The rice terraces visible from the village and its surrounding slopes are an integral part of the landscape that makes Xijiang striking. Below the stilt houses, on the lower slopes of the valley, narrow terraces step down to the valley floor in a pattern that has been maintained for generations. In late spring, when the paddies are flooded for planting, the water reflects the sky and the surrounding forest. In autumn, the rice is golden before harvest.
The terraces are working fields, not a scenic attraction, and they are tended by the families who live in the houses above them. Walking the lower paths between the terraces in the early morning — before the village gets busy — gives a direct encounter with the agricultural life that underpins the cultural identity on display in the village above.