely recognized by
international society is that proposed by MA (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment)
Working Group. In this system, ecosystem services are summarized into four main
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categories according to the types of services, namely provisioning, regulating, culture,
and supporting. Through diversified and stable production, the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces solve the livelihood and food security problems for local farmers and help to
conserve biodiversity and inherit traditional culture in local areas. In addition, the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces also have many other important ecosystem services, which
are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
(1) Water Conservation
The distribution of rainfall in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is uneven, with less
rainfall in late summer and early autumn. In drought years, crop failure would often
occur in lots of rice fields down the hills, while paddy fields in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces suffer little from the droughts. Without ponds or water reservoirs, adequate
water resources in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces can be attributed to the huge invisible
water reservoir formed by forests, soils and terraces automatically. The top of
mountains in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are covered by dense forests, which
provide good conditions for the retention of rain and water. Local mountains were
built with granite that featured with solid bottom and less fractures, which served as
the water-proof bottom of this invisible reservoir. In addition, the soil on top of the
granite is sandy loam that can absorb rainfall very well, and then exudate water evenly,
thus helps to form the excellent water conservation system. Soil water storage
capacity of this region is up to 0.3m3. Based on the topsoil is 40cm in depth, 27,784
ha of forest soils in the core area can store water up to 3.3×107
m3.
(2) Soil Retention
Soil retention is an important aspect of ecosystem services. Covered by dense
forests, the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are rich in a variety of plants. Forests in this
region are mainly formed by cedar forests, chestnut forests and bamboo forests, mixed
in a variety of shrubs featured with herbal plants, mainly ferns. Soil fixation character
of vegetation roots is realized by the organic matter secreted by plants, which can
therefore cement the soil and make them strong enough to resist the soil erosion. The
canopy of tall trees intercept rain drops to undermine the erosion force of rain splash
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directly on the soil, while the regulation of the ground vegetation and the litter layer
on precipitation and runoff basically eliminate the erosion forces of rainfall from the
top and runoff on the surface of the soil. Therefore, this ecosystem can help to achieve
better soil conservation, which is reflected in avoiding the waste of land, reducing
sediment deposition and preventing the loss of soil nutrients. Based on the literatures,
the amount of forest soil erosion in the core area of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces was
calculated with the moderate erosion modulus of 200 t / hm2﹒a. It turned out that the
total annual amount of soil retention by vegetation is about 5.5 million tons.
(3) Climate Regulation
For the capital city of Xinhua County, the average temperature is 16.9 ℃, with
the extreme maximum temperature of 40.1 ℃ and the extreme minimum
temperature of -10.7 ℃. Green vegetation can lower the heat in summer through the
canopy shade and regulate transpiration. The core area of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
has high vegetation coverage that can help to achieve significant climate regulation
effects. The core area is enveloped by clouds year round with less direct sunlight. It
enjoys the cool climate with an average temperature of 13.7 ℃, which is 3 ℃ lower
than that of the capital city of Xinhua County. It shows the important climate
regulation value of the terrace ecosystems in this region.
(4) Eco-Environment Improvement for Farmlands
Rice-duck and rice-fish are two important compound cultivation models in the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, which can greatly improve the eco-environment of
farmlands. In terms of the rice-duck model, first of all, it can greatly improve the
economic benefits from agriculture; secondly, it can enhance the quality of rice by
reducing the use of parathion and heavy metal contents in it; thirdly, significant
ecological benefits can be generated. Ducks raised in the paddy fields can prey on
pests of rice and some sclerotia mycelium, which can remove the diseased leaves of
rice, old leaves and the weeds. Therefore, these activities can effectively control and
eliminate the rice sheath blight, Chilo suppressalis, rice leaf folder, rice plant hopper,
rice grasshoppers, armyworm and other pests of rice and paddy weeds. By taking
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worms and young grass as fodder, ducks can prevent insect from damaging rice plants
and their manure can be used as fertilizer for the rice fields. In the meantime, their
activities in the paddy fields can help to loosen the soil, which will both greatly
improve the permeability of paddy soil and reduce the hazards of toxic substances
while accelerating the decomposition, absorption of fertilizer. In addition, ducks can
also help to achieve better intertillage weeding and thus accelerate the root
development of rice and realize the faster sprouting. In terms of rice-fish model, after
fish are put into the paddy fields, their feeding and other activities will help to loosen
the paddy soil and change the soil aggregate structure, which is beneficial to the
respiration and development of rice roots, and thus in turn contributing to the effective
rice tillers. Meanwhile, biological magnification of weeds and plankton is weakened,
thereby reducing the methane emissions in paddy fields. The fish waste contains rich
nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which can help to reduce the use of
nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers in the paddy fields. This model can greatly reduce
the damages of tryporyza incertulas, vertical leaf roller, rice plant hopper, rice leaf
insects and other disease and insects to rice and thus greatly reduce the use of
pesticides. In addition, activities of fish in rice fields can also partially help to realize
biological prevention and control of pests and diseases of rice by prey on insects and
thus help to achieve better ecological benefits.
(5) Gas Regulation
Trees, shrubs and grass can help to stabilize CO2 in the atmosphere through
photosynthesis while releasing O2 at the same time; soil microbes consume O2 in the
atmosphere by respiration and release CO2 simultaneously, which help to maintain the
balance of CO2/O2 in the atmosphere. This plays a vital role in reducing the regional
greenhouse gas and mitigating global warming. According to the statistics of Forestry
Bureau, the forest land in the core area of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces can fix Carbon for
about 689,129 tons and releasing oxygen for 507,329 tons annually. The total amount
of farmland and garden plots in the core area of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are about
10,111 ha, which can yield a total agricultural production for about 60,087 tons per
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year. The annual fixed carbon of these areas was about 97,942 tons, meanwhile
72,104 tons of oxygen was released. Total annual carbon sequestration of the core
area of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces amounted to 787,000 tons, with the amount of
released oxygen up to 579,000 tons.
(6) Environmental Purification
Green plants can directly absorb atmospheric pollutants through their leaf tissues,
such as SO2, fluorides, NO2, Cl2, O3, etc. They can also dissolve part of the water
soluble contaminants by the wet leaf surface. Based on the air quality monitoring
results of the capital city of Xinhua County in 2013 by Bureau of Meteorological,
Bureau of Agriculture, and Bureau of Animal Husbandry in Xinhua County, the
average content of SO2, NO2, TSP was 0.076 mg/Nm3, 0.033 mg/Nm
3, and 0.089
mg/Nm3, respectively. According to the air quality monitoring data in areas near
Fengjia Village, Xi-xi Village and Longpu Village within the core area of Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces, the average content of SO2, NO2, TSP, PM10 was 0.029 mg/Nm3,
0.017 mg/Nm3, 0.054 mg/Nm
3, 0.036 mg/Nm
3, respectively. Since the standard
values of SO2, NO2 and TSP contents in atmosphere are 0.15 mg/Nm3, 0.10 mg/Nm
3
and 0.15 mg/Nm3, respectively, the air quality of the core area of Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces is obviously superior to that of the capital area of Xinhua County and is far
below the standard value of SO2, NO2 and TSP.
1.3 Knowledge Systems and Adapted Technologies
As the dominant cultivation model in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, paddy fields
in this region are supplemented by rain fed cropland. The unique rice terraces farming
methods formed in the past thousand years are still widely in use, including the
compound ecological cultivation model in paddy fields, the natural gravity irrigation
system, the construction and maintenance method of traditional terraced fields, the
traditional rice cultivation techniques, the traditional cultivation techniques for finger
millet in dryland, the traditional techniques to maintain soil fertility, the traditional
ecological pest control technology and the traditional farming tools.
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1.3.1 Compound Ecological Cultivation Model in Paddy Fields
(1) Rice-duck Model
Rice-duck model is commonly practiced by local farmers in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces. Local Farmers usually select paddy fields with adequate water resource and
plenty of sunlight to provide appropriate habitats and food source for ducks. They
select the high-quality rice varieties with compact plant type, high yield, and strong
resistance. They also select fine duck species with relatively small or medium body
size to ensure their adaptation to the rice planting density, which enables the ducks
freely travel in the paddy fields for food and other activities. In terms of timing, in late
May when the transplanted rice resumes growth and enters peak tilling period,
ducklings are put into the rice fields for free-range farming. During the day, ducklings
foraging in the field prey on larvae and weeds and at night they return to duck sheds
on their own (local houses are generally the wooden structure and the bottom layer
usually taken for keeping poultry). Corn and other grains are added to the fodder for
the ducks to fatten up and gain weight. By the end of September, after the rice is
harvested, mature ducks remain in the field to pick up scattered rice and prey on field
pests. When the Double Ninth Festival arrives, mature ducks can be used for food or
sold out. October to next April, a proportion of female duck are kept and fed for egg
laying, or re-breeding. Rice-duck model is shown as in table 4.
Table 4. Annual Circle of Rice-duck Model
Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Rice
growing
season
Fallow
period
Period of
resuming growth
and tilling
Rice
harvest
season
Fallow period
Duck
growing
season
re-breeding
period for female
duck
Ducklings are
put into the
paddy fields
Growing season for
ducklings
Mature
ducks
(2) Rice-fish Model
Rice-fish model is also commonly practiced by local farmers in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces. Local farmers usually select paddy fields with low altitude,
adequate water resource, convenient irrigation and drainage, good water quality, good
water retention conditions and sufficient sunlight. Ridges of selected paddy fields are
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usually heightened and reinforced to prevent water leakage, since ridge collapse and
floods over the ridge that might cause the loss of fish in the paddy fields. Small ponds
digged in the paddy fields are usually called fish pits, which usually consist about 5%
to l0% of the total area of the paddy fields. Digging fish pits are considered as the key
step in fish-farming in local areas, followed by fish ditch excavation, usually in the
shape of “Cross” or "#". Various shapes can be adopted in fish ditch with the
prerequisite of ensuring smooth movement of fish to the larger areas of paddy fields.
Meanwhile, bamboo fences are set up at both the water inlet and outlet of the paddy
fields to prevent the escape of adult fish. The size of fish ditch usually is 60cm in
width and 50cm in depth. , The ditching is normally conducted 20 to 30 days before
rice planting.
Between the Spring Equinox in March and Tomb Sweeping Day in April, it is the
time for the first plowing, maturing basic fertilizer (organic fertilizer) and repairing
the ridge. In late April, it is time for the second plowing, harrowing, and repairing the
ridges with mud. From late May to early June, when transplanted rice resumes growth
and begins tilling, small fish fry are put into the fish pits and they begin to slip
through the pond into the paddy fields to conduct foraging activities. From late June
to late August, the rice enters into the heading, flowering, and milk ripeness stage.
During this lush growth period of rice, fish is fed on insects in the field (leaf borer,
rice plant hopper, etc.) and continue to grow. In early September, grown fish can be
harvested, sold and consumed, while small fish are left to continue to grow. From
October to March in the following year, the paddy fields are flooded and enter the
fallow period, when fish are left in the pond for overwintering. The rice-fish model is
shown as in table 5.
Table 5. Annual Circle of Rice-fish Model
Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Rice
growing
season
Fallow
period
Period of
resuming
growth and
tillering
Harvest
season Fallow season
Growing Overwintering Fish fry are Growing season Adult
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season for
fish in
paddy fields
period for small
fish
put into the
paddy fields
for small fish fish
1.3.2 Natural Gravity Irrigation System
Ancestors of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces built terraces according to local
topography, geology, soil, vegetation and water resource features. They also created
the effective natural gravity irrigation system with simple engineering facilities, which
form a unique landscape of irrigation project in paddy fields. The natural gravity
irrigation system was selected as one of the first batch of World Heritage Irrigation
Structure by International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) in 2014. It
consists of three parts, including water storage facilities, irrigation and drainage canal
system, and control facilities. Irrigation of the large-scale terraced lands in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces mainly relies on the diversion irrigation from stream water. The
direct irrigation of individual water source only covers part of the terraced lands
located on the edge. Therefore the altitude of the terraced lands is determined by that
of the water from the creeks. Since the irrigation water source can be accumulated by
creek dams to intercept and diverse the water, many small barrages were built above
streams on local mountains by ancestors of this region (Figure 8). Those barrages
were about 1 meter in height and about 2 to 3 meters in length, and had multiple
functions such as river closure, spillway, sediment disposal and channel water, etc.
Those barrages were built at different altitudes according to the water supply needs of
terraced fields. According to the status quo, there are 69 barrages in this region.
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Figure 8. Water Reservoir
Creek water is delivered to terraced fields through the conveyance channels.
Since the amount of water used for irrigation is relatively small and the length,
cross-section and flow rate of the conveyance channels are all small, those delivery
channels are also named Mao Chuan (referring to the small capacity and construction)
by the local people. Generally, those Mao Chuan in the fields do not run through the
fields directly, instead, they bypass the inside nor outside along the terraced fields, in
between are low ridges separating the drainage and the terraced fields (Figure 9).
Irrigation in the terraced fields adopts the method of consecutive irrigation and
drainage, which takes narrow terraced lands as the water channels of the adjacent
fields and thus realizes the irrigation through terraced fields (Figure 10). To prevent
the collapse of the ridge caused by erosion, while the water inflow from the terraced
fields at higher level to lower-level terraced fields, bamboo with knots broke through
were used as tray (small aqueduct) to diverse the water flow, which enables the water
to be transported to terraced fields in long distance. (Figure 11)
Figure 9. Mao Chuan in Terraced Fields
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Figure 10. Irrigation system through Terraced Fields
Figure 11. Bamboo Tray as Aqueduct
1.3.3 Traditional Construction and Maintenance Technology of Terraces
The soil in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is sandy loam soil featured with light
soil texture, which makes the construction of terraced fields to be of great difficulty.
Therefore, gradual construction methods were adopted by local farmers in
constructing terraced fields. Firstly, excavation of dry lands were conducted in the
gentle slopes; after a period of cultivation, dry lands in the gentle slopes became
flatter dry lands; secondly, measures were taken to transform the dry lands into
tablelands in accordance to local irrigation conditions and gradually turn them into
cultivated lands; the final step is to gradually transform the tablelands into terraced
rice fields. Through the process of dry lands-tablelands-paddy fields and repeatedly
scarifying, fertilization and gradual cultivation, the construction quality of terraced
fields is guaranteed; the fertility of terraced fields is stabilized, while the impermeable
and durable character of ridges is ensured.
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The traditional maintenance technology of terraced fields mainly used is to soak
the fields in water during winter and conduct repeated ridge repairs in spring. On the
one hand, after the harvest of mature rice in fall every year, the paddy fields are
irrigated and soaked in water till the spring of the coming year. The water being
reserved in the fields is about 10-20 cm in depth, and local farmers use different ways
to find and fix holes in the ridges. On the other hand, local farmers generally plow and
plough the terraced fields in autumn and winter, and they also plough and level the
terraced fields for 2-3 more times before planting rice in spring (Figure 12).
Ploughing under dry conditions requires suitable soil moisture. Generally it is the best
time when the soil is humid and its maximum water holding capacity is about 70%.
An important part of the soil preparation process is called “paste ridges”, i.e. to clean
up and repair the ridges (Figure 13). Usually when the terraced fields are ploughed for
the first time, weeds on the ridges will be removed and thrown into the fields to be
buried by soil to ensure rotting. When the terraced fields are ploughed for the second
time and irrigated, ooze is used to increase the thickness of the ridge by about 10 cm.
The pasted ridges are left for dry in the sun for about three days before ooze is used to
level up the sides of the ridges for the second time with the main purpose to increase
the thickness of the ridges and ensure its leakage-proof, water retention and prevent
the collapse of the terraced fields. In addition, to prevent eel and mud fish from
drilling holes that might result in leakage caused by the penetration in the ridges, local
farmers would light up at nights for observation.
Figure 12. Farm Cattle Ploughing in the Terraced Fields
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Figure 13.Maintaining Ridges of the Terraced Fields
1.3.4 Traditional Rice Cultivation Technology
(1) Traditional Technology for Raising Rice Seedlings
High quality seeds are the foundation for raising rice seedlings, while
accelerating germination is the key to the success. Since ancient times, local farmers
have mainly used large bamboo baskets or squared barrels for accelerating
germination. This method is relatively simple and easy to master. In the process of
accelerating germination, local farmers wash up the squared barrels first, then open
the cork on the one end with hole and slightly elevate the other nonporous end a little
for water draining. After that, the well soaked rice seeds are washed clean, drained
and poured into the squared barrels till 60 percent space of the squared barrels is filled
up. Straws are used to cover the seeds with heavy bricks or rocks on their top to
ensure insulation. According to the experience of local farmers, temperature should be
high in the period before the germination of the radicle (commonly known as chest
burst) of rice seeds to accelerate the germination, which is also considered as a key
step to prevent or reduce the failure of germination. The best temperature for
germination at this stage is about 40℃. After germination, the temperature shall be
lowered to about 30-35℃, while attention shall be paid to the moisture regulation and
good oxygen supply maintenance. When roots of most rice seeds broke out of the
chest, local farmers conduct a thorough turn over and add more fresh water while
maintaining the temperature between 30-35℃. After one night, they conduct thorough
turn over for the second time. At this point, the germination of rice seeds is basically
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completed. The length of the roots to be geminated is determined by the weather. The
rice sprout shall be longer in good weather for the faster emergence of seedlings.
When the weather is bad, the rice sprout shall be shorter to enhance their cold
tolerance capacity. When the sprouts are of 0.33-0.66 cm in length and the roots are
about 1.32-1.65 cm in length, seedlings are ready for plantation in good weather.
Southward fields with sufficient sunlight are usually selected as rice seedling beds.
The soil texture is required to be loosen and fertile. The fields are required to be
fallow fields in the winter with smooth surface, even fertility, adequate water resource
and convenient drainage and irrigation.
(2) Traditional Technology for Determining the Rice Transplantation Time
Determination of timing is the key for the traditional rice transplantation
techniques. The long-term practical experience of local farmers shows that rice
seedling transplantation for the middle-season rice shall be completed between the
Beginning of Summer Festival to Grain Full Festival in May, which is about
half-month. According to the farming proverb, significant impact would be made on
the growth and yield of rice if the rice seedling transplantation is delayed for one day,
or even for one hour.
(3) Traditional Technology for Field Management
Intertillage weeding is an important field management measure to be used during
the tillering period (Figure 14). It can remove the weeds, reduce the consumption of
water and nutrients, improve soil air permeability and facilitate the fertilizer and soil
integration by increasing soil temperature, which is conducive to the decomposition of
manure and thus accelerate the growth of new root and tillering. As the farming
proverb says, “the soil shall be plowed by the iron plate and the mud shall be deeper
than one’s ankle”, “ploughing in the field three times makes the rice rounded like full
moon”, “ploughing in the field on sunny days is better than manure while ploughing
in the field on rainy days is worse than relaxing at home”. Intertillage weeding usually
is conducted when the transplanted rice seedlings turn green and before their
elongation stage. The first round of intertillage weeding shall be conducted early. The
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earlier the intertillage weeding is conducted, the earlier tillering effects can be
achieved. Generally speaking, intertillage weeding can be carried out after the rice
seedlings are transplanted for 10 days, surviving successfully by turning green. About
7-10 days after the first round of intertillage weeding, the second round can be carried
out; and the last round shall be carried out at the late tillering stage to consolidate the
achievements of earlier tillering and to suppress the invalid tillering at later stage.
