An Integrated Water System: The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces

Authors

  • Tianchen Dai Southeast University
  • Carola Hein Delft University of Technology

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.2.14

Abstract

The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2013, integrates traditional farming, irrigation, water management and the Hani people’s spiritual relationship with nature. It embodies traditional ecosystemic practices and provides a model for sustainable development aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The terraces exemplify a comprehensive water management system (SDG 6), grounded in resilient communities (SDG 11), efficient traditional farming (SDG 12) and climate-resilient water management (SDG 13). This article examines this traditional approach to water management to offer insights regarding the challenges involved in conserving and (re)creating holistic water systems. In the context of climate change, safeguarding this cultural landscape against flooding, drought and socioeconomic pressures is of critical importance.

How to Cite

Dai, T., & Hein, C. (2025). An Integrated Water System: The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces. Blue Papers, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.2.14

Published

2025-11-05

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 2 (2025): Water Management in World Heritage Properties at a Time of Climate Change

Section

methodologies and case studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Tianchen Dai, Carola Hein

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Tianchen Dai, Southeast University

Tianchen Dai has a PhD in architecture from Southeast University, China, an M.Arch from Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, and a B.Arch from the University of Nottingham, UK. She has been a visiting researcher (2016–2018) and postdoctoral researcher (2020–2021) at Delft Technical University, Netherlands. She worked as an associate professor at East China Normal University, Shanghai (2021–2024), and now holds the same position at Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen). Her research explores the cultural connotations of historic urban landscapes, focusing on port and waterfront cities. She has published over 20 articles and chapters in Chinese and international journals.

Carola Hein, Delft University of Technology

Carola Hein is Professor History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology, Professor at Leiden and Erasmus University and UNESCO Chair Water, Ports and Historic Cities. She has published and lectured widely on topics in contemporary and historical architectural, urban and planning history and has tied historical analysis to contemporary development. Among other major grants, she received a Guggenheim and an Alexander von Humboldt fellowship. Her recent books include Port City Atlas (2023), Oil Spaces (2021), Urbanisation of the Sea (2020), Adaptive Strategies for Water Heritage (2020), The Routledge Planning History Handbook (2018), Port Cities: Dynamic Landscapes and Global Networks (2011). Carola is also the leader of the PortCityFutures research group.

References

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Dai Tianchen, Carola Hein and Dan Baciu, D. 2021. “Heritage Words: Exploring Port City Terms.” European Journal of Creative Practices in Cities and Landscapes 4 (2): 36–59. https://doi.org/10.6092/issn.2612-0496/12149.

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