The Hani Rice Terraces in Yunnan's Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province in the southwest, stretching across mountain slopes at altitudes from 700 to 1,800 meters above sea level, boast a history spanning around 1,200 years and reflect a wisdom of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, covering 16,603.22 hectares in total, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2013.
As the harvest season draws to a close, the terraces present a breathtaking view under sunlight, attracting visitors from across the country.
"I never expected it to be this beautiful, truly overwhelming," said Yunnan tourist Xie Linying.
"The entire landscape is far beyond my expectations. It feels so magnificent, like a wonderland," said Guangdong visitor Chen Lan.
With tourism booming, many young people have returned home, running homestays and restaurants, or designing clothing with Hani folk features. They carry on the centuries-old terrace farming in novel ways.
"We've taken traditional cultural elements in Hani rice terraces into many creative products like bags, musical instruments, and attires. This is very gratifying to [the community] and represents an alternative way to preserve our Hani terraces," said Ma Jichun, chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Yuanyang, one of the four counties that are home to the rice terraces.
In 2023, the Hani Rice Terraces received over 4.23 million visitors, generating more than 3.8 billion yuan (about 540 million U.S. dollars) in revenue, an 18 percent increase from the previous year.
Centuries-old Hani Rice Terraces draw tourists
Centuries-old Hani Rice Terraces draw tourists
China will roll out a series of targeted measures to stabilize investment and unlock greater space for private capital, an official said on Thursday.
Chen Changsheng, deputy director of the State Council Research Office who participated in the drafting of this year's Government Work Report, made the statement at a press briefing held in Beijing.
He noted that China will leverage the guiding role of government funding and the driving effect of major projects to shore up investment.
Total government investment this year is set to exceed five trillion yuan (about 725 billion U.S. dollars), which will come from central budget investment and local government special bonds for major national strategies and security capacity building projects and equipment upgrades. Meanwhile, 109 major projects have been planned in the draft outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030).
China will also stimulate investment by opening up more application scenarios for businesses.
On the traditional front, a long-term mechanism will be improved to encourage private enterprises to participate in major national projects. For emerging sectors, China will further open scenarios in biomedicine, aerospace, and the low-altitude economy.
"Low-altitude economy has developed rapidly in recent years, with sound applications seen in fields such as agriculture, forestry plant protection, as well as surveying and inspection. Going forward, we will accelerate the opening of airspace resources and streamline approval procedures for low-altitude flights. This will unlock new scenarios including low-altitude logistics and urban management. Similar new opportunities can also be found in service robots and other sectors, all of which will create new space for private investment," Chen said.
By deepening reforms to further unlock investment potential, China will ease market access in the service sector, speed up revisions to the Bidding Law and the Government Procurement Law, and advance price reforms to broaden investment access for more enterprises.
"We will see a new round of investment potential unleashed. Major projects including the national water network, a new round of power grid upgrades, new generation communication networks, and computing power networks will drive massive investment, including demand from urban development. In addition, the campaign this year to expand and upgrade the service sector and the development of emerging industries will further expand space for private investment," Chen noted.
China to take measures to boost investment, expand space for private investment in 2026: official
