Longji Rice Terraces

龙脊梯田

Imagine mountains wrapped in silver water, shining in the spring sun. Summer sees the mountains turn bright green with growing rice. During autumn, these same mountains are gold, and in winter they are covered in sheets of white frost. These are the colours of the Longji Rice Terraces.

想象一下：春日，群山被银白色的水包裹着，在阳光下闪闪发光；盛夏，佳禾吐绿，将群山染成一片青翠。秋收，满山黄金，而隆冬，它们又披上了冰霜做成的雪白毛毯。这，就是绚丽多彩的龙脊梯田。

These terraces were built by the local Zhuang and Yao people, to whom Guangxi is home. Starting in the Yuan Dynasty, work on the terraces took hundreds of years, until its completion in the early Qing Dynasty. Reaching as far as the eye can see, these terraces cover tall mountains, often from the bottom to the very top.

龙脊梯田的建造者是广西当地的壮族和瑶族居民。梯田从元朝开始修建，历经数百年，直到清初才完工。目之所及，梯田包裹着巍峨的高山，往往从山脚一直盘绕到山顶。

So why did these people go to so much trouble to turn the entire mountains into terraces? Firstly, there are few large, flat areas of land in the region. Building the terraces therefore meant that they could increase the areas in which they could grow rice. Secondly, although the region has plenty of rain, the mountains are steep and the soil is shallow. The flat terraces catch the rainwater and prevent the soil from being washed away.

为什么当地人要如此大费周章，把整片山区变成梯田呢？首先，这里缺乏大面积的平原，建造梯田意味着他们可以扩大水稻的种植面积。其次，尽管该地区雨水充沛，但山地坡度大，土层浅薄。水平的梯田能够储存雨水，防止土壤被冲走。

But perhaps what is most significant is the way in which people have worked in  harmony with nature to make these terraces and grow rice. The terraces are cleverly designed, with hundreds of waterways that connect with each other. During the rainy season, it is along these waterways that rainwater moves down the mountains and into the terraces. The sun heats the water and turns it into vapour.This forms clouds from which rain falls down onto the mountain terraces once again. These terraces also provide a perfect environment for birds and fish, some of which feed on insects that can harm the rice crops.

但也许最令人惊叹的还是人们与自然和谐相处建造梯田和种植水稻的方式。梯田设计巧妙，其间有数百条相互连接的水渠。在雨季，雨水会沿着这些水渠从山上流入梯田。水分经太阳蒸发成水蒸气，水蒸气形成云，而雨水又从云中再次落到山上的梯田里。这些梯田还为鸟类和鱼类提供了绝佳的栖息地，而一部分鸟和鱼又以危害水稻作物的昆虫为食。

Although modern technology could help produce more crops, these terraces still mean a lot to the people for whom traditions hold much value. This knowledge is passed down through families, which means that new generations continue to use ancient methods of agriculture to maintain the terraces. Today, the Longji Rice Terraces attract thousands of visitors who come to admire this great wonder created by people and nature working together.

尽管现代技术可以帮助提高农作物产量，但这些梯田对珍视传统的当地人来说仍然意义重大。这种知识通过家庭代代相传，后代子孙一直沿用古老的农耕方法来维持着梯田的运作。今天，成千上万的游客慕名前来欣赏这由人与自然共同创造的壮丽奇观。