Looking at this photo, you may think that you are viewing a stained-glass window in a church or fine art painting. If you actually read the headline though, you know that it depicts the terraced rice fields of Old Yuanyang in China, and the only artists involved were lowly OG Chinese farmers from back in the day.
These particular rice fields are terraced into the side of the Ailao Mountains near the Red River Valley, also home to the Hani minority settlement whose people do most of the farming. The stained-glass effect comes from the fact that the paddies are terraced, so the different elevations reflect different things, even though they look flat from above. The climate in this area only allows for one rice crop per year, and even though it is a hot-spot for photographers, the Hani settlement is incredibly hard to get to, so it has not yet been infiltrated and raped by mass tourism.
If you are looking for a beautiful, off the beaten path excursion in China, the Yuanyang rice terraces might be an option. Fair warning though, you would have to endure a 7-hour bus ride from the capital Kunming, seated next to some rural Chinese farmers. Long story short, if you are afraid of live chickens, you might consider driving yourself.
