As one of the newly inscribed properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the rice terraces in Yunnan, China, produce a visually striking agricultural landscape built by the Hani people for over 1,300 years. It’s a harmonious environment, where 82 villages continue to thrive from farming the cascading irrigation system and manage a sustainable ecology.

See more photos in the China’s Cascading Terraces gallery and Yunnan on Flickr Places.

Photos from loraineltai, snoreis, jtan4, Syydehaas, and mekong69.