Intertillage weeding shall be conducted in sunny days as the farming proverbs
described previously. Before stepping, the fields shall be covered by shallow water.
Irrigation shall be conducted to deliver deep water in the fields after stepping, which
will help to drown the weeds easily. A small amount of lime could be used during the
second intertillage weeding. The fields are dry in the sun for about 2-3 days after
intertillage weeding; this can help to rotten the weeds. Meanwhile, barnyard grass and
other weeds that are hard to eliminate shall be removed manually by local farmers.
Figure 14. Weeding
1.3.5 Traditional Cultivation Technology for Finger Millet
Finger millet is a unique endemic species being planted in the dry lands of the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. As a kind of annual herbs (Figure 15) and a kind of
food grains other than wheat and rice, finger millet can be made into delicious finger
millet Baba or made into porridge for human consumption. It is not only highly
welcomed by local people, but also has high medicinal value. Its straw can be woven
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into baskets, hats and other decorative products, as well as being used as raw
materials for papermaking.
Figure 15. Finger Millet
Finger millet is usually grown in dry lands with an altitude higher than 800
meters. Yield of finger millet is normally low but with high economic values.
Cultivation of finger millet requires sophisticated techniques.
First, the key in finger millet cultivation is crop rotation. As the farming
proverb says, “continuous cropping of finger millet would cause the farmer to cry out,”
and “three years of continuous finger millet cropping would be worse than weeds”,
which explained the reasons why finger millet should avoid continuous cropping.
Continuous cropping of finger millet would cause serious plant disease and pests and
rampant weeds. Meanwhile, plantation of finger millet consume large portion of the
land fertility, and cause the soil compaction easily. Therefore, crop rotation is required
to ensure yields. Best choices for alternation of cropping prior to finger millet are
beans, potatoes, cotton, corn, and green manure. When sorghum or buckwheat is
selected as the alternative cropping prior to finger millet, yield of finger millet is
significantly lower.
Second, since seeds of finger millet are small, fine field preparation is required.
After the harvest of alternation cropping prior to finger millet, soil moisture shall be
maintained at an appropriate level. Early shallow plowing and stubble cleaning shall
be conducted to ensure soil moisture conservation for autumn plowing. Spring
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ploughing shall ensure raking, levelling, farming and plowing and other site
preparation work to provide good conditions for the germination and growth of finger
millet. The base fertilizer for sowing finger millet in spring shall be conducted in the
fields during the autumn/winter farming period. For example the fertilizer is applied
in late fall, and a thorough turn over shall be conducted in the spring season.
Third, timely sowing shall be ensured. Spring sowing of finger millet in the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces shall be conducted after the Grain Rain Festival when the
average daily temperature is stabilized at around 15 ℃ and ground temperature
stabilized at more than 10 ℃. Summer sowing of finger millet shall be conducted as
early as possible.
Fourth, finger millet requires diligent intertillage weeding Intertillage weeding
can not only ensure drought resistance and soil moisture conservation, but also
remove weeds, loosen the soil, ensure the robust growth of finger millet, and improve
the quality of finger millet. At least three or four times of intertillage weeding are
required in finger millet cultivation. Plantation of finger millet shall ensure rational
dense planting. The first intertillage weeding shall be conducted during the thinning
and shallow ploughing of seedlings for weeding. The second intertillage weeding
shall be conducted during the final singling and shallow ploughing of seedlings. The
third intertillage weeding shall be conducted after jointing stage and combined with
maturing and deep ploughing as well as ridging. The fourth intertillage weeding shall
be conducted at the booting stage and combined with shallow ploughing as well as
weeding and soil loosening. When finger millet roots are exposed into the air because
of heavy rain, ridging shall be conducted timely.
1.3.6 Traditional Technology to Maintain Soil Fertility
The traditional composting of organic fertilizer mainly uses the rice straw or
grass collected from the hills. Those raw materials are put into the bottom of the hog
lots or cattle pens for animals to sleep on. When manure of livestock is completely
mixed with those raw materials, the bedding is raked out by iron rake and put onto the
flat ground to pile up for fermentation. This traditional composting method for
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producing organic fertilizer is still in use by local farmers. Organic fertilizer after
composting is stacked to the corner of rice fields for application during spring sowing.
Application of organic fertilizer in the field increases the organic matter content of the
soil and the number of micro-aggregates in the soil to improve the physical properties
of the soil. In addition to nitrogen and potassium, there are more organic acid and
other trace elements in the organic fertilizers. The base fertilizer is used for the paddy
fields after they are soaked in cold water, to facilitate the elongation of rice roots. The
principle of “using the crude fertilizer as the basis while fine fertilizer on the surface”
shall be applied.
1.3.7 Traditional Ecological Technology for Pest Control
Insecticide at the Waking of Insects. At the Waking of Insects Festival of the
year, local farmers sprinkle lime water over the eaves and corners of their houses to
prevent insects and disease.
Ecological pest control. The most commonly used method is control of pests
by ducks or fish breeding in paddy fields within the rice-duck or rice-fish model. In
addition, the frogs are very well protected in this area to control pest.
Homemade pesticide for pest control. Plants such as Tea leave pies, tobacco
water and yellow vine, Chinese Azalea Flower and others are used to control pests.
1.3.8 Traditional Farming Tools
Terraced field farming in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces mainly relies on the
traditional labor-based methods by using manpower, animal power, hand tools, iron
tools and others. The traditional tools used in paddy farming include ploughs, iron
harrow, wood harrow, iron rakes, wood rakes, iron hoes, rakes with four teeth, and
others (Figure 16). The traditional tools for rice harvesting include sickles, squared
barrels, bamboo baskets, and bamboo dustpans, etc. (Figure 17), in which the squared
barrels are the most commonly seen and used. During the rice harvest season, rice
plants are cut down to dry in sunny weather for 1-2 days and then the farmers stand
around the squared barrels with rice plants in their hands to thresh the rice grain into
the squared barrels. The traditional drying tools are mainly bamboo mat (Figure 18)
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which usually set aside in the flat ground to facilitate the storage. The traditional
drought resistant tools are mainly the dragon-bone waterwheel (Figure 19). The
uneven distribution of water in terraced fields forced farmers to take measures to
resist the drought events, which led to the invention of dragon-bone waterwheels that
are mainly used through manpower stepping to transport water from low-lying area to
the higher altitude regions. The traditional food processing tools include stone mills,
rocks for grinding rice, stone mortar, rice sieve, rounded pan, dust pan, etc. The other
traditional farming tools remained in local area include fishing baskets, rain clothes,
bamboo hats, wooden buckets, thick bamboo tube, etc. (Figure 20).
Figure 16. Traditional Farming Tools
Figure 17. Traditional Harvest Tools
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Figure 18. Traditional Drying Tools for Rice and Grain
Figure 19. Dragon-bone Waterwheel
Figure 20. Other Traditional Farming Tools
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1.4 Cultures, Value Systems and Social Organizations
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces located in a region that integrated and blended
southern rice culture and the fishing and hunting culture of mountainous region
inhabited mainly by Miao and Yao ethnic groups. The agricultural production in the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is relatively lower than that of plain regions requiring local
people to gain more foods through other ways, such as capturing fish and shrimp as
well as animal hunting to sustain their daily lives. Meanwhile, the steep reclamation
of terraced fields and the humid and rainy weather led to the relatively high
probability of natural disasters, such as landslides, collapse and others. Historically,
the ancestors of the Miao, Yao and Dong ethnic groups were active in the Xinhua
Ziquejie terraces for a long period of time. Therefore, the unique natural conditions,
the rich natural resources, the production mode combining farming, fishing and
hunting, the succession of many ethnic groups over a long period of time in this
region, and together with many other factors, have resulted in the diverse and
distinctive intangible cultural heritage in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, which are the
important characteristics of the traditional culture of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
(See Table 6).
Table 6. List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Item level Numbers Examples Notes
National level 2 Xinhua Folk Songs, Martial Arts of Meishan
Provincial level
(Hunan Province) 2 Xinhua Folk Songs, Martial Arts of Meishan
Including
national
level
City level
(Loudi City) 2 Hometown of Chiyou, Waters of Meishan
County level
( Xinhua County) 15
legend of Tianzishan Mountain, Sanhe Soup,
Bamboo Weaving of Meishan, Changxin
Festival, Meishan Elegy, Nuo Lion Mask Dance,
Meishan Nuo Opera, Bamboo Drama of Xinhua,
Di Hua Drums, Xinhua Printmaking, Meishan
Medicine
Including
provincial
level
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1.4.1 Traditional Belief Featured with Unique Wu Nuo Witchcraft Culture
Traditional cultural beliefs in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces reflect characteristics
of Wu Nuo witch craft culture, which takes the polytheism as the main feature (Figure
21). Wu Nuo folk activities expressed the worship of local people to the ancestor
named Chiyou. Meanwhile, through the worship of the founder Zhang Wulang and
White Goddess that represent the gods of Meishan, local people express their hope
and good wishes of achieving harmonious coexistence with the natural environment
and maintaining sustainable development.
First of all, Nuo opera (Figure 22), Nuo dance, Nuo lion mask dance (Figure 23)
are important activities to express worship for Chiyou. Nuo opera, Nuo dance and
Nuo lion mask dance are dance forms developed and evolved from primitive ritual
activities. The actors performed with props, such as Nuo mask, wood knife, wood gun,
dummy, and musical instruments and other props, and dance moves to express
people’s worship for their ancestors.
Secondly, though the worship for gods of mountains, gods of waters, gods of
thunder and other gods, local people express their hopes and good wishes of achieving
harmony with the natural environment. For example, local people pray for good
weather and abundant harvests in the coming year by inviting Taoist priest at the
Lunar New Year day to resort to magic arts, which actually express the people’s
reverence for the natural environment.
Thirdly, local people shows their worship for gods mastering the production
techniques to express their hope for a better life, such as founder Zhang Wulang, who
mastered the techniques of hunting and fishing and was able to cut a mountain for
cultivating fields; and the White Goddess who was in charge of poultry. These unique
beliefs help people to constrain their daily behavior and protect the environment of the
terraced fields actively. For example, bounded by beliefs mentioned previously, local
people will not cut down trees on the upper terraced fields and will not destroy the
mountains in the upper areas for farming purposes as well. Traditional beliefs are of
great importance to maintain the sustainable development of the terraced fields.
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Figure 21. Nuo Mask
Figure 22. Nuo Drama
Figure 23. Nuo Lion Mask Dance
1.4.2 Unique Festivals and Customs
Special festivals and customs of the Ziquejie terraces are listed as the following:
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Figure 24. Festivals and Customs of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
(1) Eating Glutinous Rice Cake on Spring Sacrifice Day
The Spring Equinox is named as Spring Sacrifice Day by Xinhua people, which
signals the coming of spring. This is also a time for snakes and other pests to wake up
from their winter hibernation. Therefore, people would use glutinous rice cake to stick
the pests in their holes with the hope to prevent them from harming the agricultural
production in the coming year. This practice has gradually evolved into the custom of
eating of glutinous rice cake on Spring Sacrifice Day. In Xinhua region, people call
the glutinous rice cake ate on Spring Sacrifice Day as “Che Ba”, which means “stick
the snake holes” in local expression. There is an old saying that “eating the glutinous
rice cake on Spring Sacrifice Day can expel snakes from the house”.
(2) Celebrating the Birthday of Cattle on April 8th of Lunar Calendar
Cattle have a very important position in the hearts of Xinhua people. Xinhua
people believe that April 8th of Lunar Calendar is the birthday of cattle. On this
special day, both farmers and cattle are given a day off from working to show the
respect and care of farmers for the cattle.
(3) Changxin Festival
On June 6th of Lunar Calendar, Xinhua people make glutinous rice cake from
the newly harvested rice to sacrifice for gods and also to pray for a good harvest in the
coming year.
(4) Middle-autumn Festival
In Xinhua, except for the common customs of eating moon cakes during the
Mid-Autumn Festival, local people carry on some other activities, such as burning
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pagoda, stealing vegetables from the fields, praying for children. Among them,
praying for children is a unique folk activity to Xinhua and is also very popular.
Burning pagoda: people build hollow pagoda piled with crocks and burn
firewood inside. By 9 or 10 pm, the pagoda is burned into red all over it. When
burning pagoda activity reaches its climax, powder mixed with sulfur, charcoal,
saltpeter are thrown to the pagoda, causing the rising of the red and green flames from
the fire.
Stealing vegetables from the fields: during the Middle-autumn Festival, people
are allowed to steal vegetables and fruits from someone else’s garden, which is
forgivable even being caught by the owner. But the stolen vegetables and fruits can
only be eaten on site, taking away is not allowed.
Praying for children: children steal a wax gourd, dress it up as a boy, and then
put it on the bed of the people who has no boys. After eating the peanuts and
sunflower seeds offered by the host, the children are ready to leave. One of the
children might suddenly claim something is forgotten on the “wax gourd boy” being
left in bed and run over to it and pull the melon wine, then the water in the wax gourd
bursts out and wet the quilt. At this moment, all children would clap their hands and
shout “Oh ho ho – urine is released!” in loud voices. The host would laugh with joy
together with those children rather than scold them. This game is highly welcomed
and enjoyed by both adults and children in Xinhua County.
(5) Slaughter of Pig on the Laba Festival
Farmer households slaughter pigs on December 8th
of the Lunar Calendar and to
thank the protection and bless of Meishan gods by redeeming a vow to a god with pig
heads. This ceremony is also performed to pray for bumper harvest and thriving of
domestic animals in the coming year. When the ritual is completed, a huge pot of
“pork blood soup” shall be prepared, and friends shall be invited to share this
delicious meal. Meanwhile, cooked blood of the pig shall be distributed to neighbors.
1.4.3 Traditional Folk Arts
(1) Grass Dragon Dance
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Dragon made of vanilla is closely related to the rice terraced culture in the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces (Figure 25). Local people take this kind of grass dragon as
the incarnation of god of the five cereals, and the Mother Goddess, who are protecting
the prosperous harvests, household security, and prosperity in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces. Whenever serious pests or drought occur, people go to the fields to dance
with grass dragon to pray for controlling the pests or resisting the drought. During the
Spring Festival, grass dragon dance come into each household to pray for gods’
blessing for the safety and prosperity of their families.
In addition to the dragon head and dragon tail, grass dragon normally has 7 to 9
arches in the middle. The dragon bone is made of bamboo and is tightly fastened to a
wooden stick about 2 meters in length. Three thick braids made of woven straw are
used to put together the dragon head, arches and dragon tail. A linking distance of 5-7
chi per arch is maintained (about 3 chi =1 meter). The distance between dragon head
and the first arch is 7chi, and the distance between the following arches
is successively shortened and the distance between the final two arches is about 5 chi.
Before the grass dragon dance, rituals to invite the gods are performed. Gods of
“three-qing”, “two emperors”, Queen Mother, King of local temple and land god of
local region are normally invited. When the inviting rituals are completed, grass
dragon dance come into each household. After dance in each household, the host shall
send a red envelope, glutinous rice cake, and other gifts to the dragon dancers, and
then set off the firecrackers to send the dragon off. When closing the grass dragon
dance, the dragon tail exit first, followed by the turning around of dragon head to head
for the next household. After the grass dragon dance is conducted in each household,
complex closing ceremony is held by a Buddhist or Taoist priest to claim the
completion of the grass dragon dance ceremony.
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Figure 25. Grass Dragon Dance
(2) Meishan Martial Arts
Meishan martial art is already listed as State-level Intangible Cultural Heritage of
China, which fully reflects the folk life and cultural traditions of the Meishan region.
Meishan martial art was formed in the harsh natural environment and social
environment of frequent fighting. Historically, the ancestors of Meishan area
gradually formed a simple and practical martial art school in the daily life and
production process which featured defense-based and capable of both attack and
defense. Among them, the martial art in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has the unique
styles. First, in terms of the instrument used, there are pitchforks, iron rakes and iron
rulers used in hunting as well as wooden benches, square table sticks, long chimney,
umbrellas, and other things for daily use. Secondly, many of the martial art techniques
and actions have evolved from the daily farming and hunting labor and other
production processes (Figure 26).
Figure 26. Meishan Martial Art
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(3) Xinhua Folk Songs
Xinhua folk songs are also listed as State-level Intangible Cultural Heritage of
China and widely distributed. Folk songs in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has the
features of high tunes, loud and clear singing, which is These unique folk songs that
can only be found in Xinhua County (Figure 27). The formation of Xinhua folk songs
is closely related to the historical natural ecological environment and the production
conditions in this region. In ancient time, the reclamation of terraced fields was
generally conducted at areas far from the villages. Therefore, when people went to
work in the terraced fields, particularly those close to the forest edges and untraversed
regions, they might encounter wild beasts and other animals, which would bring
extreme danger to them. Therefore, people might beat the gongs or chant or sing the
folk songs to scare away the animals in lurk; at the same time, singing folk songs can
effectively relieve fatigue during the labor and make the farmers relax. Xinhua Folk
songs have a close relationship with the daily life. A lot of folk songs in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces describes the daily production and labor scenes, such as the “rice
planting song” that boasts the production process in terraced paddy fields, and the
“Brother is hunting birds in the mountains” that depicts the hunting process.
Figure 27. Xinhua Folk Songs
1.4.4 Traditional Villages Featured by Plank Houses
Houses in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have experienced a development process
from rock shelters to plank houses, and then to stone houses. The primitive rock
shelter was built in accordance to the rock and used trees as the walls, which actually
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was a “semi-underground” type of residential building. The plank house was evolved
from the rock shelter. Ancient residents usually selected to excavate the soil cave in a
cliff wall and put wood and bark around the cave as fence. Later, with the
development of production practice, people started to replace the primitive grotto or
soil cave with laid stones or piled bricks. With wooden roof lying on top of the
erecting walls, the stone house was built.
People in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces pay special attention to the construction
of their houses. Before the selection of the house location, a geomancer shall be
invited to check out the geomancy (Feng Shui) of the house, mainly to see whether
the construction site would match the birth date of the owner. When the construction
site is determined, a good timing to start construction would be selected too. After the
house foundation is built, a cock is killed when the frame of main gate is erected, and
a piece of red cloth written with “North Star will always shine” shall be hanged on it.
Firecrackers shall be set out when the cross beam of the house is erected, and the host
shall offer a feast for the entire construction worker to “satisfy their appetite”.
Existing traditional villages well reserved in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are Louxia
Village and Zhenglong Village.
Louxia Village is located at the north of the Shuiche Town, with a long history
that can be traced back to Jianglong period of Song Taizu (960-963 AD). It is listed as
one of the provincial historical and cultural villages in Hunan province. Most
traditional folk houses in this village are plank houses with wood as the raw material
and two-story column-and-tie construction as the main external construction style.
Old House Courtyard, Moon-shaped Curtyard, Five-room Courtyard, Xianghua
Courtyard, and some other ancient buildings are very well reserved in Louxia Village.
