The Hani Terrace is one of the most representative Chinese terraces and a wonder in the world of agricultural civilization. The four-elemental forest-village-terrace-river structure of the agriculture ecosystem and its unique terrace cultural landscape is unparalleled around the world. The features of human beings living peacefully with their environment are highly evaluated in the 21st century. The Honghe Hani Terrace deserves worldwide protection and must be treasured on the basis of sustainable development, especially in the increasingly industrialized and modernized society.

For more than 1,000 years, the Hani did not really build a city of their own; they have always been living in village units due to geological reasons: The region along the south banks of the Honghe River is too mountainous for building a city. Thus, it can be fair to say that Hani people have focused their energies and wisdom on terraces while others erected buildings.

To some extent, the Hani Terrace represents the utmost harmony human beings could ever attain while settling in their environment. They have created a huge irrigation network on mountains with innumerable channels and trenches linking the terraces together where water flows from the higher folds to the lower ones, and then finally into the  river again.

Thus, some ethnologists think that in relation to the climate, geology and ecology, no other society has ever presented a better choice than the Hani Terrace.

Noted for its profound culture, the Hani Terrace is also famous for its beautiful natural landscapes, including mountains, forests and misty seas in the Ailao Mountain area. As a result, the Hani Terrace is supposed to be listed as a "World Natural and Cultural Heritage" by UNESCO. The bidding work is being supported by the local government, and is now well underway.

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