Yuanyang Rice Terraces

The next stop on my trip was one of the most pristinely beautiful locales I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. A popular destination for Chinese tourists and photographers, Yuanyang (原阳) is famous for its agricultural wonderland of rice terraces, as well as its inhabitation by the Hani minority group.

I arrived after a hefty 7 hour bus ride and walked 30 seconds from the bus stop to Chen Family Guesthouse. Ready to throw down a few dollars for a dorm bed, they informed me that a private room with its own shower and balcony overlooking the terraces was going for only 35 kuai, or approximately US $5. Unable to turn down such a steal, I checked into my room and chatted with a man downstairs who informed me he could drive me to the best terraces to watch the sunset for a small fee. I agreed, and off we went on a 45 minute bumpy race against the sun in a three-wheeled motorized rickshaw to Tiger Mouth Terraces.

Neither words nor pictures can describe just what I saw or how I felt on watching the ethereal sun falling down behind the mountains beyond the reflective pools of the terraces. What surprised me most is that typically, human interference with landscapes scars the natural beauty of the place. However, the snaking plateaus and striking geometric patterns of the fields reminded me that although there originates such destruction and negativity from our own species, we are also capable of creating aesthetic masterpieces on a grand scale.

This location is where I began to truly identify with my Chinese name. I had already grown extremely attached to it throughout the last year and a half since its coinage, but had perhaps not realized its significance. 爱美- Aimei. Translated directly, it means Love Beauty and as I’ve found out can be interpreted in more than one way. A good (Chinese) friend back at home's parents chuckled when they heard it, saying that it means Pretty Girl. However, the meaning to me is not so shallow. What it really means is Love of Beauty, and that I seek beauty both throughout the world, and within everything. Though my definition of beauty is not limited to the physical, I fell deeply in love with Yuanyang nonetheless.

The next morning, I met my new taxi-driving friend who took me on a similarly rough journey to Duoyishu to watch the sunrise. From a distance, I snapped photographs of the fields and sky on a platform near the top of the hill. Once the sun began to light the way of the path down to terrace-level, I tucked away my camera and trekked on down. I sat at the edge of the Hani village and read, drew, and chatted with some local boys who unabashedly asked me for money.

Sunrise at Duoyishu

A man working in the fields (Notice the scale).

I stayed in that exact spot for a few hours, during which I also met a new friend who, as luck would have it, grew up approximately 45 minutes away from me in Southern California. We spoke of travels, ambitions, and interests, and quickly came to realize that we had in common many perspectives and preferences. Thus, she, along with her travel companion, decided to accompany me on my next adventure to the mysterious literary scholar’s guesthouse.

And for good measure, a pantsless man doing work in the terraces.