Yunhe Rice Terrace in Lishui City

Rice terraces are hilly or mountainous slopes claimed from nature for cultivation, usually by minority peoples. Yunhe Rice Terraces, the largest terrace field in eastern China, have been nourishing the local people for more than 1, 000 years. Together with Yuanyang Rice Terraces in Yunnan, Longji Rice Terrace in Guilin, the Yunhe Rice Terraces have a reputation as “one of the most beautiful terraces in China”.
English Name: Yunhe Rice Terrace
Chinese Name: 云和梯田
Opening Hours: 8:00—16:30
Ticket Price: 80 RMB
Best Time: April to December
Recommended Visiting Hours: 1 or 2 hours
Address: Chongtou town, Yunhe, Lishui city, Zhejiang

More Picture

Yunhe Rice Terrace

Located in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, the entire area of the Yunhe Terraces is 51 square kilometers (20 square miles), covering mountains, hills, and valleys. The Yunhe Terraces is situated at an altitude between 200 to 1,400 meters with the vertical heights around 1,200 meters. Every hill has about 700 or so terraces carved into it, making for amazing and spectacular scenery. The great views are especially enchanting during rainy days when steam from river water floats around the terraces – a natural view so mysterious and fascinating that you may be left feeling addicted to it.

Introduction of Yunhe Rice Terrace

Yunhe Literally meaning peaceful clouds, Yunhe and its surrounding rice terraces have been home to farmers for at least 1,000 years. The Yunhe Rice Terraces are recognized as the most beautiful rice terraces in China. Located in Chongtou Town, Yunhe County, Zhejiang Province, Yunhe Rice Terrace filed was originally developed in early Tang Dynasty. It spans over high mountain area, hilly area, and valley area, totally about 700 layers. The entire area of the Yunhe Terraces is 51 square kilometers (20 square miles).

The Landscape of Rice Terraces

The landscape of rice terraces – low hanging clouds, quaint villages, thick bamboo forests, gurgling streams and soothing waterfalls- varies throughout the year but is consistently an ideal for photography. Nowadays, Yunhe Rice Terraces have become a hot destination for taking photos, and many amateur and pros favor not only the unique natural view of terraced fields but also the traditional Chinese countryside life and minority people’s culture. The local people living here are mostly of the She ethnic group, which is a minority with a very small population in China. When traveling here, visitors can learn and experience the culture and customs of the ethnic group.

The Best Time to Visit Yunhe Rice Terrace

The best time to visit Yunhe Rice Terraces is from Apr. to December. This place has a subtropical monsoon climate, with warm and humid temperature. It has four distinct seasons. Due to the complex terrain of this area and large altitude difference, it has a distinct vertical distribution of climate significantly.

How to Get There

Yunhe County is 67 kilometers southwest of Lishui city in Zhejiang Province. Shuttle buses between Yunhe and Lishui are available at Lishui Train Station. To get to Lishui, you can take a train from big cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing first.
You can go directly to the Rice Terraces. It is takes about 2 hours from Wenzhou, and 3 hours from Hangzhou to Yunhe Rice Terraces.
You cantake high-speed train from Hangzhou East Station (杭州东站 ) to Lishui (丽水). There are 34 high-speed trains between the two cities every day and they usually depart from Hangzou East Railway Station to Lishui Railway Station.
There are 2 buses leaving for Yunhe county from Hangzhou. They usually depart from Hangzhou South Bus Station (杭州汽车南站) and arrive at Yunhe Bus Station. The first bus departs at 09:40 and the second bus departs at 13:40. The ticket fare is about 100 yuan.

Useful Travel Tips

Given that Yunhe Rice Terrace is a popular site, book train ticket in advance is advised.
Yunhe Rice Terrace is a whole, which is very beautiful for the whole place. If you want to take photos, Wuping Village and Xiayang Village are best places to go.
Best time to visit Yunhe Rice Terraces is from May to November. This place has a subtropical monsoon climate, with warm and humid temperature.