The whole village was built up to the mountains with two opposite peaks in front the
village. Houses in the village are located in turn along the hillsides until half way up
the mountain, ascending like stairs up the hill but well-proportioned, reflecting the
principle of “imitation of nature to achieve harmonious between man and earth”
proposed by ancient ancestors when they created these settlements. From the
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perspective of evolution and development history of the village, Sixiang Study Room
and Cangxi Temple are the oldest buildings reserved in Louxia Village, which were
also the core areas of the village for its development and aggregation. In terms of
inhabitant constitution, most of the inhabitants in Louxia Village are the descendants
of families surnamed Luo, with typical characteristics of clan kinship. Meanwhile,
tribes with surnamed Luo also attach great importance to the education and culture for
the future generations so as to pass on knowledge, and maintain a typical
farming-education culture.
Zhenglong Village, located at the northeast of Shuiche Town, is now listed as one
of the traditional villages of China. A large number of ganlan-style wooden houses
were reserved in Zhenglong Village. Most of them were built in years between the late
Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and had a history for almost one
hundred years. Houses were built along the mountain, with two stories and exterior
wood walls. Gable walls on both sides were made of bamboo and painted in white,
and the roof was covered with small black and green tiles (Figure 28). From a
distance, it seems that the entire wooden buildings in the village are concentrated and
densely arranged, but with a close look you would find that each independent building
has a small courtyard that provides enough space for drying crops and planting
vegetables, fruits, or even feng shui trees. Individual houses are connected by stone
roads leading to every corner of the village.
Figure 28. Traditional Folk Houses
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1.4.5 Unique Hot and Sour Food Culture
With the relative high altitude, abundant rainfall, and cloudy weather throughout
the year in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, it is difficult to preserve fresh food for a long
time because of the relative high air humidity. This feature of the natural environment
had profound impacts on the production and daily life for local people. They need to
prevent rheumatic diseases in everyday life. In practice, it is increasingly recognized
that people can effectively prevent rheumatic diseases by reasonable diet consisting of
pickled cabbage, pepper, and wild pepper. As a result, t a hot and sour diet was formed,
taking “dispelling dehumidification and sweating to decrease internal heat” as the
main characteristics. Meanwhile, preservation methods such as salted or smoked after
salted are used to preserve food, such as thick chili sauce, chopped hot pepper, white
pepper, salted vegetables, firewood smoked meats, smoked duck and fire roasted fish.
In addition, local snacks are mainly made of special products of the Ziquejie terraces,
such as sticky rice, finger millet, buckwheat, fern root and other unique products. At
the same time, for the convenience of carrying and eating, most snacks are made into
the typical form of stuffed bun which is commonly seen in southern areas, including
leafy stuffed bun, finger millet stuffed bun, Glutinous Rice Starch stuffed bun, raw
rice bun, navel shape stuffed bun and etc. Tea, rice wine and cold drinks are used to
form the beverage with local characteristics. There are Gong tea, mashed tea and
barley tea. The main type of rice wine is the brewed sticky rice wine specialty made in
the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. The cold drinks refer to the unique drink made of the
fruits of Liangshu Tree-the endemic vines in this region. The overall characteristic of
traditional food culture in the Ziquejie terraces is formed based on the local products
and also adapted to the characteristics of local natural environment. For example, the
typical “ten courses of meat, ten courses of vegetables and ten kinds of drinks”. The
“ten courses of meat” include Sanhe soup, snow balls, pounded duck, rice flour meat,
vinegar and sour fish soup, mud fish with tofu, duck bun, steamed duck with chestnut,
pig’s blood bun. The “ten courses of vegetables” include glutinous rice cake, raw rice
bun, rice cupcake, Ma Lianhuang, coarse cake, glutinous rice starch, fern root cake,
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fried rice and peanut bun, rice powder with pepper, navel shape bun. The “ten kinds of
drinks” include fermented glutinous rice wine, sweetened distilled grain wine, sweet
wine, rice liquor, cellar wine, barley wine, cold drinks, mashed bean and Gynostemma
pentaphyllum
Table 7. Traditional Food Culture in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Category Illustration Examples
Smoked
products
To conduct salted and smoked preservation
methods on home-raised livestock, poultry and
fish to ensure easy preservation
firewood smoked meats, smoked
duck, fire roasted fish
Salted
products
Salted vegetables, supplemented by ginger, salt
black bean and other condiments
Eggplant peel, white pepper,
chopped hot pepper, thick chili
sauce, radish salted with thick
chili sauce, salted vegetables
Style of
cooking
A cooking style combined local properties and
went through long-term development and
evolution that has become one of the important
cooking schools of Hunan province with a sour
and spicy characteristics and the function to
eradicate cold and dehumidification
Sanhe soup, snow balls, pounded
duck, rice flour meat, vinegar
and sour fish soup, fish gel, mud
fish with tofu, duck bun, steamed
duck with chestnut
Snacks
made of special products of the terraced region,
such as purple rice, sticky rice, finger millet,
buckwheat and other unique products, has the
character of being convenient for carrying and
eating
glutinous rice cake, raw rice bun,
rice cupcake, pig’s blood bun,
Ma Lianhuang, coarse
cake, glutinous rice starch, fern
root cake, fried rice and peanut
bun, rice powder with pepper
Beverag
es
Made of tea, soil bean, barley and Liangshu vein
specially produced in this region, has the functions
of quench the thirst and satisfy the hunger
Meishan Gong tea, Gynostemma
pentaphyllum tea, moon-shape
tea, cloud and mist tea, mashed
tea (three kinds of beans and
three kinds of rice), barley tea
and cold drink
Liquor
drinks
Made of carefully selected sticky rice of high
quality produced in local area as raw material
through the processes of soaked, steamed, jar
closure and other elaborate traditional crafts
fermented glutinous rice wine,
sweetened distilled grain wine,
sweet wine, rice liquor, cellar
wine, barley wine
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Frozen Fish of Shuiche Town
Sanhe Soup
Snow Balls Coarse Bun with Steamed Chicken
Figure 30. Traditional Food Culture
1.4.6 Mutual Cooperative Labour Relations
Individual unit area of the Ziquejie terraces is relatively small. Cultivation is
mainly cultivated by manpower and a kind of traditional labor-intensive agricultural
production. Therefore, a working partnership featured with mutual assistance and
cooperation between local farmers is formed. To be specific, in the busy season, it is
difficult for labor force in one household to complete the big amount of farming work
in terraced fields in time. , Therefore, local farmers cooperate and help each other by
the way of “exchange labor”, “labor repay”, “labor switch”, “casual labor”, “labor
assistance” and others. As a typical mutual cooperation model between labors, this
labor relationship not only solves the temporary labor shortage problem during
agricultural production, but also helps to achieve a harmonious coexistence between
neighbors. Thus, this labor relationship has a positive reference for the
communication and association within the neighborhood and the community now and
in the future.
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1.4.7 Local Rules and Regulations
From generation to generation, Local Farmers in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
are consciously abide by some of the village rules and regulations related to water
distribution management and water engineering maintenance in terraced fields. For
example, water resource at higher places shall be used for irrigation of terraced fields
with higher altitude while water resource at lower places shall be used for irrigation of
terraced fields with lower altitude (Figure 31). As a rule, water from a higher level of
channel is used to irrigate terraced fields in higher places. The number and location of
terraced fields to be irrigated by each channel is regulated beforehand. With simple
control and regulation facilities, like water distribution recorded by carved wood or
rock (Figure 32), effective water management can be realized. Water shortage might
occur at the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces some time, but disputes between farmers never
occur.
Figure 31.Water Distribution in Terraced Fields
Figure 32.Water Distribution Recorded by Carved Rock
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1.5 Remarkable Landscapes, Land and Water Resources
Management Features
1.5.1 Composite Landscape
Based on its topography, geomorphology, ecological environment and traditional
buildings, a composite landscape that integrated terraced fields, meteorological
scenery, folk houses and forests is formed the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. There are
more than 500 levels of terraced fields in the Ziquejie terraces. Most of them are
located at an altitude of 500-1000 meters with the highest elevation of 1200 meters
and the lowest elevation of 450 meters. Slope of the terraces is between 25º-40º, with
the deepest slope of 50º. Traditional ganlan-style folk houses and geomantic forests
are interspersed between layers of terraced fields and provide a harmonious landscape
of the four elements, namely the terraced fields, vegetation, folk houses, and rivers
(Figure 33).
Figure 33.Vertical Landscape of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
The total core area of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is about 80,000 ha, of which the
concentrated pieces are more than 20,000 ha. The largest single piece of terraced field
is less than 1 mu while the smallest can only be inserted with dozens of seedlings. The
five representative concentrated terraced fields are Longpu, Shifeng, Changshi,
Baishui and Jinlong, while different landscape features are shown in different fields.
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For example, the Yajizha terraces within Changshi stretches along the hillside for a
long distance and is of grand scale (Figure 34); the Baguachong terraces in Shifeng
wanders through the valleys and shows a magnificent varied scenery with the Eight
Diagrams pattern in it (Figure 35); Laozhuang terraces in Jinlong is gently
surrounding hills near the village and forms a unique landscape showing the harmony
between natural and human by integrating the simple structured folk houses and the
terraced fields with lively lines (Figure 36).
Figure 34. Yajizhai Terraces
Figure 35. Baguachong Terraces
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Figure 36. Laozhuang Terraces
With weather changes, coupled with dynamic changes of farming season, the
landscape in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is distinctive in different seasons. In spring,
it is filled with abundant water, which looks like mirrors. In summer, it is filled with
young and green rice seedlings. In autumn, it is filled with golden rice which is ready
for harvest. In winter, it is covered by heavy white snow.
Figure 37. Landscape of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces in Four Seasons
1.5.2 Landscape of Farmlands
Land use of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is mainly dominated by forest land and
cultivated land. Forest land in core area of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is about
30,510 ha, accounting for 68.3% of the total area, while cultivated land in core area of
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the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is about 7,564 ha, accounting for 16.94% of the total
area, of which 80.5 percent of the arable land are paddy fields and terraced paddy
fields accounted for 87.6%. Rice cultivation in terraced paddy fields is the dominant
cropping patterns in this region. Local farmers put fish or ducks into the terraced rice
paddy fields (Figure 38 and 39) to improve economic efficiency and increase the
diversity of food as well as to improve the ecological environment of farmland.
Meanwhile, farmers also plant a variety of crops, vegetables fruits, herbs, etc., in dry
lands to provide different agricultural products, which enrich the landscape of local
farmland (Figure 40).
Figure 38. Rice-Fish farming in Terraced Paddy Fields
Figure 39. Rice-duck farming in Terraced Paddy Fields
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Figure 40. Landscape of Farmlands
1.5.3 Landscape of Soil and Water Management
The natural gravity irrigation system of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces (Figure 41),
together with traditional cultivation methods, water conservation and retention, forest
protection, water management, and the other village rules and regulations, has formed
a highly effective soil and water management system to realize the gravity irrigation
and soil conservation in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces.
Figure 41. Natural Gravity Irrigation System
In addition, in order to protect the water conservation function of the terraced
paddy fields, enough water is kept in the terraced paddy fields even in winter to
prevent the soil of the ridges from mud crack that might in turn damage the water
conservation and retention. This practice has formed a unique landscape in winter
(Figure 42).
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Figure 42. Water Conservation in Winter
1.5.4 Village Cultural Landscape
Formation of villages in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is closely related to the
formation and evolution of terraced fields. Scattered folk houses make it convenient
for local farmers to work in the nearby fields and use water, reflecting the settlement
principle that “the best settlement place should be near by the mountains and rivers,
and also adapt to local conditions”. Plank folk houses with simple structure and the
terraced fields with majestic landscape are silhouetted against each other while
squared and painted white window panes and the pastoral scenery perfectly
complement each other (Figure 43).
Figure 43. Folk Houses in Changshi Village
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2. Historic Relevance
2.1 The Origin and Evolution History of the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has a long history, but since the ancestor who lived
in this region has no direct written record of its history, the historical research of this
region is mainly based on the research of relevant literatures, surname genealogy
records and genealogy records. In 1998, three grinded stone spears were excavated
from Longxi Village of Wentian Town in Xinhua County, which were identified by the
experts as weapons of the late Neolithic Age. A paper by a Gong Sheng (senior
licentiate by imperial favor) named Chen Changbing was recorded in the Xinhua
County Annals in Dao Guang period of the Qing Dynasty (1782-1850). It recorded
that "a person surnamed Feng hided in this region to take refuge from the wars in the
Qin Dynasty. He lived beneath the rocks and took grass, fruits and vegetables from
the nature to survive. But later he disappeared and never was heard of. Local people
built the Tianyun temple to worship him”. This record serves as the evidence that the
Ziquejie region was already populated by human in the Qin Dynasty. The fifth year of
King Hangao (202 BC), Wu Rui was assigned by the emperor as the King of
Changsha while Mei Juan followed him and resided in Meilin (plum forest), which
gave this region the name of “Mei Shan”.
In Tang and Song Dynasties, the imperial government encouraged cultivation on
“highlands”. The so-called highlands or mountain lands were fields cultivated along
the hills and formed level differences in heights, commonly known as ‘terraced fields’.
The terraced fields had been very popular in Hunan in the Song Dynasty. According to
the Xinhua Records of Geographical Names, Louxia Village in Shuiche Town is
inhabited by a tribe surnamed Luo and the first member of this tribe to migrant to this
region was named Luo Yanyi. The migration was conducted in the years of
Taipingxingguo in the Northern Song Dynasty (976-983). The village name of Louxia
was given by the terraced fields on the slopes behind the village which looked similar
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to stairs. It is clear that as early as the Northern Song Dynasty, terraced fields in
Ziquejie region begun to take shape. In Xining period of the Song dynasty, Zhang
Chun was sent to Meishan by the imperial government to “recruit Meishan”. Since
then, Xinhua County was established to manage Meishan, which signals the
allegiance to the government of ethnic groups in Meishan. In 1072, Zhang Chun wrote
a poem entitled “Cultivation of Meishan”, which says that “continuous houses are
mainly plank houses while the terraced lands are most barren when the people mainly
rely on slash-and-burn farming method”, which served as the recorded authentic
description of the development of terraced fields in Xinhua County by Miao, Yao and
other ethnic groups at that time.
The scale of terraced fields enlarged gradually during the Ming and Qing
Dynasties. With the development of terraced fields in the Ziquejie region, many
public facilities providing direct service for the agricultural production had been built
up. Take the tea-booth along the Xixihe River as an example; more than ten
tea-booths were built successively in Ming and Qing Dynasties, including Danru
Pavilion, Jiqing Ting Pavilion, Zerun Pavilion and a dozen of other Pavilions.
2.2 Integrated Culture Promote the Sustainable Development
of Terraced Fields
The formation and development of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is the
integration and common development process of ethnic groups like Miao, Yao, Dong,
Han and other ethnic groups. Through exchange and integration of production
technology, lifestyle, culture, religion and other aspects, people from different ethnic
groups have realized the in-depth exchanges on the terraced field farming culture, so
as to achieve the sustainable development of terraced cultivation and farming. In
return, culture integration of ethnic groups has brought momentum for the further
development and evolution of production system of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces.
According to some research results, ethnic groups living in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces region are descendants of Jiu Li and San Miao. According to legend, Shan
Juan, the descendant of Chi You and tribe chief of San Miao, took refuge at Wuling
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(now Xupu County) to avoid the suppression of Emperor Shun. He was buried at
Chahe Mountain (back-land of ancient Meishan, lies along the Zijiang River, which
came to be considered as quite a part of Changsha Man or Wuling Man). Ancestors of
inhabitants in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces region were also considered as the
descendants of Panhu, the first ancestor of Miao and Yao ethnic groups, which is
documented in the Record of Large-scale Troop Rallying of First Emperor in the
Golden Throne written by folk master of Meishan. Historically, the Yao, Miao, She,
Tujia and other ethnic groups are collectively referred to as “Mo Yao”. Three ancient
sites of “rock shelter” inhabited by people of Yao ethnic group still remain in Longpu
Village. Ancestors of inhabitants in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces region were also
considered as the descendants of Yue ethnic group in ancient times. Since ancient
times, Hunan Province is the settlement place for Baiyue, therefore, the Meishan
culture is characteristic of Yue ethnic group culture. During the transition from Sui
Dynasty to Tang Dynasty, another ethnic group named Baihuyi with the dominated
surname of Fu moved into Meishan region, which later considered as the ancestors of
people from Tujia ethnic group.
Currently, Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces region is dominated by Han Nationality.
Historically, some clansmen of Miao and Yao were dead in wars, some of them moved
to other regions, while some of them integrated with the Han people. Especially after
the Song Dynasty when the imperial government adopted the policy that “cattle and
seeds would be given to anyone who choose to register in this region”. People would
be provided with paddy fields and dry lands after they completed household
registration. Meanwhile, people of ethnic groups who were outstanding would also be
given the opportunity to take official positions. With all these measures, many ethnic
people in Meishan region were gradually assimilated.
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces region supported the surviving and procreating of
many ethnic groups in this region especially since the Song Dynasty when the
imperial government completed the cultivation of Meishan region. The war continued
year after year in other areas, while the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces “enjoyed peace
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when the whole country was in war and enjoyed harvest when the whole country was
suffering from severe droughts”. To some extent, it vividly described the important
role of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces that played in the social and economic
development. To the Qing Dynasty, rice produced in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces was
sold to other places, in which the Tribute Rice from Huangjiling Mountain gained its
widespread fame, which made Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces the production base of rice.
2.3 Incorporation of Rice Cultivation with Fishing and Hunting
Promote Sustainable Economic Development
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces represent the unique traditional agricultural
production pattern in southern China by incorporating rice cultivation in terraced
fields and fishing and hunting in mountainous regions. This pattern provides main
products and materials necessary for daily life of local farmer in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces, which is also the most unique economic mode of production in this region
for thousands of years. The long and prosperous cultivation history of the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces has eloquently proved that the incorporation of rice cultivation in
terraced fields and fishing and hunting in mountainous regions is the fundamental
reason behind the sustainable and continuous development of the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces in the socio-economic development process.
Historically, many poets lively and vividly documented the unique mode of
production in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces through their rich literature works. For
example, “white towel on the heads and complex knots in the clothes; wild flowers
and fruits can be seen everywhere while the green leaves falling on the shoulder”
written by Zhang Chun; “clothing is made of colorful fiber; speech far different from
the standard; slash-and-burn cultivation is adopted, and fruits are picked from the
mountains where hunting is conducted ” written by Wu Zhiyao; and “why would the
fields cultivated millet and grain through fire field farming method would be used to
cultivate mulberry and fiber” written by Wu Juhou and so on. In terms of local
topography, seventy percent of the Meishan region is mountainous areas while twenty
percent are cultivated lands and the rest ten percent are water system. Dong people
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and hunters scattered in the mountainous areas together with the common people
living in the cultivated lands formed a social structure of fishing and hunting
coexisting with farming. There was the existence of two different types of agricultural
production, one was the rice cultivation in paddy fields, the other one was the farming
of upland crops in slash and burn lands. Until now, the historical fishing and hunting
culture in mountainous regions can be still traced from lifestyle of local farmers in the
Ziquejie terraces, such as the worship for Zhang Wulang, who was not only the
founder that cultivated the mountains and pioneered the farming in lands, but also a
master in hunting and fishing.
