The Bada Rice Terraces are the largest and most magnificent part of the Yuanyang Rice Terraces. It, together with Duoyishu, Laohuzui, and Qingkou, forms the Yuanyang Rice Terraces Scenic Area. Yuanyang Rice Terraces are located in the south of Ailao Mountain in Yunnan. They are the landscape paintings of the Hani ethnic people that have been “carved” for over 1300 years and are known as the “True Art of the Earth”. Yuanyang Rice Terraces were included in the World Heritage List in 2013.
Bada Rice Terraces are a famous scenic spot for enjoying sunset, terraced fields, sea of clouds, and Hani villages. It is majestic, large in area, spectacular, with beautiful lines and strong three-dimensional sense. There are more than 3,000 levels in total, calculated based on the ridges of terraced fields. Standing on the observation deck, you can see over 14,000 acres of terraced fields including Qingkou, Quanfuzhuang, Malizhai, Zhulu, and more. Bada Rice Terraces are most beautiful at sunset, like moving oil paintings. Start your Yunnan travel to enjoy the magnificent terraces scenery.
Facts About Bada Rice Terraces
- Chinese Name: 坝达梯田
- Location: 43 km south of Yuanyang County, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province
- Ticket Price: RMB 65 per adult for Yuanyang Rice Terraces Scenic Area (including Duoyishu, Bada, Laohuzui, Qingkou)
- Time Needed: About 1-3 hours
Highlights of Bada Rice Terraces
Bada Rice Terraces are located in the core area of the Yuanyang Rice Terraces World Cultural Heritage site, about 15 kilometers away from the Xinjie Town. Bada, which means “the place closest to the sky” in Hani language. There are over 950 hectares of magnificent terraced fields here. Every terraced field, when magnified with a telephoto lens, is a beautiful photo that can be hung on the wall.
The difference between Bada Rice Terraces and other scenic rice terraces is that its terrain is steep, majestic, and layered. It changes with the mountain topography, with gentle slopes cultivating large fields and steep slopes cultivating small fields.
Bada Rice Terraces boast the terraced landscape with the maximum drop in Yuanyang. It starts from the Malizhai River Valley at an altitude of about 800 meters, with thousands of continuous terraced fields extending all the way up to the mountain top at an altitude of over 2,000 meters. 3700-level terraced fields resemble the sky ladder, lifting Hani villages such as Malizhai, Bada, Shangmadian, and Quanfuzhuang high into the sea of clouds. Bada Rice Terraces make one cannot help but praise the Hani people as true earth sculptors, attracting countless tourists to embark on a Yuanyang travel.
From November to March of the following year, ten thousand acres of terraced fields that enter the irrigation period after harvesting resemble a sloping sea, shimmering with sparkling waves. Terraced fields of different positions and shapes appear particularly beautiful against the backdrop of Hani villages. Every afternoon after 4 o’clock, the vast white sloping sea gradually turns pink and red as the sun sets. So Bada Rice Terraces are a great place to observe and photograph the changes in terraced fields over time.
Best Time to Visit
The sunset scenery of Bada Rice Terraces is most stunning, and Bada is one of the best places to capture the sunset of Yuanyang Rice Terraces, also known as the “place where millions of suns scatter”. That is to say, the best time to visit Bada Rice Terraces is at sunset every evening, when the terraced fields shimmer with golden light and are breathtakingly beautiful. You can fully enjoy the Hani style and purify your soul in the embrace of nature during your Yuanyang Rice Terraces Tour.
Watching the sunset and the sea of clouds in Bada Rice Terraces: Start your journey after 4:30 pm and during the sunset around 6:30 pm, the color of the terraced fields changes the most.
Photography Guide
- Bada Rice Terraces are very suitable for shooting in the presence of clouds and mist, and the viewing effect of Bada Rice Terraces varies greatly depending on whether there is cloud.
- Bada is very suitable for watching sunsets, and if processed into a silhouette effect, it will be great. The observation deck is far away from the terraced fields, making it suitable for capturing sunset panoramic The best shooting point is one or two stairs up from the bottom of the observation deck below.
- Entering from Bada Village, there is anotherslightly lower observation deck directly below the paid observation deck with the same angle, which is free of charge. Closer to the terraced fields, the lines and curves of the terraced fields are clearer.
How to Get to Bada Rice Terraces
Bada Rice Terraces are about 300 km from Kunming and can only be reached by road. You can self-drive a car from Kunming to Yuanyang, via Jianshui.
Take the Kunming to Yuanyang shuttle bus from Kunming South Coach Station. There are three bus rides at 10:20/12:30/19:00, with a ticket price of RMB 139 and a travel time of 5-6 hours.There are also shuttle buses from Kunming South Coach Station heading to Nansha Town, Yuanyang County. The transportation between Xinjie Town and Nansha is very convenient, with specialized micro cars running between the two places (RMB 10, from 7:00 to 20:00). There are minivans available from Xinjie Town to the entrance of Yuanyang Rice Terraces Scenic Area, as well as between the entrance and various scenic spots, with a ticket price of RMB 5-10.
Attractions Nearby Bada Rice Terraces
- Yuanyang Rice Terraces: a thousand-year masterpiece of the Hani ethnic people and a world cultural heritage, located in the south of Ailao Mountain, Yunnan.
- Duoyishu Rice Terraces: a perfect location to watch the sunrise of Yuanyang Rice Terraces, showing the diverse cultures of the Hani and Yi ethnic groups too.
