A farmer plows the rice field in Xiaozhoushan Township, Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 11, 2020.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
HANGZHOU, July 20 (Xinhua) -- China boasts a long history of agricultural civilization, and Chinese farmers are full of agricultural wisdom. It ranks first in the world in the number of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Three sites in Zhejiang, east China, including a rice-fish co-culture system in Qingtian County, a mulberry-dyke & fish-pond system in Huzhou City, and the Kuaijishan ancient Chinese torreya community, have been recognized as GIAHS by the FAO.
Up to now, China has 18 GIAHS and has become a major contributor to globally important agricultural heritage.
Aerial photo taken on July 25, 2019 shows terraced rice fields in Xiaozhoushan Township, Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
Aerial photo taken on May 13, 2017 shows mulberry-dyke & fish-ponds in Nanxun District, Huzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Dingchang)
Aerial photo taken on May 13, 2017 shows mulberry-dyke & fish-ponds in Nanxun District, Huzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Wang Dingchang)
The rice-fish co-culture system in Qingtian has a history of more than 1,300 years and was listed in the world's first group of the GIAHS designated by the FAO in 2005. Qingtian, in the southwestern part of Zhejiang, has sufficient water resources and a terraced landscape. The rice-fish co-culture system can bring handsome incomes to local farmers. In 2021, the rice-fish co-culture system in Qingtian covered around 3,700 hectares of paddy fields, with an average rice yield of 7.2 tonnes per hectare. The total output value of rice and fish reached 265 million yuan (about 39.3 million U.S. dollars).
People visit a protection area of the rice-fish co-culture system in Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 18, 2022.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
In this aerial photo, villagers celebrate in traditional costumes as they start ploughing and releasing fish fry into rice fields in Xiaozhoushan Township, Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 11, 2020.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
Aerial photo taken on July 18, 2022 shows a protection area of the rice-fish co-culture system in Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province.(Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
In this aerial photo, villagers celebrate in traditional costumes as they start ploughing and releasing fish fry into rice fields in Xiaozhoushan Township, Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 11, 2020.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
In this aerial photo, farmers carry buckets of fish fry before releasing them into rice fields in Xiaozhoushan Township, Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province, June 11, 2020.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
Photo taken on July 25, 2019 shows fish swimming in a terraced rice field in Xiaozhoushan Township, Qingtian County, east China's Zhejiang Province.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
Zhejiang Province is a major production area of Chinese torreya nuts. The Kuaijishan ancient Chinese torreya community in Zhejiang was named a pilot site of the GIAHS program in 2013.
The planting of Kuaijishan ancient torreya can be dated back to more than 2,000 years. It is a "living fossil" marking China's height in plant breeding and grafting.
A farmer picks Chinese torreya nuts in Feiwang Village of Zhaojia Township in Zhuji City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 10, 2020.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
In this aerial photo, farmers air Chinese torreya nuts in Zhaojia Township in Zhuji City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 19, 2021.(Xinhua/Xu Yu)
A farmer picks Chinese torreya nuts in Longxi Village of Jidong Township in Shaoxing City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 27, 2019.■
