The Northwest not only overwhelms adventurous hearts with its rolling mountain ranges, majestic waterfalls, and vast green forests, but also with the breathtaking beauty of its terraced fields.
Terraced fields stretch layer upon layer to the horizon, covering the hillsides, valleys, and winding roads. Anyone who has ever been stunned by the Northwest covered in brilliant yellow in autumn will also be moved by the sparkling colors of the terraced fields during the flooding season, also known as the flooding season.
Terraced fields in flood season
Around May and June, when the first summer showers begin to fall, the people of the highlands begin to go to the fields, plow the land, lead water, build banks, and plant rice seedlings to start the new crop. Around this time, water is led from the stream, flowing from the high fields to the low fields, filling the hillsides. On the terraced fields, the farming atmosphere is as busy as in other rice-growing areas. Buffaloes plow the land, adults plant rice seedlings, and children play.
On sunny days, the sky reflects on the water, the terraced fields become more sparkling like mirrors. Different colors intertwine with each other, there is the brown of the soil, the green of the rice seedlings, and in some places the blue sky and white clouds are reflected.
On foggy days, terraced fields appear mysteriously in the opaque white clouds.
A bustling morning across the fields
It is no exaggeration to say that the Northwest terraced fields are a masterpiece of nature and human hands. A magnificent work of art with harmoniously blended colors that make many wandering hearts flutter. In the intersection between heaven and earth, white clouds float, the terraced fields are like steps to heaven, hidden in the clouds, beautiful as a painting.
Not only painting a majestic picture of nature, terraced fields are also a treasure trove of folk knowledge and long-standing farming culture, demonstrating people's lifestyle in harmony with nature, and proving the persistent and diligent labor of the highland people.
The mountainous terrain is strongly divided by streams, deep ravines, and easily eroded soil, which is not favorable for cultivation. People from generation to generation have persistently reclaimed wasteland, built banks, and brought water to the fields to turn the rocky hills into fertile fields, bringing in rice. Because of the special terrain, the rice varieties grown on terraced fields must also be drought- and frost-resistant.
Sunset on terraced fields
The process of making terraced fields has been preserved and passed down from generation to generation by the highlanders. To create good rice fields, people have diligently gone through the following steps: selecting the land, establishing the right to reclaim, carrying out the reclamation and making the field banks.
In spring, the cool climate and little rain are favorable for reclaiming wasteland. People look for hills with moderate slopes and water sources. After choosing a suitable hill and establishing the right to reclaim, people will proceed to clear the bushes and level the ground with hoes and shovels. April and May is the time to bring water into the fields. To retain water, the field banks must be built high with soil and rocks. It is worth mentioning that the water supply system is made entirely by hand with bamboo.
To be able to cultivate, the field surface must be flat, the two upper and lower fields must be 1-1.5m apart, with banks built to retain water and gates to let water flow from the upper field to the lower field.
Spring is favorable for land reclamation and cultivation.
In the Northwest, terraced fields are most concentrated and beautiful in Sa Pa, Bat Xat (Lao Cai), Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai), Hoang Su Phi (Ha Giang) which have been recognized as national monuments by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Vietnam's terraced fields are also among the most beautiful terraced fields in the world. Among them, Sa Pa terraced fields were once ranked in the top 7 most beautiful terraced fields in Asia and the world by Travel and Leisure magazine (USA). Meanwhile, Y Ty mountain area was recognized by the electronic travel information site Thrillist (USA) as one of "the most mysterious and need-to-be-preserved treasures in Asia".
The photos in this article were taken by the author in Bat Xat district, Lao Cai in May 2022. The terraced fields in Bat Xat receive water from Ngoi Phat river, Lung Po stream, and Quang Kim stream. Bat Xat district (Lao Cai) currently has more than 3,000 hectares of terraced fields, mainly distributed in the communes of Muong Hum, Sang Ma Sao, Den Sang, Y Ty, Ngai Thau...
