Terraced Rice Cultivation

Timeline

1. 1000–1100Fujian mountain regions · FujianFrom the Northern Song to the early Southern Song, southward population migration drove large-scale reclamation of terraces in the Fujian–Zhejiang–Jiangxi hill regions, with stone ridges built, water channeled for irrigation and drainage, and early and late rice planted, forming a mountain grain production system complementary to plain paddy fields.
2. 1231–1240Western Hunan and Lingnan · LingnanAgainst the backdrop of the Southern Song resistance to the Mongols, mountain terraces in Jiangnan continued to be expanded to increase grain output; terraced rice techniques spread by sea and land routes to Jiaozhi, Champa, and Southeast Asian highlands, supporting rice supply for mountain settlements and tributary trade.