2.4 Historical Model of Harmonious and Sustainable
Development of Human and Land
Historical and cultural tradition in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has a distinctive
characteristic, emphasizing that the production activities of local farmers must highly
consist with the natural environment, such as production modes, folk house
construction, and site selection of villages, cultural beliefs and even the behavior of
people’s daily life. This reflects the traditional concept of the environmental
protection proposed in ancient Chinese culture, which emphasized that people must
“conform to the nature, conform to the historical trend to avoid harm, man-nature
harmonization and change waste materials into things of value”. This philosophy that
contains a profound sense of ecological ethics and rich agricultural wisdom is the
cultural motivation to ensure the man-nature harmonization in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces.
In the long history of reclamation and cultivation activities, ancestors of the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces had to overcome the harsh natural conditions of steep terrain.
It is worth noting that, unlike terraces in other parts of the world, the slope of most
terraced fields cultivated in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces exceeds the publicly
recognized critical value of 25°. This special natural condition forced people to be
more cautious about the possible adverse consequences of their production and life
behaviors on the environment and thus to attach more emphasis on the protection of
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the environment. In addition, the history of this region is filled with the outbreaks of
long and large-scale military conflicts between the central government and the Miao,
Yao and other ethnic groups, which forced the production of the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces to be prioritized in the production and supply of necessary military materials
for a large number of troops. All these reasons have made the ancestors in Ziquejie
region to improve farming methods, improve water conservation and fertilizer
retention, strengthen the ecological benefits of rice cultivation to ensure the
sustainable support ability of the production systems of the terraced fields, such as
water-logged compost - ridge repairing - seedlings transplantation - water
conservation and management - harvesting, the pest control technology combined
with natural ecological conditions.
In summary, it is easy for us to find that the traditional culture of the Ziquejie
Terraces are still showing its unique and incomparable charm of ecological
civilization to the people around the world, which also makes it the lively case for
other countries in the world to actively develop ecological agriculture.
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3. Contemporary Relevance
3.1 Important Guarantee to Maintain Sustainable
Development of Agriculture
The evolution and development of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is the best
example to demonstrate how to respect nature, conform to nature, protect nature and
rationally use natural resources. It is not only in line with the “ecological agriculture”,
“circular agriculture” and “low carbon agriculture” advocated by the government, but
also helps to realize the grand goal for the construction of ecological civilization and
beautiful China proposed by the 18th CPC National Congress. Protection of the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces can promote the conservation of local agricultural
biodiversity, livelihood security, excavation of traditional agricultural values, and
development of modern ecological agriculture, which will not only generate
significant ecological and social benefits, but also generate significant economic
benefits. It is of great significance for the construction of rural ecological civilization,
improvement of the ecological environment in rural areas, sustainable development of
economy and society in rural areas, and the construction of beautiful countryside.
3.2 Important Foundation to Maintain Regional Ecological
Balance
The ecosystem of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has many ecological services,
such as maintenance of livelihood security, biodiversity conservation, water
conservation, soil retention, climate regulation, eco-environment improvement of
farmland, and others. This ecosystem has high degree ecosystem stability. Farmers of
the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces help to ensure food safety and maintain the rich
biodiversity, since they insist on the traditional farming techniques with low
dependence on pesticides and fertilizers. Local farmers also play an important role in
maintaining the regional ecological balance by using traditional farming knowledge
and technology, closing hillsides off to facilitate afforestation to improve forest
vegetation coverage, intercropping moso, kiwi and other crops in the forest, as well as
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other traditional dry land cropping methods to improve the agriculture ecosystem
functions.
3.3 Typical Model for Utilizing the Multi-functionality of
Agriculture
Local farmers take advantage of the traditional farming knowledge and
technology and the excellent ecological environment to develop high-quality
agricultural production, to carry out deep processing of agricultural products and
brand building in order to increase the added value for agricultural products. Currently,
eight agricultural enterprises have been established in the core area of the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces. Some of their agricultural products have received the certification
of organic, green product, or geographical indications. The “black tribute rice” brand
has been created. The demonstration base of “black rice”, “red rice” and rice-fish
farming have been set up. There is also the national ecological demonstration base of
organic rice cultivation. Unique landscape system, rich tourism resources and unique
regional culture of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces provide favorable conditions for the
development of recreational agriculture in this region. The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
was approved as National Scenic Spot in December 2005, National AAAA Tourist
Attraction in December 2012, and World Heritage Irrigation Structure in 2014. All
these made the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces a place with a high scientific value and
nature tourism value.
3.4 Important Approach to Improve the Livelihoods for Local
Farmers
With the development of sightseeing-tourism agriculture in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces, local farmers have engaged in processing of local agricultural products.
They set up shades or stalls to sell their locally produced agricultural products, such as
black rice, red rice, and firewood smoked meats, finger millet, fish from the paddy
fields, duck etc., which increase their income. With the development of tourism in the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, some of the migrant workers have decided to return home
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and started a business. For example, 18 people have already returned to Longpu
Village to learn rice cultivation, rice-fish farming, rice-duck farming, and other
traditional techniques. This helps to pass on the traditional farming knowledge and
technology.
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4. Threats and Challenges
4.1 Threats
4.1.1 Relative Low Comparative Benefits of Agricultural Production
The sustainable development of terraced fields in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is
restricted by the problems of part-time farming and aging of agricultural labors, low
productivity, and high labor intensity. Limited space and narrow ridge of the terraced
fields hindered the operation of agricultural machinery in the fields. As a result, the
cultivation, fertilization, plantation and harvest of crops can only be completed by
manpower. The production conditions still remain at the level of that in remote
ancient times. According to estimates, production cost and the cost of wages in the
rice cultivation in terraced fields have already exceeded the market value of rice
products. In recent years, many challenges and problems have occurred in agriculture.
For example, the price increase of agricultural materials causes the decrease of the
agricultural comparative benefits; economic fluctuations led to increased uncertainty
in the growth of farmers’ income; property income of farmers remained at a low level,
the increased difficulty to promote farmers’ income growth, and the widened
urban-rural income gap have not been fundamentally alleviated.
4.1.2 Increased Vulnerability of Ecosystem Caused by Extreme Weather
The extreme drought events in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have been increased
dramatically in recent years. For example, from July 1 to August 15, 2013,
controlled by the strong subtropical high pressure, Xinhua County experienced
continuous hot weather with an average temperature of 31.6℃, which was the highest
in history. The number of consecutive days with daily maximum temperature ≥35.0℃
was up to 36 days, which was a high record. During August 10-13, daily maximum
temperature was more than 40℃ continuously with the highest temperature up to
40.8℃, breaking the historical high record. According to the field survey, 3 ha of
terraced fields in Longpu Village became dry land due to the lack of water; other
villages also experienced a small amount of terraced fields turning into dry lands due
to the lack of water too. If we do not put more efforts for protecting the Xinhua
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Ziquejie Terraces under the threats of global climate change, many functions of this
system will face increased challenges.
4.1.3 Underdeveloped Infrastructure of Terraced Fields
In recent years, with the increase of human activities, construction of roads and
infrastructures, and many other reasons, irrigation channels in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces formed in the past have been hindered with blockages over time. Some
functions of the irrigation system have been lost due to the lack of management over a
long period of time. Severe leakages occurred in river dams and channels. Since the
water conservancy facilities in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are in ancient condition,
in which the dams were built of rocks and relied on firewood, grass and mud to
prevent leakage, the drainage channels were made of soil with leakage all over the
place. All these deficiencies resulted in relatively low utilization efficiency of water
irrigation. Due to lack of special maintenance funds, these issues have not been
properly resolved yet.
4.1.4 Tourism Facilities and Reception Conditions Need to be Improved
The tourism development of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces was started relatively
late, therefore the constructions of tourism facilities, construction land for tourism
development, and other supporting facilities still need to be further improved.
Transportation in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces mainly relies on road transportation of
State Road 207, Highway S312, S225, S217 and railway transportation lines of
Jiaozuo-Liuzhou, Hunan-Guizhou and Luoyang-Zhanjiang railway lines. Currently,
most visitors to the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are the tourists from Loudi, Shaoyang,
and Yiyang in relatively close distance. Most of them come here for short distance trip
or self-drive tourists. With the opening of Loudi-Huaihua Highway and
Shanghai-Kunming high-speed rail in 2014, transportation to the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces is more convenient than ever before. However, road conditions of most roads
are still very poor and need to be further improved. Since transportation in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces is within the complicated terrain, the sight-seeing spots are far away
from each other, together with the environmental vulnerability of the Xinhua Ziquejie
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Terraces and the underdeveloped transport planning within the scenic areas, the
transportation is still a big problem for the tourism development in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces. In addition, the reception capacity in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
is limited and the services still need to be improved.
4.2 Challenges
4.2.1 Traditional Agriculture Suffers from the Impacts of Modern
Agriculture
Nowadays, the traditional animal-based intensive farming system in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces has changed dramatically. Lacking of policy guidance, local farmers
are inclined to cultivate hybrid rice with higher yield and relatively simple daily
management, and also use chemical fertilizer and pesticides in the fields to ensure
their livelihoods and the short-term economic benefits. At present, except for a few
households that are members of the organic black rice production base, more than 80%
of the local farmers choose to grow hybrid rice, causing the decrease in plantation of
traditional rice varieties with local characteristics. The area of terraced fields with
animal-based cultivation is also significantly reduced. According to the field survey,
the number of cattle raised by the 183 households of Longpu Village in 2004 was 185.
However it had decreased to only 20 in 210 households in 2014. If guidance is not
put in place as soon as possible, under the impacts of modern agriculture, agriculture
in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces will be not only in the danger of losing the advanced
concepts and agricultural wisdom inherent in the system, but also put its agricultural
and cultural diversity under threats. Meanwhile, the inheritance of the traditional
agriculture based on human-land harmony and intensive farming will also be
challenged
4.2.2 Importance of Agricultural Production Weakened by Urbanization
Due to relatively low comparative benefits from farming in the terraced fields, a
large number of rural laborers went out as migrant workers and no longer took
agricultural production as their only source of income. At the same time, low-income
and high intensity of agricultural production greatly reduced the attachment of new
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generation of farmers to their farmlands. Terraced fields being left uncultivated has
become one of the most outstanding social problems in current rural regions.
According to the field survey, more than 70% of young rural residents in the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces went out and became migrant workers and their
non-farming income had accounted for 78% of the total household income. In practice,
because of the loss of young labors, only the elderly, women and children were left
behind to take on agricultural production, and it is difficult for them to protect the
terraced fields effectively even they have strong willingness to do so. This will result
in the gradual loss of the traditional farming techniques, the intensive farming
methods, the traditional village rules and regulations, and the traditional folk customs.
The sustainable development of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces will be greatly
threatened. The inheritance of the traditional agriculture will also face great
challenges.
4.2.3 Traditional Culture Influenced by the Development of Modernization
The modernization development has gradually changed the lifestyle and
organization mode of local farmers in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and resulted in the
negative impacts on the inheritance of traditional folk customs and culture. First of all,
the young generation of farmers has low sense of identity towards traditional
agriculture and lack of interests in the knowledge and technology of traditional
agriculture. A status quo survey has been conducted to investigate the villagers living
in the core areas of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces about the “familiar or master” degree
of the agricultural heritage knowledge. The participants were separated into three
groups, including the young group with the age of under 40, the middle aged group
with the age between 40 and 60, and the elderly group with the age of over 60. The
result shows that whether in terms of the recognition degree of the features and
elements of cultural heritage in terraced fields, or in terms of the degree of their
inheritance, the level of the young group was significantly lower. For the elderly
group, 100% of them thought that farming system, village regulations and folk
customs were the agricultural heritage elements that need to be inherited, while the
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recognition rate among young people was only 33%; in particular, the recognition rate
among part-time farmers, who were frequently working outside and college students
that return hometown, was only 25%. In all kinds of folk customs, young people
under the age 40 had relatively high inheritance rate towards food culture and heritage
of the martial arts, with a rate about 70%. However, in terms of local folk songs,
except for those young people who work in scenic spots and have been trained, most
young people could not sing any folk songs revealing the endangered situation of
local folk songs. Secondly, the accelerated tourism development of the Ziquejie
terraces, and the increased contact and exposure to the outside world, foreign culture,
especially the commercial culture, have great and growing impacts on local culture.
To cater the taste of tourists or to satisfy the excessive pursuit of economic benefits,
shoddy cultural products are made for sale. As a result some of the traditional culture
techniques cannot be inherited in their first-class level. In the past, traditional folk
activities and celebrations had to be held at specific time and in specific place and
they would be celebrated in the traditional ways with traditional contents. However,
nowadays, to meet the needs of tourists, traditional folk activities and celebrations had
become the fast-food style culture, and failed to demonstrate and unleash its core
values. Currently, not many ancient customs and folklore with distinctive
characteristics of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces remain. In addition, some new
residential construction no longer inherits the style of traditional houses.
4.2.4 Ecosystems Affected by Many Factors
Tourism in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has been developed rapidly and the
visitors increased rapidly. Since it was open to the outside world in 2008, the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces have been overcrowded with tourists, with the maximum of 50,000
tourists per day in tourism seasons. The new forms of tourism, such as the agritourism,
bring serious pollution and destruction. The waste water and garbage produced by
slaughtering pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs and other animals and poultry for food
consumption were increased greatly. Some tourists recklessly tread on grass and pick
up branch of trees, destructing the vegetation to some degree. Some tourists misplace
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garbage, or indiscriminately defecate on lands. In addition, disorder of residential
scaffolding and squattering aggravates the state of environment. All the above factors
also deteriorate the ecological environment quality of farmland at the same time. With
the departure of rural labor force, modern agricultural technology with high yield and
labor saving effects gradually replaces the traditional agricultural technology, leading
to the increased usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in terraced fields.
Reduced human and animal power, thinner plough layer of terraced fields, increased
soil bulk density and weakened water conservation ability of soil resulted in the
deterioration of environmental quality of farmlands.
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5. Practical Considerations
5.1 Ongoing Efforts to Promote the GIAHS
In recent years, a series of measures have been taken by the Xinhua County to
protect the Ziquejie terraces:
(1) Construct Protection Mechanism to Strengthen Project Management
The government of Xinhua County pays more attention to the protection and
development of the Ziquejie terraces by taking it as a major strategic and key area to
promote local development and actively applying for all kinds of cultural heritage
conservation projects at all levels. In 2006, the scenic area management agency was
established and scenic area management office was set up in the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces. The scope of its functions was clearly defined as scientific research,
scientific propaganda, conservation of heritage sites, and tourism services. “Interim
Protection Measures for the Ziquejie-Meishan Palace scenic area” was also issued to
incorporate terraced fields and folks houses into a unified range of protection and
management. In order to encourage local farmers to grow traditional high-quality
agricultural products, the government developed a series of seed subsidy management
practices and standards, and provided guidance for farmers in planting technology.
The government of Xinhua County pays more attention to the protection and
excavation of agricultural culture and landscape. The government has successively
invested more than 200 million RMB to carry out various heritage conservation
projects in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, including terraced field protection projects,
natural gravity irrigation system restoration projects, comprehensive management
projects of small watershed ecological environment, folk song training programs,
residential landscape construction projects and viewing platform construction projects
in scenic areas and others. The government also has adopted the “County with living
culture and tourism” strategy for the revival, protection and development of Xinhua
folk songs as one of its strategic tasks. In early 2005, leading group of “Folk cultural
Heritage Rescue Project of Xinhua County” was set up and the “folk music and folk
literature editorial team” was organized to compile local folk songs of Xinhua County
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as pilot teaching materials. Ten folk song teams were organized to conduct training
work at the early stage. Folk art workshops were held to fully tap local Nuo opera,
martial arts, dance and folk grass dragon and other cultural resources of Shuiche Town.
The troupe of folk customs and culture performing art was formed and had carried out
a total of more than 10 cultural performances. In 2006, the “the Fourth Meishan
Academic Seminar on Culture and the First Meishan Tourism and Culture Festival of
China” was held. In the following years, “World Terraced Fields Seminar in Ziquejie”,
“Seminar of Culture and Tourism Cooperation of Great Meishan”, “Dialogue of Liao
Meixiang, the Leading Authority of Northern School of Yi-ology in Ziquejie”,
“Terraced Fields Heritage Protection Seminar in Ziquejie” and other special academic
research conferences were organized and held in succession to effectively promote the
cultural excavation and landscape protection in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. More
than 80 researchers and enthusiasts of Meishan culture participated in the “Seminar of
the Excavation and Compiling of Tourism Resources of Meishan Culture” which was
held in November, 2013, with the eldest of 82 and the youngest of only 25 years old.
(2) Take Advantage of the Resources to Create High-quality Brand
In 2004, the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces officially entered in the provincial
candidate list for World Heritage by Hunan Province. In 2006, it was selected as the
first batch of National Natural and Cultural Heritage and also entered in the national
candidate list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. In 2013, it was selected as the
first batch of China Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (Figure 44).
In 2014, it was listed in the first batch World Heritage Irrigation Structure. In addition,
Xinhua folk songs were selected as the first batch of Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Hunan Province in 2006 and the second batch of National Intangible Cultural
Heritage of China in 2008. Louxia Village was listed as the second batch of
provincial-level historical and cultural village in 2009. Meishan Nuo Opera was
selected as third batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China in 2011.
Meishan Martial Arts were selected as the fourth batch of National Intangible Cultural
Heritage of China in 2014.
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The government also actively promotes the industrialization of organic
agriculture and has contributed to the establishment and development of 23
agricultural enterprises in Xinhua County, among which 8 are located in the core area
of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. These agricultural enterprises are led by Hunan
Zinong Agriculture & Forestry Investment Limited Liability Company, Ziquejie
Branch of the Hunan Longping Hi-tech Specialized Grain Cooperative Association,
and Hunan Zique Manor Ecological Agricultural Development Limited Liability
Company. At present, some of these enterprises have been certified as national
pollution-free agricultural products, green agricultural products, organic agricultural
products, or received the geographical indications certification. They have established
the brand of “purple tribute rice” and also adopted the business model by integrating
enterprises, cooperatives, production bases and farmers to take advantages of the
national land transfer policy in the implementation of standardization demonstration
base construction projects of black Rice and red Rice in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces,
to develop the Ziquejie terraces as the national demonstration bases of organic rice
planting.
Figure 44. Monument of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces as China-NIAHS
(3) Excavate the Cultural Connotation of Agriculture to Create Multifunctional
Agriculture
In order to fully demonstrate the multiple values of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces,
the Xinhua County attaches great importance to the in-depth excavation of
agricultural culture in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and proposes to take it as the core
to develop the multifunctional agriculture in the system by the integrating of tourism
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development, agricultural products processing, food culture and other aspects. ,
Xinhua County government has listed development of cultural tourism industry as the
“No.1 Project” of the county and established the “Leading Group of Industries with
Cultural Tourism Characteristic in Xinhua County” and “Xinhua County Cultural
Tourism Investment Co., Ltd.”. Focusing on the Meishan Dragon Palace, Big Bear
Mountain National Forest Park, Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and other scenic areas, the
government continuously expands the influences of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces by
strengthening tourism promotion activities and organizing tourism recommendation
fairs and festivals. Traditional farming methods of terraced fields are used to
vigorously develop organic agriculture, focusing on the development of high quality
black rice, purple rice, red rice, and other traditional food crops. Some other
traditional varieties and specialty products, such as honeysuckle, tea and herbs are
protected at the same time. Local high-quality traditional rice and other traditional
agricultural resources are fully used for in-depth processing ecological agricultural
products to upgrade the agricultural byproducts processing as leading industries and to
increase the added value of agricultural products. Protection and inheritance of the
traditional food culture and their cooking methods are also strengthened. Special
teams have been set up to investigate and record the cooking methods, process and
recipe of traditional snacks, traditional tea, traditional wine and traditional dishes
through household survey and interviews. The corresponding video and photos, text
and other data records are compiled.
