Portrait of an LBX

The scene as we climb out of Danjia (單甲村), where we were treated to a most excellent, home-cooked Wa (佤族) dinner the evening before.

The Hani (哈尼族) may get all the credit for their rice terraces in Yuanyang (元陽縣), but the terraced mountains cover much of southern Yunnan and are farmed by Yi (彝族), Bulang (布朗族), Lahu (拉祜族) and Wa (佤族), among others. The leaves from the tea trees in the foreground will be turned into Pu'er (普洱茶), which stretches far beyond the county of Pu'er (普洱縣), from which the tea gets its name.

A view of the Tiger Mouth (老虎嘴) valley from above.

During my two rides through Yuanyang I have only been fortunate enough to see the areas directly adjacent to the S214 provincial road. There are many other beautiful vistas, but I think Tiger Mouth (老虎嘴) is certainly one of the most impressive! So impressive, in fact, that I had to make an extra-large version of this HDR shot of the valley to show all the detail! Click the photo to see it. The white dots are the tiny huts in which the farmers live during the planting and harvest seasons.

During planting and harvesting season, the Hani farmers in the terraced mountain rice paddies of Yuanyang County live in these tiny, thatched-roof huts (田篷) set among the hundreds and thousands of paddies on each mountain.

A tea farmer in Anxi (安溪) County, China's most famous area for producing tieguanyin (Iron Avalokitesvara, 铁观音) tea, trims tea plants. Tea harvesting and production occurs mainly in May and October, with leaves from the spring harvest generally the most sought-after.