锦绣华南 7

Terraced paddies like those of the Yuanyang County are found across much of southern China.

This whole vast landscape is dominated by rice cultivation.

In hilly Guizhou Province,

the Miao minority have developed a remarkable rice culture.

With every inch of fertile land given over to rice cultivation,

the Miao build their wooden houses on the steepest and least productive hillsides.

In Chinese rural life, everything has a use.

Dried in the sun, manure from the cow sheds will be used as cooking fuel.

It's midday,

and the Song family are tucking into a lunch of rice and vegetables.