(4) Strengthen Propaganda Activities to Create Geographical Indications
In order to effectively promote the agricultural heritage of the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces, a series of thematic traditional arts and cultural activities was organized and
held. A variety of media have increased the publicity about the agricultural culture in
the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. The traditional farming culture museum was
constructed and opened in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. In order to promote Xinhua
folk songs as an outstanding folk culture tourism business card, Xinhua County
government invested 150,000 RMB to coordinate and organize a professional team to
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create and rehearse a large scale folk song opera entitled Mountain Treasures led by
the Cultural Troupe of Xinhua County. In September 2011, the first International Rice
Cultural Festival and Outdoor Living Festival in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces were
held. In May 2012, the Chinese Photographers Association organized thousands of
photographers nationwide to gather at the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces to jointly hold the
First Tourism and Culture Festival of Great Meishan, attracting numerous media
reports and many guests at home and abroad. Lots of other activities have been
organized and held in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces to expand influences and impacts,
such as “Chiyou Hometown-Meishan of Xinhua” National Photography Contest,
“Ziquejie Cup” English TV Contest, and “Magic Great Meishan, Explore Ziquejie”.
In addition, a documentary named “Walking on the table” has been made and played
by CCTV 9 to promote local food culture and cultural landscape. The Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces have been recognized as the “Hometown of Meishan Culture and Arts ",
“Hometown of Chinese Poetry”, “Hometown of National Martial Arts”, “Hometown
of Chiyou”, “Hometown of Chinese Folk Culture and Arts”, and so on.
5.2 Potentials and Opportunities for Sustainability and
Management of the GIAHS
5.2.1 Development Potential
(1) Preferable Ecological Conditions
Soil of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is sandy loam with rich organic matter
content, excellent structural condition, and strong permeability. The PH value of this
type of soil is acidic or neutral. The diversified land types are suitable for the growth
of a variety of commercial crops and agricultural crops. Within the core area of the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, the soil with extremely high, high, and middle level of
organic matter content accounts for 38%, 16%, 28%, respectively. Located in mid and
low latitude region, the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces belongs to the subtropical monsoon
climate. This climate has both the characteristics of continental climate with sufficient
sunlight and warm temperature, and also the characteristics of maritime climate with
abundant rainfalls and humid and moist air. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have rich
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fracture water in bedrock, mountain springs, and mountain streams, and hold
abundant water resources. There are also dense forests and rich biodiversity in
Ziquejie region.
(2) Abundant Tourism Resources
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have high aesthetic value, scientific value and
cultural value, with its distinctive characteristics of large scale, steep slopes, smooth
lines, and beautiful landscapes. Terraced fields, vegetation, river and folk houses as
the four major elements make up the farming culture landscape showing the harmony
between nature and human in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. Also, due to the
mountainous terrain and intense humidity, clouds can be seen throughout the year. The
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have various spectacular landscapes for different seasons,
which are very attractive for the tourists. There are lots of concentrated pieces of
terraced fields distributed in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, including Longpu, Shifeng,
Jinlong, Changshi, Baishui, Longxiang, Zhenglong, Zhile, and so on. Tourism
resources of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, together with Meishan Dragon Palace, Ancient
Towns of Upper Meishan, Big Bear Mountain National Forest Park and other tourist
attractions compose a complementary portfolio of tourism products. This region was
ranked as the forefront in Hunan Province because of its overall abundance of tourism
resources, taste, and development conditions. The tourism resources in Xinhua
County was classified as 8 main categories, 72 sub-categories, and 83 basic types,
including one world-class tourism resources, 8 national ones, and 17 provincial ones.
These tourism resources show the overall feature as full range of categories, a large
amount of resources, high level of
(3) Unique Regional Culture
Ziquejie region has rich culture, characterized by the long-standing and
well-established Meishan culture. Folk songs, ballads, love songs and Meishan martial
arts are all widely spreading among local people. In particular, the “Wuwa” folk songs
are high in tune and very popular. Nuo lion mask dance, grass dragon dance and Nuo
dance are all of unique styles. The Nuo lion mask dance is an ancient reproductive
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worship performance full of original flavor of life. The grass dragon dance uses
dragon all tied with straw grass and wild wormwood. According to the legend, the
grass dragon is the leader of all kinds of dragons and has the ability to ward off ghosts
and evil spirits. Local customs of marriage, birth and funeral has partly inherited that
of Miao and Yao ethnic groups in the history. There are 48 Yao village sites in the
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and many rock shelters that lived by Yao people in ancient
times, which are of great archaeological value. The unique natural environment
created the local specialties and unique food culture, such as the “ten kinds of meat,
ten kinds of vegetables and ten kinds of drinks” that had already became famous
brands.
5.2.2 Development Opportunities
(1) The External Environment of Tourism Development is Conducive to the
Development of Tourism in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
In recent years, with the rapid development of tourism industry in China, a series
of tourism development strategies launched by Hunan Province, creating a good
opportunity for the tourism development in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. A tourism
triangle centered around Changsha City has been proposed to mainly develop the
tourism in North, Central and South part of Hunan Province, and to link the tourism
development in West and East, so as to enhance the overall advantages of tourism
industry in Hunan Province. The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is 300km, 280km and
259km from Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan, respectively. It is 130km, 168km,
255km and 237km from Shaoyang, Huaihua, Hengyang and Yiyang, respectively. All
of them are in the transportation range of 3 hours by car and thus become the major
sources of tourists to the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. The terraced fields, together with
the surrounding scenic spots have formed the complementary tourist routes. From the
perspective of relatively close distance, there are Gaozhou Hot Spring (resort),
Meishan Dragon Palace (karst landscape), Lion Mountain Park (entertainment and
adventure) and Big Bear National Forest Park and so on. From the perspective of
middle distance, there are Zhangjiajie, Hengshan Mountain and Phoenix Old City. All
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of them formed a complementary portfolio of tourism products that preserved the
distinctive characteristics of each tourism resource. This kind of complementary
advantage has provided the original impetus for regional tourism development.
(2) Safety of Agricultural Products Requires to Develop Ecological Agriculture
First of all, without clean soil, clean water and good environment, the production
of high-quality agricultural products would be impossible. In recent years, decline of
farmland quality, soil contamination, soil hardening and soil acidification have
occurred in many regions of the country. Increasing the supply of agricultural
products by chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other chemical inputs is not
sustainable anymore. Raising the sustainable production of agricultural products can
be achieved only by improving the farmland productivity, promoting the development
of eco-friendly agriculture, adopting the cultivation method by combining cropping
with animal husbandry, and improving the resource utilization. With the improvement
of people's living standards and public awareness for food quality and safety, the
demand of people for high quality agricultural products will also be increased.
Agricultural heritage sites have inherent advantages for developing ecological
agriculture, because of its high quality traditional rice varieties and good ecological
environment.
(3) Diversified Consumer Demands Bring Development Opportunities to Expand
Agricultural Functions
The economic development of China has entered a new stage. In terms of
consumer demands, the consumption of China in the past had obvious imitation
wave-features and now it has gradually come to an end. The personalized and
diversified consumption has become the mainstream. Agriculture not only has the
production function of products like rice, cotton and oil, meat, eggs and other
products, but also has important ecological functions and life functions, such as
biodiversity conservation, water and soil conservation, climate regulation, leisure and
tourism, landscape and recreation, scientific research, cultural heritage and so on.
With the development of industrialization and urbanization, the importance of the
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ecological and life functions of agriculture has become more important and prominent,
and brings opportunities for expanding the multi-function development of the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces.
(4) Resource and Environmental Constraints Revive the Ecological Protection
Principle of Traditional Agriculture
In terms of the resource and environmental constraints, the current carrying
capacity of the environment has been at or near its upper limit, and the agricultural
development must conform to the expectation of people for a good ecological
environment and thus to promote the formation of a new development model
characterized by green and low-carbon cycle. Chinese traditional agriculture contains
a wealth of ecological thoughts, such as the “theory of yin and yang and five
elements”, “the San-cai theory of God, earth and human”, and other traditional views
of nature. All of them thought that human being should protect water, soil, and other
creatures and recycle all the resources, while following the mutual facilitation and
restriction laws between biological creatures. The development model of the
traditional agriculture plays an important role in the sustainable development of
agriculture. The landscape formed by forests, terraced fields, folk houses and rivers in
the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces contains a wealth of ecological thoughts about resource
utilization and ecosystem protection.
(5) Brand Influences of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces Have Formed Initially
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are World Heritage Irrigation Structure, China
Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, National Natural and Cultural
Heritage, National Scenic Spot, National Water Conservancy Scenic Area, and
National AAAA Tourist Attraction. Local government has increased the protection
and publicity of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and is positively applying for National
AAAAA Tourist Attraction. Xinhua County government and Ziquejie Scenic Tourism
Development Co., Ltd. have organized a series of tourism promotion activities, such
as “International Tourism Festival of Hunan Province, China”, “Tourism Carnival -
Meet in the Double Seventh Festival and Find Your Loved Ones in Ziquejie” and
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“Charming Hunan and Xinhua”. The tourism income of the Ziquejie Scenic Areas had
increased from 12 million RMB in 2005 to 322 million RMB in 2013, with the
number of visitors from 30,300 to 787,000, indicating the continuous expansion of the
influences of tourism brand.
Figure 45. Change of Tourism Income and Number of Tourists in Ziquejie Scenic Areas from 2005
to 2013
5.3 Expected Impacts of GIAHS on Society and Ecology
5.3.1 Social Impacts
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are a unique mode of production and land use pattern
created by local farmers by adapting to the local conditions, and is also a successful
example of harmony between man and nature. The systemic protection of the Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces can better protect the excellent germplasm resources, traditional
farming techniques, local farming culture and biodiversity, enlarge the popularity and
reputation of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, and enhance the protection awareness of
local farmers, in order to achieve a win-win situation between social effects and
economic effects. The agricultural heritage conservation strategy should consider the
ecological environment as basis, take traditional farming culture as the core and use
cultural creativity as means to strengthen the protection of agricultural heritage, to
realize agricultural multi-functions, to enhance multi-cultural heritage value of this
system, to transfer the agricultural heritage into practical productive forces, to
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improve the living standards of residents in this heritage site, to enhance the
management capability of local government on agricultural heritage, to enhance
cultural consciousness of local farmers in this region, and to improve the capacity
and level of community involvement in management.
5.3.2 Ecological Impacts
The traditional terraced field farming methods have unique advantages in climate
adaptation, ecosystem services, environmental purification, production, and so on.
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces consist of forests, terraced fields, water, and houses, in
which the forest conserves water, the terraced fields use gravity irrigation, the villages
are constructed according to the topography, the houses are constructed by local
materials with well-proportioned layouts. This landscape reflects the concept of
“Unity of Nature and Man” in Chinese traditional culture. This type of ecosystem
pattern and concept provide a reference for other similar regions to learn the land use
pattern, multifunctional agriculture, and low-carbon operation. In addition, since
GIAHS program emphasizes the protection of traditional cultural heritage and
agricultural biodiversity, it has the positive effect on the rural environmental
protection and water and soil conservation etc., and also provides new opportunities
for the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces to achieve sustainable development.
5.4 Motivation of the Local Community, the Local/national
Authorities and other Relevant Stakeholders
5.4.1 Local Community
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are the product of rice cultivation culture, which
shows wisdom of local farmers gradually accumulated in the long history and during
the process of human survival and development. It is the main source of livelihood,
the cultural foundation and the living environment of local communities. Local
farmers are positive and active in the protection of terraced fields. At first, local
farmers hope to increase their income, eliminate poverty, acquire wealth, and strive
for a relative comfortable life through the protection and development of terraced
fields. Second, local farmers hope to protect the terraced fields inherited from
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generation to generation through the GIAHS project. Elderly farmers have deeper
feelings and attachments to terraced fields, therefore they have stronger desire to
protect and inherit the terraced field cultivation culture. Third, local farmers hope to
enhance their sense of place and cultural pride towards terraced field cultivation
culture through the protection of terraced fields. Fourth, some migrant workers who
used to work outside decide to return their hometowns, and actively participate in the
protection of terraced fields, learn and inherit the traditional farming methods and
traditional folk culture.
5.4.2 The People's Government of Xinhua County
Tourism development of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces will inevitably involve the
protection of traditional culture, the use of land resources, the maintenance of
biodiversity, and many other issues. Those problems would require the government to
promote the integration and intensive use of land resources by laws, policy, institution
and planning. There are lots of reasons for the government to actively get involve in
the development and protection of heritage fields. At first, the traditional farming
culture and modernized business operations require the community residents to
vigorously cooperate with the government since the government has great advantages
in terms of administrative organization. The government will guide the modernization
transformation of agricultural production and life styles of farmers by community
building and to cultivate the agricultural heritage protection awareness among
residents so as to ensure their initiative participation in tourism development. In the
early stages of tourism development, the government will actively promote the
institutional innovation of cultural tourism enterprises, and promote restructuring of
the cultural tourism enterprises for the formation of cultural tourism corporations with
high brand effects. Secondly, the government has an overall development perspective.
They are taking the sustainable development of agricultural heritage and increase of
the income of local farmers as core objectives. Their neutral authority in the
distribution of benefits and disputes of benefit will enhance the confidence degree of
enterprises and residents in the government. Finally, the government hopes to achieve
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sustainable development of the heritage site through the effective protection of
traditional cultural and biological diversity. Specialized teams were established to
excavate the cultural values of traditional agriculture. Series academic research
conferences were held, such as “International Terraced Fields Seminar in Ziquejie”
and “Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces Protection Seminar”. In addition, Xinhua County
government has also constructed the traditional farming culture museum to effectively
promote the inheritance of agricultural heritages of this region.
5.4.3 The People's Government of China
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has a long history and is a typical example of the
traditional agricultural production model. It has high landscape value, cultural value
and economic value. Since the central government provided major support for its
protection and development, it was selected as China Nationally Important
Agricultural Heritage Systems, National Natural and Cultural Heritage, National
Water Conservancy Scenic Area, and so on. The central government attaches great
importance for the protection and development of the Ziquejie terraces for the
following reasons. At first, the central government hopes to protect and preserve the
important agricultural heritages with high historical values for the future generations
in China. Secondly, the central government hopes to establish typical model and
demonstrative example to promote the protection and development of agricultural
heritages in other places. Third, through the positive influence of GIAHS, the central
government hopes to promote regional cooperation, make full use of the economic
and ecological benefits from terraced fields, and promote the sustainable development
of the ecological agriculture.
5.4.4 Related Enterprises
Eight agricultural enterprises were set up in the core area of the Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces and some of their products have already been certified as national organic,
green, or geographical identification products. Brands of local specialized agricultural
products with higher added value were established for the traditional high quality
purple rice, black rice and red rice. Enterprises or cooperatives were taken as the main
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players in the certification of pollution-free, green, organic or geographical indication
agricultural products. The GIAHS or NIAHS labels can be used for the agricultural
products that met the standard by adopting the enterprise application, third-party
certification and governmental approval methods. In addition, “Xinhua County
Cultural Tourism Investment Co., Ltd.” was established to strengthen the overall
tourism promotional activities, and organize travel and tourism festival promotions, so
as to continuously expand the influence of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. Enterprises
related to agricultural products and tourism in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces all hope
that their products could enjoy higher value with the help of GIAHS. In that case,
their product value and popularity will be enhanced and economic output could be
increased, so as to realize long term development of these enterprises.
5.4.5 Tourists
The Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are the cultural and historical relics that integrated
the southern rice cultivation culture and the fishing and hunting culture of Miao and
Yao ethnic groups. The beauty of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces based on its large
scope and delicate shape has attracted countless tourists and wins its high popularity.
Visitors wish the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces to be well preserved since they would like
to appreciate the splendid and unique view, to experience the unique traditional
farming culture, to taste the delicious food, and to sense the elegant charms of its
ancient civilization.
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6. Dynamic Protection Outline of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
6.1 Conservation Baseline
6.1.1 A Series of Protection Measures have been Taken
(1) Strengthen Application for Related Heritages. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
was officially inscribed in the candidate list for World Heritage of Hunan Province in
2004; Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces were included in the first batch of National Natural
and Cultural Heritages and the candidate list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage
of China in 2006; it was inscribed in the first batch of China Nationally Important
Agricultural Heritage System in 2013, and Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces was included in
the first World Heritage List of Irrigation Projects in 2014; at the same time, Xinhua
folk songs were selected as the first batch of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hunan
Province in 2006, and was selected as the second batch of National Intangible
Cultural Heritage of China in 2008; Louxia Village, as the core heritage area, was
listed as the second batch of provincial-level historical and cultural village in 2009;
Meishan Nuo Opera was selected as third batch of National Intangible Cultural
Heritage of China in 2011 and Meishan Martial Arts were selected as the fourth batch
of National Intangible Cultural Heritage of China in 2014.
(2) Relevant publicity and exchange activities were held. Folk art workshops
were held to fully tap local Nuo opera, martial arts, dance and folk grass dragon and
other local cultural resources. The folk customs and culture performing art troupe was
formed and had carried out more than 10 cultural performances of various folk
customs. The “Fourth Meishan Academic Seminar on Culture and the First Meishan
Tourism and Culture Festival of China” was held in 2006. In previous years, “World
Terraced Fields Seminar in Ziquejie Region”, “Seminar of Culture and Tourism
Cooperation of Great Meishan”, “Dialogue of Liao Moxiang, the Leading Authority
of Northern School of Yi-ology in Ziquejie Region”, “Ziquejie Region Terraced Fields
Heritage Protection Seminar” and other special academic research conference were
organized and held in succession to effectively promote the cultural excavation and
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landscape protection of agricultural heritage in Ziquejie Terraced region. “Seminar of
the Excavation and Compiling of Tourism Resources of Meishan Culture” held in
November, 2013. “Chiyou Hometown-Meishan of Xinhua” National Photography
Contest Spring Collection Activity, “Ziquejie Cup” English TV Contest, “Magic Great
Meishan, Explore the Ziquejie Region” focused interview of TV media of Hunan and
other activities have been organized and held in succession in Ziquejie scenic region
to expand its influences and impacts.
(3) Strengthen the Branding of Ziquejie. the First International Rice Cultural
Festival and Outdoor Living Festival in Terraced Fields of Ziquejie Region was held
In September 2011,; the Chinese Photographers Association organized thousands of
photographers nationwide to gather at Ziquejie Terraces scenic region in May 2012
and jointly hold the 2012 First Tourism and Culture Festival of Great Meishan of
Hunan Province in Ziquejie region, attracting numerous media reports and many
guests at home and abroad. In addition, with the promotion of local food culture and
cultural landscape through the “Walking table” series of the documentary channel of
CCTV 9, this region has been recognized as the “Chinese Meishan Culture and Arts
Village", “Hometown of Chinese Poetry”, “National Martial Arts Village”, “Chiyou
Hometown Cultural Village of China”, “Chinese Folk Culture and Arts Village” and
other cultural geographical titles.
