Jiangxi Shangbao Terraces Selected as World Heritage Irrigation Structure

Jiangxi Shangbao Terraces [Photo by Department of Water Resources of Jiangxi Province]

On October 6, the 2022 World Heritage Irrigation Structure (WHIS) List (9th) was released at the 73rd International Executive Council Meeting of International Congress on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) held in Adelaide, South Australia, on which the Chongyi Shangbao Terraces were officially recognized and included, marking one more World Heritage Irrigation Structure in Jiangxi Province.

The Chongyi Shangbao Terraces cover an area of about 3,400 hectares in the mountainous region of Chongyi County, Ganzhou City in the eastern Jiangxi Province, mostly distributed among 26 administrative villages in Shangbao County, Fengzhou County, and Sishun County. The Chongyi Shangbao Terraces are recognized as the “largest Hakka terraces in the world” with the highest elevation of 1,260 meters and the lowest of 280 meters, varying by nearly 1,000 meters. According to The Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Terraces can be traced back to at least 2,200 years ago. Constructed in Pre-Qin Period and developed in Qin and Han Periods, the Terraces reached to the current scale of sophisticated and sustainable irrigation network thanks to expansions and renovations in Tang, Song, Yuan, and Qing dynasties.

Jiangxi Shangbao Terraces [Photo by Department of Water Resources of Jiangxi Province]

The Chongyi Shangbao Terraces were shaped by the mountains and nurtured by waters. For thousands of years, local residents followed the law of nature, acted according to local conditions, and built the mountainous water allocation system which is connected by numerous irrigating networks. Each terrace is not only a small reservoir but also a piece of soil-conserving land, preventing soil erosion. It’s a masterpiece of the creativity of ancient Chinese people and an example of a perfect irrigating structure. Even to this day, the engineering form and layout of the gravity irrigation system of Chongyi Shangbao Terraces are still intact. These typical terraced irrigation systems, which embody the sweat and wisdom of the ancestors, have become a vital part of the local agricultural economy. Apart from that, Chongyi Shangbao Terraces have left a large number of heritage sites, which are historical traces and cultural imprints of terrace reclamation and construction of irrigation projects, with extremely high scientific, historical and archaeological values.

The Chongyi Shangbao Terraces were selected and recognized as the fourth World Heritage Irrigation Structure in Jiangxi province, after the Chatan Irrigation Project in 2016, the Qianjinbei Irrigation System located in Fuzhou in 2019, and the Liao River Irrigation District in 2021. There are 30 entries of Chinese irrigation projects that have been listed on the WHIS List so far, among which Jiangxi province ranks the second in China in terms of the total number.