Growing Rice In China Is Seen In Many Areas, Even Viewed Through Train Windows.

One of the advantages of travelling by train in China, is that the views through the train windows, present ever-changing scenery. Rice growing in China is common in areas where the climate and land conditions are suitable, so the rice fields seen during our journey to Guilin were no surprise. Most of the rice growing in the paddy fields had been harvested, but the shapes and sizes of the rice fields took on an almost artistic appearance. Growing rice in this particular area of China was on reasonably flat land, but growing rice on a mountain slope is a different matter. In Long Sheng, the Chinese farmers grow their rice on mountain slopes that they have terraced. Rice growing can be seen in many different situations, and the growing of rice in some areas depends solely on cultivation by hand. The rice ''fields'' in these areas are inaccessible to any machinery, or too small to justify costs.

The threshing of rice grown in some paddy fields is done by hand in the dried out paddy field itself. In one part of China we came across Chinese farmers storing harvested rice on the tops of roadside trees!

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** Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is very labor-intensive to cultivate and requires plenty of water for cultivation. On the other hand, mechanized cultivation is extremely oil-intensive, more than other food products with the exception of beef and dairy products.[citation needed] Rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain. Although its parent species are native to South Asia and certain parts of Africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide. ** Src: Wikipedia.org