(4) Promoting the Development of Relevant Industries. Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces were authorized as the Provincial Key Scenic Spots of Hunan Province in
2004, and recognized as a national scenic area in December 2005. Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces were selected as one of the Eight Scenic Spots of New Xiaoxiang in 2007. It
was announced as the National Water Scenic Area by the Ministry of Water Resources
in August, 2009. This region was approved as a national AAAA level scenic spot with
the Xiatuan Village and Zhenglong Village being selected as famous tourism villages
in Hunan Province in December 2012. Some products have received organic, green,
pollution-free, GI product certification and other certifications, promoting the
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development of agricultural industrialization. Leading enterprises were cultivated and
high-quality agricultural production bases were constructed.
6.1.2 Guiding Principles for Future Work was Clarified
(1) The Principle of Sustainable Utilization
Agricultural Heritage as a new type of heritage mainly reflects the dynamic
balance between human activities and the natural environment. Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces contains the idea of sustainable development, makes the system passing from
generation to generation and enjoys long-lasting prosperity. Protection is a
prerequisite for development, and development is the way to realize protection,
therefore, the establishment of protection and development planning of Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces have to emphasize protection as a foundation for utilization, to
promote the ecological and cultural heritage protection through the development and
utilization of resources, to prevent destructive development and to create cultural
brand on the basis of protection so as to promote cultural values.
(2) The Principle of Multi stakeholders-participation
Protection and development of Agricultural Heritage emphasize the participation
of multi-parties and benefit-sharing. Governmental leadership, academic support and
the full support of all sectors of society is the basic idea of multi
stakeholders-participation. Protection of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces should clarify all
interest parties and determine their respective responsibilities and obligations as well
as their interests in the dynamic protection process in order to mobilize the enthusiasm
of all parties and individuals to participate in the protection of agricultural heritage. A
variety of organizations and individuals, including government, companies, and
farmers and so on, will provide strong support for heritage conservation and
development, and contribute to the establishment of benefit-sharing mechanism to
improve the fairness of the distribution of benefits.
(3) The Principle of Dynamic Protection
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is an agricultural production system that integrates
production, ecological and cultural functions. Therefore, protection of Ziquejie
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Terraces should be focused on maintaining agricultural biodiversity and agricultural
cultural diversity, and adjusting means of protection and improving their ability to
adapt in accordance to changing social, economic and natural conditions functional
expansion is the most important work in agricultural heritage development and the
expansion of heritage functions on the basis of protection will improve the overall
ecological, economic and social benefits of the integrated system.
(4) The Principle of Integrated Conservation
Agricultural Heritage is a complex social - economic - natural ecosystem that
integrates ecology, environment, landscape, culture, technologies and other tangible
and intangible heritage characters. Protection of the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces requires
the systematic thinking to realize the overall protection and to realize the coordinated
development of the subsystems. We shall give full play to the social, economic,
ecological and other multiple benefits of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces in order to achieve
the development of harmony between man and nature in the heritage sites.
6.1.3 Analysis of the Multi-values of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
(1) Ecological Value
In addition to Purple Fragrant Tribute Rice, Black Rice, Red Rice and other
traditional rice varieties, a wide variety of other food crops, oil crops, vegetables,
fruits and herbs are cultivated in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces. At the meantime, chicken,
ducks, pigs, cattle, sheep, poultry and other livestock are widely farmed by local
farmer households. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are also rich in diversity of aquatic
organisms, including fish, shelled animals, Amphibians, mollusks, insects and other
aquatic organisms. 20 plants belong to grade I, II and III of national protected plants
respectively and animals listed in national and provincial grade I, II, III protection are
as many as 41 kinds. The top of mountains in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are covered
by dense forests providing good conditions for rain and water retention; the mountain
bedrock is made of granite with solid bottom and few fractures holding the water
resources as like as the water-proof bottom of a pond. In addition, the soil on top of
the granite is sandy loam with good water holding capacity. Dense vegetation
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covering Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces has delivered significant climate regulation effect,
indicated by the annual average temperature of 13.7 ℃ in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces,
which is 3 ℃ lower than that of the Xinhua county.
(2) Economic Value
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are the foundation of food production and agricultural
development of residents living in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraced region from generation
to generation. This is a region of rich natural resources and high-quality genetic
resources. Modern agriculture mode featured with huge resources and energy
consumption has caused a series of drawbacks. On the other hand, traditional
agriculture featuring efficient production, high quality and free of pollution is
increasingly demonstrating many advantages. Covered by clouds year round, the
temperature difference between day and night in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is huge.
The terraces in this region mainly rely on gravity irrigation of water from granite
bedrock fissure, which is clean and rich in calcium, iron, zinc, selenium and other
minerals. All these conditions have made Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces the most suitable
region for high-quality rice cultivation. Ziquejie region is one of the major regions for
purple rice production and purple rice produced in this region was designated as
tribute rice in Qing Dynasty, and it is considered as a region of great potential for the
development of efficient agriculture with ecological functions. At the same time, the
unique forest, terraces, settlement and colorful landscape in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
are combined with the regional lifestyle. The natural beauty, historical beauty,
geomorphological beauty and cultural beauty are integrated to form distinctive and
unique tourism resources with great potential for tourism development. To protect the
agricultural heritage in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is to fully exploit its multifunctional
and efficient agricultural development potential based on the development of organic
agriculture and eco-tourism. In addition, its important ecological value contains
tremendous external benefits, which can bring ecological compensation through its
heritage protection and help to achieve internalization of its external benefits and the
demonstration of implicit economic values.
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(3) Social Value
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are rich in water resources and diverse in types of
lands, suitable for cultivation and farming of a variety of economic crops and food
crops. This region abounds in the production of honeysuckle, gastrodia elata,
Eucommia ulmoides, radix polygonati offcinalis and other Chinese herbal medicines.
There are more than ten thousand mu of honeysuckle cultivation bases and more than
fifty thousand mu of production bases of other Chinese medicine in this region that
are famous in Hunan Province. This region also abounds in the production of
middle-season rice, red rice and black rice of high quality as well as smoked bacon
products specially made in Shuiche Town that are world-famous; there are abundant
bamboo resources as well; the tribute tea produced in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces is the
best among all tea selections and of the best-selling kinds in domestic market; there
are also local flavor snacks and foods made of glutinous rice flour, such as glutinous
rice cake of Shuiche Town as well as frozen fish of Shuiche Town. The main sources
of income for local farmers are cultivation, farming and remittance from migrant labor.
Thanks to the excellent ecological environment of Ziquejie region, local farmers are
able to develop ecological agriculture and local agricultural products. In recent years,
with strengthened leisure agriculture and tourism development, tourism revenue and
amount of visitors have increased year by year, leading to increase incomes of
residents in surrounding areas. Therefore, Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces had played an
important role in the livelihood security of farmers.
(4) Cultural Value
Ziquejie region has rich cultural heritages and together with the long-standing
and well-established Meishan culture. Folk songs, ballads, love songs and Meishan
martial arts are all widely spreading among the people. In particular, the “Wuwa” folk
songs are high in tune and enjoy great popularity and great charm. Nuo mask lion
dance, grass dragon dance and religion Nuo dance are of unique styles, in which the
Nuo mask lion dance is an ancient reproductive worship performance full of original
flavor of life; while the grass dragon dance uses dragon all tied with straw grass and
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wild wormwood because the grass dragon is the leader of all dragons and has the
ability to ward off ghosts and evil spirits according to legend. Customs of marriage,
birth and funeral contain the remnants of manners and customs of Miao and Yao
ethnic groups. With a thousand years passed, the customs and manners remains almost
the same. There are 48 Yao people village relic sites in Ziquejie region and many
other rock shelters lived by Yao people in ancient times, which are of great
archaeological value.
Food culture. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are rich in the production of
middle-season tribute rice and red rice, black rice specialties that are rich in nutrients
and aroma and can help to raise appetite. The glutinous rice being produced is of
especially high quality, which in turn made the long-standing reputation of glutinous
rice cake of Shuiche Town. There are firewood smoked meats, balls made of pig
blood, smoked duck, frozen fish, sweet rice wine, konjak, dried bamboo roots,
pteridum aquilinum and other special snacks with great taste and unique flavor. The
frozen fish of Shuiche Town in particular is considered as one of the best. The
cooking method is simple yet elegant since the water must be drawn from local
mountain spring and the fish must be produced and harvested locally as well. The fish
is cooked with any cooking oil and will be placed in a cellar or well for frozen after
cooking. Chopped hot pepper and other condiments are used to decorate semi-crystal
fish jelly make a delicate view of red and white that greatly arise one’s appetite while
the taste in the mouth is smooth and rosy.
The Gan-lan style folk houses are of unique characters. The Gan-lan style plank
folk houses are inhabited over generations in Ziquejie region for several thousands of
years. Villages formed by concentrated Gan-lan style folk houses are Zhenglong Folk
Houses, Louxia Folk Houses, Changshi Folk Houses and Xixi Folk Houses, among
which folk houses in Zhenglong Village formed the largest scale with more than 200
individual folk houses. Thickly dotted folk houses looked from a distance are indeed
individual buildings containing separated courtyard that can grow vegetables, fruit
and other plants in a closer look. Every building is decorated with carved corner claws
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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and walls and windows made of woven bamboo. With external coated in white lime,
those concentrated folk houses are of great ornamental value.
(5) Scientific Research Value
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces have important scientific values in the fields of
agriculture, agro-ecology, agricultural economy, rural development, national ecology,
anthropology, etc. First of all, with a history dated back to the Qin and Han Dynasties,
Ziquejie region has a long history of rice cultivation that can provide a good
foundation for the studies of ancient rice culture in China. Secondly, Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces have a wide variety of traditional rice germplasm represented by the fragrant
purple tribute rice, black rice and red rice. After a long process of selection, rice
varieties in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are of excellent quality and form a gene pool
that provide good conditions for the research of genetic resources. In addition, Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraces also have biodiversity conservation, water conservation, soil
conservation, climate regulation, gas regulation, environmental cleanup and other
important ecosystem services, which are an important aspect of ecology research.
Most importantly, ancient residents in Ziquejie built terraces according to the Ziquejie
topography, geology, soil, forest vegetation and water features and local conditions,
and created effective gravity irrigation with simple engineering facilities, along with
traditional farming methods that were compatible with the environment. These
methods are still widely in use and serve as a typical example of soil and water
conservation ecosystem works and were selected by the International Commission on
Irrigation and Drainage Irrigation Project as the first batch in the list of World’s
Irrigation and Drainage Irrigation Project Heritage.
(6) Demonstrative Value
In the long history of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, farming techniques acclimatized
to the environment and nature were formed, and are valuable experience for the
research and practices of agricultural production of rice in terraced fields; as a typical
application of traditional agriculture of rice cultivation in terraced fields, Xinhua
Ziquejie Terraced system is one of the most important Chinese agricultural heritages
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86
and can serve as a showcase of demonstrative values for heritage protection and
development of other regions and the development of rice cultivation in terraced
fields in China and the rest of the world. Xinhua Ziquejie Terraced system with
sustainable features can also provide a showcase for the sustainable agriculture and
rural development in China.
6.1.4 Protection Area and Core Area of Agricultural Heritage Zoned
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces Protection area of agricultural heritage is Xinhua
County. Xinhua County located in the central to west area of Hunan Province and
west of Loudi City. This region lies along Xuefeng Mountain and occupies its
southeast side and locates at the middle area of Zishui River. This region is located at
latitude 27°31'-28°14', longitude 110°45'-111°41', with a total area of 3642 square
kilometers, of which, 72.68 million mu are arable land, an area of 286.08 hectares are
woodland. Xinhua County jurisdiction covers 26 towns, one developing zone, one
neighborhood office, two state-owned tree farms, with a total population of 140
million people.
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces Protection core area of agricultural heritage is located
southwest of Xinhua County, involving three towns, namely Shuiche Town, Fengjia
Town and Wentian Town. The core area is about 460.3 square kilometers, accounting
for 12.6 percent of total land area of Xinhua County, of which 30,510 hectares are
woodland, accounting for 68.3 percent, 7,564 hectares are arable land, accounting for
16.94 percent, and more than eighty percent of arable lands are paddy fields. The core
area covers three townships and 83 villages, is home to about 90,000 people.
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Fig. 1 Function Division of Heritage Sites
6.2 Further Initiatives to Promote GIAHS
In accordance with the management concepts of GIAHS and important
agricultural heritage of China proposed by FAO and the Chinese Ministry of
Agriculture, the People's Government of Xinhua County plans to spend about 10
years (2015 - 2025) to build Xinhua Ziquejie Terrace into a demonstration base of rice
terrace and irrigated agriculture in Southern China, a demonstration site of
agricultural landscape tourism, a showcase of rice terrace culture and an excellent
pilot of agricultural heritage management. Specific protection and development
measures under consideration include eco-agriculture protection, agricultural culture
protection, agricultural landscape protection, eco-agriculture development,
recreational agriculture development, and development of both cultural self-esteem
and management capability.
6.2.1 Protection of Agriculture Ecosystem
Establish germplasm gene bank and realize protection of biological diversity
based on the resources survey conducted over the traditional rice varieties, other crop
germplasm resources and associated flora and fauna biodiversity.
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Divide the protected forest area into different functional forest areas for the
targeted protection of ecological forest resources based on the survey of forest
vegetation resources.
Protect water sources and establish water supply systems in rural areas to ensure
safe and convenient access to clean water.
Establish mechanisms for the rural ecological environment protection and
construct biogas digesters to ensure that human and animal feces could be directed
into digesters for the generation of clean energy.
Strengthen environmental governance and road repairs in rural areas and to
improve the living garbage treatment level.
Establish agro-ecological monitoring and protection network system.
Establish disaster monitoring, early warning system and agro-ecological
demonstration base to achieve a balance between ecological benefits and the
economic benefits of farmers.
6.2.2 Protection of Agricultural Culture
Extensively collect traditional farming knowledge and skills of terraced
cultivation to form a systematic database of texts, videos and images.
Establish a special classification system and protection methods by widely
purchasing and collecting traditional farming tools.
Extensively collect and document the related materials and documents of
traditional folklore and traditional arts and to form corresponding audio, video and
other data through modern digital methods;
conduct a detailed investigation and recording of traditional cuisines and recipes,
etc., and make the corresponding video and photos, text and other data recorded;
establish farming museums to exhibit or display the collected related objects,
videos and photographs;
achieve digital display and dissemination on the internet of traditional farming
knowledge, technology, equipment, as well as folk art through modern technical
means;
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89
carry out regular trainings traditional on tillage knowledge, farming techniques
and traditional folk cultural heritages;
help the general public to learn more about, pay more attention to and more
willing to protect Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces though seminars, skills training, publicity
pamphlets, readings, legal Q &A service concerning protection regulations of
agricultural culture, quizzes on the local rules or regulations and other means to
strengthen the transmission of traditional farming techniques and farming knowledge.
Actively carry out heritage education among middle and primary school students
concerning the traditional agricultural culture of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces in order to
cultivate the cultural identity of middle and primary school students towards the
traditional farming knowledge, technology, food, folklore and other excellent
traditions in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces.
6.2.3 Protection of Agricultural Landscape
To determine a reasonable proportion of arable and forest lands, focusing on
protection of water source forests on the hilltop and to implement projects of
afforestation to increase forest coverage.
Protect famous trees and old trees through labelling, recording and specialized
management to strengthen the special protection of ancient and famous trees.
repair field ridges and ditches based on the protection of original ecological
environment;
systematically summarize the principles of natural gravity irrigation system and
its scientific management of water and water systems by creating digital products
showing graphic and animated interpretation for publicity and training;
conduct training of young farmers of the knowledge and inheritance of traditional
cultures and restore the traditional water inspectorate system;
speed up the recovery of abandoned terraced fields and terraced dry lands
transformed from paddy fields to ensure maximum rice cultivation areas with
adequate water resources;
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strengthen the renovation and management of the “mountain-water-terraced
fields-folk houses” village landscape to maintain a harmonious relationship between
man and the overall landscape;
establish a special fund to protect traditional folk houses and accelerate repairing
and restoration of traditional heritage folk houses; repairing, maintenance and
protective development will be concentrated on Zhenglong Village as the “Chinese
Traditional Villages” and Louxia Village as the “Provincial Historical and Cultural
Village of Hunan”. Application of Louxia Village for designation of “National-level
Historical and Cultural Village” will be actively carried out.
6.2.4 Development of Eco-Agriculture
To encourage cultivation of traditional high-quality varieties of crops and
establish a special heritage compensation mechanism for terraced fields in heritage
sites;
set up a special protection fund for terraced fields, establish a reward system to
encourage the traditional rice production in terraced fields, and scientifically develop
the award criteria and scope.
improve the heritage land transfer system and expand the scale of organic rice
cultivation in terraced fields;
establish technique standards for traditional rice cultivation for strengthening the
technical guidance of traditional farming and encouraging and supporting farmers to
raise ducks and fish in paddy fields so as to promote this and other complex
ecological agricultural technologies to improve economic efficiency;
optimize the distribution of high-quality rice production base, high-quality tea
base, high yield herbal demonstration base, small grains production base, duck, cattle
and other ecological farming bases;
strengthen certification of pollution-free, green food, organic agricultural
products and the geographical indications as well as usage of agricultural heritage
label;
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vigorously develop local deep-processed products using high-quality traditional
and local agricultural products as the main raw material and to develop
multi-functional foods to increase the added value of agricultural products;
promote the local specialty products of high quality through media channels
such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines and other media and carry out the
promotion of all types of products from multi-level and multi-angle channels and
actively participate in various agricultural exhibitions and promotional activities;
establish an internet platform for agricultural products of Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces to showcase the featured products of heritage sites, and market information;
provide capital, technology, policy and other related support for agricultural
enterprises and to develop farmer households, family farming(livestock) field and
farmer cooperatives with large scale production of traditional agriculture varieties;
innovate the production and business model of traditional agricultural products by
learning from modern agricultural business philosophy and strengthening cooperation
and association of farmers; to encourage enterprises to build production bases for
enterprises and cooperatives to lead farmers;
strengthen the guidance for farmers to practice traditional technical and establish
benefit sharing mechanisms.
6.2.5 Development of Recreational Agriculture
Build a recreational development pattern focusing on “one center, three zones and
six clusters”, which consist of comprehensive service tourism center of Shangmei
Ancient Town of Xinhua County, experimental zone of terraced rice cultivation in
Ziquejie region, scenic zone of health preservation in Daxiong Mountain, culture and
leisure zone of Meishan Mountain, cluster of Ziquejie region, cluster of Shangmei
Ancient Town, cluster of Chetianjiang, cluster of Meishan Dragon Palace and cluster
of Suxihe River. A set of recreational agriculture development systems integrating
agricultural production, cultural experiences, ecological protection, product
processing and leisure recreation featuring rich types of industries and distinctive
characteristics will be developed.
