China News Service, Shijiazhuang, August 26th: "Miracle on Earth" hidden deep in Taihang: "Out of the Mountain" from the dry farming Shiyan terraces in Shexian County, Hebei Province
Written by Li Xiaowei, translated by Wang Tian and He Xiaofang
The sun shines through the clouds and shines on the terraced fields that are stacked and surrounded by mountains and beams.
A gust of autumn wind blew, and the thick aroma of pepper came out, and the branches were covered with red and plump peppercorns.
"Hey..." A horn sounded, and a villager came with a donkey.
Here is the world's important agricultural cultural heritage - the dry farming Shiyan terrace system in Shexian County, Hebei Province.
"I didn't expect our terraced fields to become an important agricultural cultural heritage in the world, and many netizens are paying attention to it now." Liu Zhikai, a "post-90s" boy from Liujia Village, Jingdian Town, Shexian County, with 1.83 million "fans", is holding a camera to record the villagers picking peppers scene.
Liujia Village, Jingdian Town, where Liu Zhikai is located, belongs to the She County Dry Farming Shiyan Terraced Field System.
Deep in the hinterland of the Taihang Mountains, the Shexian dry farming Shiyan terrace system is a rainfed agricultural system. It has lasted for more than 700 years, with a total area of 204 square kilometers and is distributed in 46 administrative villages. It is an outstanding representative of the Taihang Mountains dry farming terraces.
Aerial photography of Shiyan terraced fields in Shexian County.
Photo by Lu Haidong
"The mountains are high and the slopes are steep, the rocks are thick and the soil is thin, and there have been nine droughts in ten years".
According to He Xianlin, a senior agronomist at the Shexian Agriculture and Rural Bureau, in order to survive, the ancestors built a large-scale Taihang terraced field by digging stone weirs, collecting rainwater and storing water, which not only provided local people with a stable livelihood, but also provided the local people with a stable livelihood. The northern limestone mountainous area has created an ecological cycle sustainable agricultural model.
In 2014, the Shexian dry farming Shiyan terrace system was recognized as an important agricultural cultural heritage in China.
In May this year, it was officially recognized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization as an important global agricultural cultural heritage.
"I came back to my hometown in 2016. Because I like short videos, I tried to take some pictures of the production and life of people in the terraced fields. I didn't expect to attract a lot of attention." Liu Zhikai said that he had been working outside before, and with the fame of Shexian terraced fields Getting bigger and bigger, I want to spread the traditional way of life and beauty of my hometown.
"The dry farming terrace system not only maintains the livelihoods of people in resource-poor areas, but also has outstanding value in terms of ecology, culture, landscape, etc." He Xianlin said that experts from the United Nations World Food Program who visited Shexian County once praised, " It's an amazing human miracle."
"I saw the beautiful scenery of Taihang terraces from my mobile phone, and I heard that this place was selected as an important agricultural cultural heritage in the world, so I brought my family around." Zhao Xingyu, a tourist from Shijiazhuang, said that the village here is simple, the air is good, and the experience of riding a donkey "makes the children feel good." Delighted."
In recent years, Shexian County has built the Taihang Terraced Grand Canyon, developed donkey tours on terraced fields and ecological landscape tours around the terraced farming culture, attracting many tourists to come here to express their love for the landscape and experience rural life.
In 2018, the opening of the Taihang Mountain Expressway made tourism in the villages along the terraced fields even more prosperous.
Villagers along the dry land Shiyan terraces in Shexian County are picking peppercorns.
Photo by He Xiaofang
"Tourists like to ride donkeys on the terraced fields to pick peppers, and they prefer to eat our stewed chicken and steamed pumpkin." said Liu Zhangtai, who runs a farmhouse in Liujia Village. Now more than 20 homestays have been built in the village, and the entire village receives daily reception during peak holidays. Thousands of tourists.
In 2020, Liujia Village was successfully selected as a national key village for rural tourism.
On that day, many tourists were visiting the "Farmers' Seed Bank" in Wangjinzhuang Village, the core area of the terraced field system in Shexian County.
As the United Nations "Biodiversity 100+ Global Typical Case", 171 traditional crop varieties of 77 species from 26 families are preserved here, covering grains, vegetables, oil crops, dried and fresh fruits, medicinal plants, etc.
Cao Feiding, president of the Shexian Dry Farming Terrace Protection Association, said that the "Farmers Seed Bank" not only provides farmers with seeds, but also provides technical guidance, which can greatly motivate farmers to plant grain and resume farming.
"Farmers need to return the seeds after harvesting the seeds, which not only protects the seeds, but also protects the arable land."
The smooth flow of high-speed not only allows more tourists to enter Shexian County, but also allows the traditional agricultural products here to "fly" to all parts of the country.
As a local characteristic agricultural product, there are more than 3,000 prickly ash growers here, and the average annual income of each household increases by 6,000 yuan.
To this end, the local pepper trading market has been established, with a transaction volume of 4 million kilograms and a transaction value of nearly 300 million yuan in the past year.
Today, Liu Zhikai, who has turned into an "Internet celebrity", has started to bring goods to the villagers live in addition to shooting short videos to promote the beauty of his hometown.
He said that he hoped that more people would get to know the terraced fields in Shexian County, and that the life of the people in his hometown would get better and better.
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