Fields of Dreams

By Ji Jing

In Qingtian， Zhejiang Province， fish swim in the paddy fields and at night， one can hear the sound of fish gulping up falling rice flowers. This unique agricultural practice has existed for over 1，000 years.

The legend goes that farmers in ancient times inadvertently released fish fries， or newly hatched fish， into the paddy fields when channeling brook water into the fields. When harvesting rice in autumn， to their surprise， they found a lot of adult fish roaming the paddies.

The farmers have since adopted the practice and under this system the rice provides the fish with food and shade while the fish clear the weeds， loosen the soil， and consume rice crop pest. Coincidentally， their feces serve as fertilizers for the rice.

The farmers there usually grow four rice varieties， including black and glutinous rice. Although the output of these traditional rice varieties is lower than that of their modern counterparts， they contain ample nutrients and other special benefits. Black rice has medicinal value and glutinous rice is indispensable for making glutinous rice dumplings.

The fish itself has evolved into a unique species which looks like carp， but tastes better.

In 2005， the rice-fish farming system was recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems（GIAHS）. To date， China has 15 GIAHS sites， the most in the world.

China boasts over 10，000 years of history in agricultural civilization and agriculture has shaped the nations culture. Thus to a certain extent protecting agricultural heritage is protecting the cultural roots of the Chinese nation.

Saved from extinction

However， the traditional farming system was hard to sustain and even ran the risk of disappearing altogether. Qingtian has very limited land resources. There is a saying that 90 percent of Qingtian is mountain， 5 percent water and 5 percent farmland.

Due to the limited farmland， it became difficult to produce enough grain for people to live on. In many families， if the eldest son inherited the rice field， the other children usually had to venture outside their hometowns， or even abroad， to make a living.

Moreover， the terraced rice fields make it impossible to employ modern agricultural machineries. Also， farmers used organic fertilizers under the traditional farming system， which are not as effective as chemical fertilizers and result in low output.