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92
designate Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces as the eco-agriculture demonstration zone, the
rice culture demonstration area, the leisure and health demonstration zone and
creative agriculture park;
design and develop the agricultural heritage souvenirs and conduct the exhibition,
promotion and marketing of those souvenirs.
improve infrastructure and facilities of the recreational agriculture by enhancing
information services and strengthening tourism reception capacity of existing hotels
and restaurants through upgrading.
clarify functions of relevant government departments and tourism companies and
to cultivate agricultural heritage awareness among residents in order to initiate their
active participation in the development cause of recreational agriculture while
attention shall be paid to the protection of farmers’ rights.
6.2.6 Construction of Cultural self-esteem
prepare textbooks for officials and leaders, agricultural technology manuals,
reading materials for elementary or junior high school students, and integrate the
content of agricultural heritages into exhibitions and enrollment in school education in
order to promote understanding of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces;
develop deep affection and sense of pride in local residents towards the
agricultural heritages and to raise awareness and participation of all related parties in
the protection and development of cultural heritages;
film propaganda video materials, make tourism brochures and calendars
containing introduction of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, and use traditional media
channels such as newspapers, radio, television, high-speed intersection boards, etc. as
well as microblogging and WeChat and other new media platforms to disseminate
agricultural heritage and related products in a more lively and practical way
conducive to the heritage protection and development of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces;
by means of culture to the countryside and other means the cultural sector shall
carry out the farmers’ education, produce and distribute audio-visual materials to
disseminate agricultural heritage and its protection and development ideas;
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93
the agricultural technology sector shall integrate agricultural heritage protection
and development of ecological agriculture into daily work, and include agricultural
heritage in agricultural technical training;
sponsor, participate and organize agricultural and cultural exchange activities,
especially academic activities themed with Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces to excavate
multiple values and diverse cultural systems;
organize photographic exhibition, essay competition, collect, write and film
poetry, prose, fiction, photographic products relating to Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces so
as to raise publicity of agricultural heritage of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces.
6.2.7 Construction of Management Ability
Set up appropriate agencies for the agricultural heritage protection and
development of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and enhance the protection, utilization and
management ability of the government concerning protection of cultural heritage by
enriching and supplementing professional management personnel and designating
permanent staff dedicated to the protection of cultural heritage of agriculture,
development, education, and other aspects ;
establish and perfect relevant rules and regulations for participation of
communities suitable to carry out the protection of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces to
legalize decision-making related to community participation in the protection of
agricultural heritage in order to ensure the seriousness and continuity of community
participation in the implementation of protection;
carry out agricultural heritage training for grass root agricultural technicians,
managers and entrepreneurs, establish and improve agricultural extension and training
system by carrying out technical training to improve the knowledge of local residents
and to develop their various business capacity so as to increase the enthusiasm of
local residents in the participation of cultural heritage protection and development of
agriculture;
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establish product tracing system, product recoding system and food safety system
to prevent and stop illegal activities so as to realize a healthy and orderly development
of cultural heritage protection and development;
establish Agricultural Heritage Fund Board of Xinhua County and allocate
appropriate certain amount of the special fund annually for the award to organizations
and individuals that have made outstanding contribution to the development of
heritage sites so as to promote the enthusiasm of residents and enterprises in heritage
sites towards the protection cause;
guide farmers to participate in the construction of production bases in the form of
land and labor shares or to participate in specialized farmer cooperatives to turn the
scattered smallholder production into large-scale production in the form of production
bases.
6.3 Strategies to Cope with Threats and Challenges
6.3.1 Challenges
(1) Terrace Ecosystem Influenced by Natural and Human Factors
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces are located in the hilly region with a prevailing
subtropical monsoon climate featuring concentrated rainfalls, most of which are
rainstorms. As a result, this region is an erodible fragile area typically seen in hilly
areas of Southern China. Frequency of extremely dry weather in Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraces has increased dramatically in recent years under the background of global
climate change and exacerbated extreme weather phenomena. For example, from July
1 to August 15, 2013, influenced by the strong subtropical high pressure, Xinhua
County experienced continued hot weather with an average temperature of 31.6℃
that was the highest in history; the number of consecutive days with daily maximum
temperature ≥35.0℃ was up to 36 days, which was a record high. During August
10-13, daily maximum temperature extremes lasting more than 40 degrees with the
highest temperature up to 40.8 degrees were a record high. According to the survey, 3
hectares of terraced field in Longpu Village became dry land due to lack of water.
Other villages also experienced a small amount of terraced fields turning into dry
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lands due to lack of water. Pollution and destruction caused by growing tourism, such
as the agri-tourism, is even more alarming since tourism generated a large amount of
waste and disorder of residential construction. With the departure of rural labor force,
technology with high yield and labor saving effects gradually replaced traditional
agricultural technology, increased use chemical fertilizers and pesticides , reduced use
of human and animal power, thinned the plough layer of terraced fields, and
increased soil bulk density and weakened soil water and fertility conservation
capacity .
(2) Traditional Agricultural Production Methods was Challenged
Due to relatively low comparative income and high opportunity costs, production
cost plus wage costs in the terraced rice-growing region have already exceeded the
value of rice products according to survey. A large number of rural laborers became
migrant workers and incomes from migrant work have increasingly become the most
important source of household income. At the same time, low-income and high labor
of agricultural production greatly reduced the attachment of new generation of
farmers to lands. Terraced lands being left uncultivated has become one of the most
outstanding social problems in current rural regions. According to the survey, more
than 70% of young rural residents in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraced Fields region went out
and became migrant workers and non-farming incomes accounted for 78% of the total
household income. In practice, only the elderly, women and children were left behind
to take on agricultural production since a large number of young labor forces went out
and became migrant workers. It is difficult for those left in the villages to resume
the responsibility of terraced fields’ protection despite their willingness. Currently, the
traditional animal-based intensive and meticulous farming system in Xinhua Ziquejie
Terraced region has changed dramatically. According to the survey, the number of
cattle raised by the 183 households of Longpu Village in 2004 was 185; the number
had decreased to only 20 in 210 households in the Village in the year of 2014. In the
absence of policy guidance, local residents prefer high-yielding and labor saving
farming techniques for their livelihoods and short-term economic benefits. For
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example conventional varieties were replaced with hybrid rice varieties with higher
yields and over-reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other inputs. This
results in gradual loss of interests of the younger generation in the traditional farming
techniques, the intensive and meticulous farming methods, village regulations and
folk conventions. The advanced traditional agriculture of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
based on harmonious relationship between man and nature and the intensive and
meticulous farming methods is at risk of loss.
(3) Traditional Culture Influenced by Modern Ways of Living
Modernization gradually changed the lifestyle and patriarchal ways of
organizational management of people living in Ziquejie Terraced region and resulted
in the negative impacts on the inheritance of traditional folk customs and culture. First
of all, the young generation of farmers have lowered sense of identity towards
traditional agriculture and lacked of interests in knowledge and technology of
traditional agriculture. A survey of the “familiar or master” degree of the cultural
heritage elements in Ziquejie Terraced region of the villagers living in the core areas
of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces was conducted. The recognition rate of village
regulations and folk customs among young people under the age of 40 was only 33%;
in particular, the recognition rate among part-time farmers frequently working outside
and college graduates that return hometown was only 25%. Secondly, with the
accelerated development of Ziquejie tourism resources and the increased contacts and
exposure to the outside world, foreign culture, especially the commercial culture, had
great and growing impacts on local culture. To cater to the taste of tourists or to
satisfy the excessive pursuit of economic benefits, tourism developers adopted some
of the traditional culture techniques that failed to meet the first-class level. Shoddy
cultural products just made for economic means were even produced for sale. In the
past, traditional folk activities and celebrations had specific time and place for
celebration and would be celebrated in the traditional ways with traditional contents.
In order to meet the needs of tourists, traditional folk activities and celebrations had
become the fast-food style culture, which failed to demonstrate its core values.
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Currently, there are not much ancient customs and folklore with distinctive
characteristics of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraced region being left. Nuo Mask Lion Dance
and high-pitched folk songs have been on the verge of extinction. In addition, new
residential constructions that no longer inherit the style of traditional houses
frequently take place. The government released some restrictions on the remodeling
and renovation of folk’s houses and the changes of lifestyles and production patterns
in accordance to the development of tourism in terraced fields. No compensation was
provided for the restriction and most residents failed to share the benefit from
participation in agricultural culture and landscape protection and utilization, it was
difficult for local farmers to develop a continuous enthusiasm for protection and
participation in agricultural heritage without their primary interests.
6.3.2 Strategies to Cope with Challenges
(1) To enhance diversity and stability of ecosystems.
To protect vegetation on the hilltop and prohibit deforestation;
to determine a reasonable proportion of arable and forest lands and strengthen
ecological security of water source forests in terraced fields;
to implement the projects of afforestation to increase forest coverage;
to speed up repairing of serious damaged irrigation and water conservancy
facilities, ridges and ditches on the basis of the protection of original ecological
environment.
to speed up the recovery of abandoned terraced fields and dry lands transformed
from terraced rice paddy fields to ensure maximum cultivation area of terraced paddy
fields under the condition of sufficient water resources.
(2) To enhance the sustainability of traditional agriculture. Develop
ecological agricultural products by taking advantages of the superior natural
ecological conditions. Currently, there are about 10 enterprises and cooperatives
engaging in production of ecological agricultural products and they had already
obtained organic, green, GI product certification and established Ziquejie “Black
Rice”, Ziquejie “Red Rice”, Ziquejie paddy fields-farmed fish and other
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98
standardization demonstration bases. Ziquejie had become a national cultivation
demonstration bases for ecological and organic rice and its experiences and
experiments had been promoted and applied in the whole county.
(3) Promotion of the inheritance and development of traditional culture.
Throughout the development of the tourism industry and ecological agriculture,
farmers could be encouraged to participate in agricultural heritage protection.
Construction of tourism information network, improvement of the transport network,
upgrading of the existing hotels and restaurants, adjustment of development and
layout of part of the tourist product in heritage sites will together create a tourism
development enriched in regional culture and the agricultural and cultural flavor of
local region. Relationship between the parties shall be straightened out and a clear
division of sectional responsibilities is required in the process. Benefit sharing
mechanisms of agricultural heritage tourism shall be established to encourage the
participation of farmers so as to attract young migrant farmers to return home and
start their own businesses in order to promote the inheritance and development of
traditional agricultural techniques and knowledge.
6.4 Financial Support
6.4.1 Financing Channel
In order to obtain sufficient funds to promote the agricultural heritage protection,
management institutions of the heritage areas and the government must broaden the
sources of funding by establishing multi-channel modes of financing, establishing
Agricultural Heritage Protection Fund as a special fund for the protection of
agricultural heritage. The financed work can be done through the several major
sources listed as follows:
(1) International aid: apply for special funds from GEF through FAO and the
fund will be used to finance the agricultural heritage protection in applicant nations;
apply for financial supports from relevant international organizations for the
protection of agricultural heritage.
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(2) The beautiful countryside construction and new rural construction: to actively
seek funds for construction from related sectors and departments to improve the living
environment in rural areas.
(3) Protection of traditional ancient villages: application of relevant projects for
ancient villages, ancient building renovation or repair to promote the repair of
traditional ancient villages.
(4) Supportive fund for industrial development: through government financial
subsidies and incentives to encourage the development of organic,
environment-friendly products.
(5) Poverty alleviation and development funds: to take effective use of the
national poverty alleviation and development funds to guarantee the right of the poor
to develop.
(6) Social Fund: For example, to encourage the companies and individuals
benefited from the GIAHS to take a portion of their funds and directly invest in
heritage protection.
6.4.2 Utilization of Funds
First of all, it is necessary to appropriately increase the proportion of supporting
funds for major projects, such as the agricultural infrastructure and land management
projects to improve agricultural production conditions; secondly, to increase financial
support for ecological compensation work for ecological environment protection;
again, to ensure reasonable allocation of funds to conferences and forums or other
promotional activities; and finally to ensure adequate funding of scientific research in
order to ensure the smooth progress of scientific research of agricultural heritage.
6.4.3 Supervision and Inspection
In order to ensure the safe, rational and effective use of the funds, relevant
departments shall supervise and inspect the usage and management of funds. The
supervision and inspection mainly consist of the following four aspects: first, to
supervise and inspect the usage and management of fund in major projects during the
year; secondly, to supervise and inspect the construction targets and quality to ensure
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
100
whether relevant units had carried out their respective responsibilities and the progress
and quality of the projects in accordance with the requirements of liability statement;
thirdly, to supervise and inspect the implementation of corrective measures. Local
governments and relevant departments shall be urged to promptly solve the illegal
violation of major issues that have not been corrected and processed; fourthly, to
supervise and inspect discipline violation cases. Further, in order to ensure the rational
use of funds, ecological environment inspection efforts shall also be enhanced to
ensure the smooth progress of ecological compensation work.
Conservation Project Declaration for GIAHS Ziquejie Terraces, China
101
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Conservation Project Declaration for GIAHS Ziquejie Terraces, China
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Appendixes
1. Location and Boundary Maps
Figure 1: Location of Hunan Province in China
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Figure 2: Location of Xinhua County in Hunan Province
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
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Figure3: Boundary of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
106
Appendix 2: Agricultural and Associated Biodiversity
1. Agricultural biodiversity
(1) Traditional rice biodiversity
Appendix Table 1. Traditional Rice Varieties in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Local Name Local Traditional
Species
Introduced
Traditional Species Main Use
Baisha Glutinous rice √ Make wine and glutinous rice
cake
Yunnong Glutinous
rice √ Make wine and food
No.1 Jing Glutinous
rice √ Make wine and food
MaGu red rice √ Make food
Black tribute rice √ Make goods or food
Black rice √ Make goods or food
Purple scented rice √ Make goods or food
Red rice √ Make goods or food
(2) Other crop biodiversity
Appendix Table 2. Other Crop Varieties in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Category Varieties
Cereals and
Grains Finger millet*, Foxtail millet*, Tartary buckwheat*
Peas and beans soybean*, black bean*, rice bean*, mung bean*, broad bean*
Tuber crops Potato*, sweet potato (including purple heart, Guangdong white potato,
pumpkin potato, yellow heart potato etc.)
Oil crops oilseed rape, tea-oil tree, peanut*
Vegetables Cabbage, radish, carrot, celery, squash, pepper, garlic, Onion, leek,
coriander, tomatoes, amaranth, broccoli, lettuce, green bean, eggplant
Melons chestnut, bayberry, grapes, loquat, grapefruit, cherry, watermelon,
muskmelon, pear, peach, plum
Medical plants
Honeysuckle, Officinal Magnolia Bark, Eucommia ulmoides olive, Amur
Grape Stem, Medicinal Evodia Fruit, Cape jasmine, ginkgo, Fragrant
Solomonseal Rhizome, lily, gastrodia elata, pearl barley, Polygonatum,
Rhizoma Belamcandae, platycodon grandiflorum , Gynostemma
pentaphyllum, Atractylis ovata, Rhizoma Coptidis, Indian Buead,
nodakenin, herbaceous peony, chrysanthemum, Heartleaf Houttuynia Herb,
Scrophularia ningpoensis Hemsl, honeysuckle *Traditional species
(3) Livestock biodiversity
Appendix Table 3. Livestock Varieties in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Category Varieties Chicken Yellow Hair Chicken, Barred Plymouth Rock chickens, laying hens,
black-bone chicken, dwarf chicken
Duck Shaoxing duck, southern egg-laying duck, Beijing ducks
Pig Landrace pig, Large Yorkshire, Duroc, Xiangxi Black pig, Ningxiang pigs,
DLY (Hybrids of Duroc, Landrace and Large Yorkshire )
Cattle Xiangnan Yellow cattle, Xiangxi Yellow cattle, hybrids of Angus cattle and
local cattle breeds, hybirds of Lee Limousin and local cattle breeds, and
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
107
hybirds of Simmental Beef Cattle and local cattle breeds
Sheep black goats and Boar Goats
(4) Aquatic biodiversity
Appendix Table 4. Aquatic Varieties in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Category Scientific Name
Fish
Ctenopharyngodon idellus
Cyprinus carpio
Parabramis pekinensis
Parabramis pekinensis
Mylopharyngodon piceus
Spualiobarbus Curriculus
Culter erythropterus Basilewsl
Erythroculter mongolicus
Erythroculter ilishaeformis
Plagiognathops microlepis
Xenocypris davidi
Magalobrame Tarminalis
Bluntnose black bream
Pseudorasbora parva
Abbottina tungtingensis
Cypriniformes
Carassius auratus
Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
Cobitis taenia
Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Mastacembelus aculeatus
Pelteobagrus fulvidraco
Crustacean Brachyura
Oophana heudei
Amphibian Bufo bufo gargarizans Cantor
Rana nigromaculata
Mollusk Pheretima
Insect
Araneida
Muscidae
Culicidae
Aquatic plant Spirodela polyrrhiza (L.) Schleid.
2. Associated biodiversity
(1) The main protected plants in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Appendix Table 5. List of the main protected plants in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Scientific Name Protection Category
1 Ginkgo biloba L. Class I national protected plant
2 Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng Class I national protected plant
3 Taxus chinensis (Pilger) Rehd Class I national protected plant
4 T.mairei (Lemee et Lévl) Cheng et L.K. Fu Class I national protected plant
5 Bretschneidera sinensis Hemsl. Class I national protected plant
6 Pseudolarix amabilis (Nelson) Rehd Class II national protected plant
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108
7 Emmenopterys henryi Oliv Class II national protected plant
8 Cercidiphyllum japonicum Sieb.et Zucc Class II national protected plant
9 Magnolia officinalis Rehd.et Wils Class II national protected plant
10 M.officinalis ssp. biloba (Rehd. et Wils) Law Class II national protected plant
11 Ormosia henryi Prain Class II national protected plant
12 Cinnamomum camphor (L.) Presl Class II national protected plant
13 Fagopyrum dibotrys (D.Don) Hara Class II national protected plant
14 Torreya grandlis Forstex Lindl Class II national protected plant
15 Fokienia hodginsii (Dunm) Henry et Thomas Class II national protected plant
16 Eucommia ulmides Oliv Class II national protected plant
17 Tapiscia sinensis Oliv Class III national protected plant
18 Pteroceltis tatarinowii Maxim Class III national protected plant
19 Dysosma versipellis (Hance) M.Cheng Class III national protected plant
20 Gastrodia elata Bl Class III national protected plant
21 Michelia fioveolata Merr High ornamental value plant
22 M.platypetala Hand Mazz High ornamental value plant
23 Aesculus wilsonii Rehd High ornamental value plant
24 Temstroemia gymnanthera (Wight et Arn.)
Spragne
High ornamental value plant
25 Schima argentea Pritz High ornamental value plant
26 S.superba gardn et Champ. High ornamental value plant
27 Campsis grandiflora (Thunb. ) Loisel High ornamental value plant
28 Kalopanax septemlobus (Thunb.) Koidz High ornamental value plant
29 Sapindus mukorossi Gaertn Fruet. High ornamental value plant
30 Aibizia julibrissin Durazz. High ornamental value plant
31 A.kalkora (Roxb.) Prain High ornamental value plant
32 GyclobalanopsiS giiva (B1.) Oerst. High ornamental value plant
33 Nyssa sinensis O1iv. High ornamental value plant
34 Sassafras tsumu (Hemsl.) Hemsl High ornamental value plant
35 Dalbergia hupeana Hance High ornamental value plant
36 Decaisnea fargesii Franch. High ornamental value plant
37 Liquidambar formosana Hance High ornamental value plant
38 0smanthus fragrans Lour.var.aurantiacus
Makino
High ornamental value plant
39 Chimonobambusa quadragnulariS (Femzl.)
Makino
High ornamental value plant
40 Phyllostachys nigra (Lodd.) Munro High ornamental value plant
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
109
41 Lonicera japonica Thunb Important medicinal plant
42 Bletilla striata (Thunb. ) Reichb. f. Important medicinal plant
43 Aristolochia debilis Sieb.et Zucc. Important medicinal plant
44 Polygonum aviculare L. Important medicinal plant
45 Potentilla discolor Bunge Important medicinal plant
46 Rosa lavigata Michx. Important medicinal plant
47 Agrimonia pilosa Ledeb. Important medicinal plant
48 Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi Important medicinal plant
49 Polygonum cuspidatumSieb.et Zucc. Important medicinal plant
50 Polygonum cyrtonema Hua Important medicinal plant
51 P.officinale All. Important medicinal plant
52 Lilium brownii vat.Viridulum Baker Important medicinal plant
53 Disporun bodinieri (Lavl. et Vant. ) Wang et
Tang
Important medicinal plant
54 Scilla scilloides (Lindl. ) Druce Important medicinal plant
55 Tricyrtis bakeri Koidz Important medicinal plant
56 Smilax glabra Roxb. Important medicinal plant
57 Glechoma lonNtuba (Nakai) Kupr. Important medicinal plant
58 Piper wallichii (Mig.) Hand. 一 Mazz Important medicinal plant
59 Dioscorea bulbifexa L. Important medicinal plant
60 Dendranthema indicum (L.) Des Moul Important medicinal plant
61 Asarum forbesii Maxim. Important medicinal plant
62 A.sieboldii Miq. Important medicinal plant
63 Acorus tatarinowii Schott Important medicinal plant
64 Drynaria fortunei (Kunze) J.Smith Important medicinal plant
65 Coix lacryma-jobi L. Var.ma-yuen (Romanet)
Stopf
Important medicinal plant
66 Peucedanum decursivum (Miq.) Maxim. Important medicinal plant
67 Polygonum multiflorum Thunb Important medicinal plant
68 Gardenia jasminoides E11iS Important medicinal plant
69 Uncaria rhynchophy]la (Miq.) Jacks Important medicinal plant
70 Trichosanthes kirilowliMaxim Important medicinal plant
71 Mahonia fortunei (Lind) Fedde Important medicinal plant
72 Adenophora stricta Miq. Important medicinal plant
73 Trachelospermum jasminoides (Lindl.) Lem. Important medicinal plant
74 Dipsacus japonicus Miq. Important medicinal plant
75 Lindera aggreegata (Sims) Kosterm Important medicinal plant
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110
76 Ardisia japonica (Hornsted) B1. Important medicinal plant
77 Va]eriana officinalis L. Important medicinal plant
78 Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinsk. Important medicinal plant
79 Magnolia denudata Desr. Important medicinal plant
80 Saururus chinensis(Laur)Baill. Important medicinal plant
81 Illicium lanceolatum A.C.Smith Important medicinal plant
82 Sarcococca ruscifolia Stapf Important medicinal plant
83 Stachyurus chircensis Franch. Important medicinal plant
84 S.himataicus Hook f.et Arn. Important medicinal plant
85 Lysimachia Paridiformis Franch Important medicinal plant
86 Solanum lyratum Thunb. Important medicinal plant
87 Corydalis decumbens (Thunb.) Pers. Important medicinal plant
88 Astilbe chinensis Franch. etSav. Important medicinal plant
89 Phyllanthus urinaria. L Important medicinal plant
90 Panax pseudo-ginseng Wall. var. japonicus
(C.A.Mey.) Hoo et Tseng
Important medicinal plant
91 Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
92 Pinus massoniana Lamb. Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
93 Cupressus funebris Endl Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
94 Toonasinensis (A. Jass) Roem Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
95 Paulownia fortunei Hemsl Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
96 Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A.Barkl Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
97 Vernia fordii (Hemsl) Airy-Shaw Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
98 Camellia oleifera Abel Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
99 Citrus reticulata Blance Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
100 Txachycarpus fortumei H. Wenall Main timber forest, economic forest tree
species
101 Phyllostachys pubescens Mazelex H. Delehaie Main timber forest, economic forest tree
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
111
species
(2) The main protected animals in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Appendix Table 6. List of the main protected animals in the Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
Scientific Name Protection Category
1 Neofelis nebulose Griffith Class I national protected animal
2 Python molurus Class I national protected animal
3 Macaca mulatta Zimmermann Class II national protected animal
4 Manis pentadacty la Linnaeus Class II national protected animal
5 Lutra luhtra Linnaeus Class II national protected animal
6 Uiverra zibetha Linnaeus Class II national protected animal
7 Moschus moscehiferus Linnaeus Class II national protected animal
8 Paguma Larvata Hamilton Smith Class II national protected animal
9 Capricornis bumatraensis Bechstein Class II national protected animal
10 Meqalobatrachus danidianus Blanchard Class II national protected animal
11 Rana tigrina rugulosa Wiegmann Class II national protected animal
12 Chrysolophas pictus Linne Class II national protected animal
13 Chrysolophus awcherstice Loadbeeter Class II national protected animal
14 Lophura nycthemera Linnaeus Class II national protected animal
15 Tragopan temminckii Gray Class II national protected animal
16 Vulapes V. hole Class III national protected animal
17 Mustela sibirica davidiana Class III national protected animal
18 Martes f. flavigula Class III national protected animal
19 Hystrix hodgsoni subcristata Class III national protected animal
20 Bambusicola t. thoracica Class III national protected animal
21 Phasianus colchicus torquatus Class III national protected animal
22 Streptopelia O. oientalis Class III national protected animal
23 Leiothrix l. 1utea Class III national protected animal
24 Porzana fusca Linncous Class III national protected animal
25 Ardeola bachus Bonaparte Class III national protected animal
26 Lepus S. sinensis Class III national protected animal
27 Dinodon septentrionalis Guenther Class III national protected animal
28 Lycodon ruhstrati Fischer Class III national protected animal
29 Natrix aequifasciata Barbour Class III national protected animal
30 Netrix stolata Linnaeus Class III national protected animal
31 Opheodrys major Gantor Class III national protected animal
32 Zaocys dhumnades Gantor Class III national protected animal
33 Naja naja Linnaeus Class III national protected animal
34 Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus Class III national protected animal
35 Trimerosurus S. strjnegeri Class III national protected animal
36 Bufo B. gargarizans Class III national protected animal
37 Rana boulenger Class III national protected animal
38 Rana limnochariS Class III national protected animal
39 Rana margnratae Class III national protected animal
40 Rana nigromaculata Class III national protected animal
41 Rana tempoorariachens1nensis Class III national protected animal
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112
3: Action Plan
1. Protection of Agriculture Ecosystem
Measures Action Plan Implementing Period
Responsible Departments 2015-2017 2018-2020 2020-2025
Protection of
Biodiversity
Biodiversity survey of terrace and forest systems ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
Construction of law enforcement team of ecological protection ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
Ecological resources property right registration (cultivated
lands, forest lands and creeks) ● ●
Land and Resources
Bureau of Xinhua County
Strengthen protection of endangered species of wild fauna and
flora ● ● ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
Ecological protection
of cultivated lands
Catch of frogs, snakes and fish with electric devices are
prohibited ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Promotion of compound ecological agricultural farming and
breeding patterns(duck farming and fish breeding in paddy
fields)
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Strengthen protection and maintenance of farmland water
system ● ● ●
Water Conservancy
Bureau of Xinhua County
Ecological protection
of forests
Establishing biodiversity archive of forest vegetation ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
Register the forest resources property right and clear the
forestry property rights ● ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
Establish and divide soil and water conservation forest,
ecological forest and functional forest area, and set up the ● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
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113
signs
Ecological and
environmental
protection of rural
areas
Strengthen the construction of biogas to improve utilization,
make sure human and animal waste put into biogas digester
and to be converted into clean energy
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Protection of drinking water sources in rural areas
●
Water Conservancy
Bureau of Xinhua County
Monitoring of
agriculture ecosystem
protection
Establish ecological observatory in core area of heritage site ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Establish a flash floods and other geological disasters and
major meteorological disasters monitoring and early warning
system in core area of heritage site
●
Weather Bureau of
Xinhua County
Establish and improve the crop ecological safety monitoring
system, and set up agricultural ecological protection
monitoring liaisons in each village and group
● ● Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
2. Protection of Agricultural Culture
Measures Action Plan Implementing Period
Responsible Departments 2015-2017 2018-2020 2020-2025
Filing and
organization of the
materials of traditional
farming knowledge
and skill
Establish special investigation team to widely collect traditional
proverb, traditional poetic couplet, traditional tillage and
cultivation methods and other knowledge and skill of terraced
fields
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Establish a specialized system of classification and to form
special recording materials of words, images and video recording
materials
● ●
Department
of Culture, Radio, Film,
TV, Press and Publication
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
114
of Xinhua County
Collection of material
objects of traditional
farming tools
Collect hoe, palladium, windmills, water wheel, squared barrel,
shotguns, beast clip, iron ruler, steel or iron plates used for
engraving orcarving, palladium used in traditional farming
instruments
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Organization of the
materials of traditional
folk art
Collect and sort related data and literature records of Nuo opera,
Nuo dance, Nuo Mask Lion Dance, traditional festivals,
traditional customs and other traditional folk customs and
traditional arts
● ●
Department
of Culture, Radio, Film,
TV, Press and
Publication of Xinhua
County
To form the corresponding audio, video and other data through
modern digital methods ● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Collection of
traditional food and
drink materials
To understand and document traditional dishes production
methods, processes and recipes of traditional snacks, traditional
tea, traditional drink and wine, etc.
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV,
Press and Publication of
Xinhua County
Form the corresponding recording data such as video and photos,
as well as text materials ● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Establishment of
farming culture
museums
Establish traditional knowledge museum of terrace cultivation
and to exhibit and display relevant material objects, video and
photos and other information collected
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
115
Xinhua County
Set up specialized personnel and funds safeguard mechanism and
to promote the long-term and effective conduction of the
protection work
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Establishment of
digital protection
mechanism
Provide digital display and network transmission of traditional
farming knowledge, technology and equipment as well as folk
arts and to establish special research and development and
technical safeguard mechanism to promote the sustainable and
digitalized inheritance of heritage culture
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Construction of
long-term publicity
and education
mechanism
To set up training mechanism constituted of propaganda and
training mechanism at County, township and village levels and to
carry out the knowledge training of traditional farming
knowledge, farming technique and traditional folk cultural
heritage on a regular basis
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
To Help the general public to learn more about, pay more
attention to and more willing to protect Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
though seminars, skills training, publicity pictures, literacy
books, legal Q &A concerning protection regulations agricultural
culture, the local rules or regulations quizzes and a variety of
other folk ways and means to strengthen the transmission and
inheritance of traditional farming techniques and farming
knowledge
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of
Xinhua County
Promotion of the
education of local
Compile and write specialized teaching material about terraced
rice cultivation culture in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces and to ● ● ●
Education Bureau of
Xinhua County
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
116
traditional culture establish related cognitive and practical teaching plan in order to
actively carry out the cultural heritage education for primary and
middle school students about traditional agricultural culture of
Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
3. Protection of Agricultural Landscape
Measures Action Plan Implementing Period Responsible Departments
2015-2017 2018-2020 2020-2025
Protection of forest
vegetation
To protect plants on the top of mountains and to strictly prohibit
deforestation ● ● ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
To implement the projects of afforestation to increase the forest
coverage ● ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
To increase the energy construction of rural areas in terraced
region to solve the obstacles of ecological protection brought by
the rural livelihoods difficulties
● ●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
To strengthen the special protection of ancient and famous trees
and to conduct labelling, filing and special care for ancient and
famous trees
●
Forestry Bureau of
Xinhua County
Protection of
irrigation systems
To speed up the repair of seriously damages irrigation and water
conservancy facilities and to repair ridge on the basis of
ecological environment protection
● ●
Water Conservancy
Bureau of Xinhua County
To set up a stable special funds and engineering personnel team
for water conservancy facilities maintenance ● ●
Water Conservancy
Bureau of Xinhua County
To systematically summarize the principles behind the natural
gravity irrigation and its scientific water usage and management
system
● ●
Water Conservancy
Bureau of Xinhua County
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
117
To conduct training, teaching and learning of knowledge and
skills of young farmers and to restore the traditional water
management personnel system
● ● Water Conservancy
Bureau of Xinhua County
Protection of terrace
landscapes
To speed up the recovery of abandoned terraced fields and dry
lands transformed from paddy fields and to ensure maximized
terraced field areas of rice cultivation under the condition of
sufficient water resources
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
To build a special ecological compensation mechanism for
paddy fields in heritage sites and to establish a special protection
fund of terrace
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
To establish a system of reward to encourage the traditional rice
production and to scientifically design reward standard and
scope of implementation
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Protection of
traditional villages
To set up a special fund of the protection of traditional folk
houses and to speed up the repair and restoration of traditional
folk houses in heritage sites
● ●
Housing and Construction
Bureau of Xinhua County
Focus on the key repair, maintenance and protective
development of Zhenglong Village as the “Traditional Chinese
Village” and Louxia Village as the “Famous Historical and
Cultural Village in Hunan Province” and to actively carry out
the declaration of Louxia Village as the "national historic and
cultural village"
● ●
Department of Culture,
Radio, Film, TV, Press
and Publication of Xinhua
County
To strengthen management of living environment and the road
repair of rural villages and to improve the level of living garbage
disposal
● ● ● Environmental Protection
Bureau of Xinhua County
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118
4. Development of Eco-Agriculture
Measures Action Plan Implementing Period
Responsible Departments 2015-2017 2018-2020 2020-2025
Survey of traditional
varieties of farming
Survey of traditional rice varieties, coarse grain crop
varieties ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Science & Technology
Bureau of Xinhua County
Germplasm repository construction
●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Science & Technology
Bureau of Xinhua County
Popularization of
traditional farming
technology
To establish technique operation procedures for cultivation
of traditional crops and other rice varieties ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
To promote the cultivation of traditional rice varieties in core
reserve areas and to realize the cultivation area of traditional
rice varieties reach 30% by 2017 and more than 50% in 2020
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Promotion of traditional farming technologies and the
compound farming and breeding technologies such as duck
farming and fish breeding in paddy fields
● ● ● Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Ecological agriculture
layout optimization
To set up layout of traditional rice production areas in the
core reserved areas ● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Urban and Rural Planning
Bureau of Xinhua County
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
119
To optimize layout of high quality rice production base,
high-quality tea plantation base, demonstration base of
Chinese high-yield herbal medicine, small grains production
base, duck, cattle and other ecological breeding and
production base in general reserved areas
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Urban and Rural Planning
Bureau of Xinhua County
Production and
certification of
ecological products
Establish measures for usage of agricultural and cultural
heritage signs ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
To conduct certification of pollution-free agricultural
products, green food and organic agricultural products and
geographical indication product certification and to realize
the area of green food production area accounts for 50% of
the core area before 2017, and reach 80% before 2020
● ● ● Related enterprises and
farmers
International organic product certification
● ● Related enterprises and
farmers
Deep processing of
agricultural products
and functional food
development
To foster the development of agricultural products
processing enterprises and the number of agricultural
products processing enterprises in core reserved area is to
reach 12 in the year 2017, and to reach 16 by 2020; and the
farm products processing industry will gradually become the
dominant industry of this region
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
To develop functional foods and to improve scientific and
technological innovation capacity of enterprises ● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Related enterprises
Product promotion and
brand building
Establish a display and sales platform for series of
agricultural products in Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, such as, ● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
120
microblog and Wechat accounts will be set up to develop
agricultural e-commerce
3 to 5 cities annually for the promotion fairs of agricultural
products from Xinhua County and to use media channels like
television, newspapers, radio and other media channels to
enhance publicity
● ● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Commercial Bureau of
Xinhua County
To enhance brand creation and construction and to provide
relevant capital, technological and policy supports for
agricultural enterprises
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Finance Bureau of Xinhua
County
Cultivation of
traditional agricultural
operators and business
model innovation
To develop farmer households specialized in large scale
production of traditional varieties, family agriculture
(livestock) field and cooperatives
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
Finance Bureau of Xinhua
County
To innovate traditional management mode of agricultural
products, and to strengthen the joint and cooperation of
farmers, to encourage enterprises in the construction of
production base, to give play to the leading role of
enterprises and cooperatives to farmers, and to establish the
benefit sharing mechanism
● ●
Bureau of Agriculture of
Xinhua County
5. Development of Recreational Agriculture
Measures Action Plan Implementing Period
Responsible Departments 2015-2017 2018-2020 2020-2025
The design of
recreational
To construct the development layout of recreational
agriculture in Xinhua County that constituted with “one ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
121
agriculture tour line center, three zones and six clusters ” County
To form a set of recreational agriculture development systems
integrated agricultural production, cultural experiences,
ecological protection, product processing and leisure
recreation featuring rich types of industries and distinctive
characteristics
● ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
The design of
recreational
agriculture product
line
To optimize the regional layout and focus on the construction
of ecological agriculture demonstration area, rice culture
demonstration zone, the recreational and health keeping
demonstration zone and creative agriculture park
● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To use modern science and technology and to display the long
farming culture, farming technology, folk culture, etc. of the
terrace through the use of digital technology
● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To design development related tourist souvenirs from the
aspects of antique art, folk custom products and agricultural
products with the aim to deliver compact, practical, attractive
products
● ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County and related
enterprises
To design different tourism themes in different seasons, such
as sightseeing, picking, festival participation and spa leisure ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To set up promotion and sales sites of agricultural products of
the agricultural cultural heritage sites with unified logo, which
can promote ecological agricultural products as souvenirs
● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To perfect recreational
agriculture
infrastructure:
To strengthen the construction of roads and improve the road
network ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
122
To improve sanitation facilities through the rational design of
the public toilets and the construction of some toilet for the
disabled people and setting of dump and garbage collection
point
● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To strengthen the construction of Xinhua County level tourist
service center and to strengthen the tourism information
service
● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To design of leisure agriculture culture identification system
that demonstrate the features of recreational agriculture and to
upgrade existing hotels and restaurants so as to improve
tourist reception capacity
● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To improve the
management
mechanism of
recreational
agriculture
To optimize the governmental functions and clarify the
orientation and functions of related governmental department ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County
To guide the development of tourism enterprises and to give
preferential measures in the capital, talent, market, policy, etc.
to improve the management level and management ability of
tourism enterprises
● ● ●
Travel and Tourism
Administration of Xinhua
County and related
enterprises
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
123
4: Action Plan Related Maps
Figure 4: Location of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
124
Figure 5: Function Areas of Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
125
Figure 6: Protection of Agriculture Ecosystem
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
126
Figure 7: Protection of Agricultural Culture
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
127
Figure 8: Protection of Agricultural Landscape
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
128
Figure 9: Development of Eco-agriculture
GIAHS Proposal Xinhua Ziquejie Terraces, China
129
Figure 10: Development of Recreational Agriculture