Ming'ao Terraces

Ming'ao Terraces

Ming'ao Terraces are nestled among the towering mountains of Yongjia in southern Zhejiang, all over 800 meters above sea level. Travel northward along the Nanxi River to Bilian Town, then drive about 10 kilometers up the mountain road from Bilian. As you wind through the undulating mountain ranges, past valleys shrouded in sea of clouds and villages with wisps of cooking smoke, the terraced fields built along the slopes of Ming'ao Mountain Village gradually come into view.

Ming'ao is a place where people of various surnames live together. The three major clans—Chen, Hu, and Xu—each have their own ancestral halls, which symbolize clan culture. Among them, the ancestral hall of the Hu clan is the most distinctive. The grand Hu Clan Ancestral Hall is spacious and elaborately decorated with red paint and gold accents. Its dome features exquisite painted stories, while corridors run along the walls on both sides of the main hall. Opposite the central hall stands a beautiful opera stage, and the screen wall is painted with a deer mural that reflects the villagers’ aspirations for a better life. Nowadays, it has become a popular spot for villagers to rest and chat. In addition to the main hall, the Hu clan has several smaller ancestral halls. The Sanfang Ancestral Hall contains murals from the Ming Dynasty depicting ancestors of the Hu clan. These mural figures are exquisitely carved, dressed in luxurious and colorful attire, and apart from one figure on the west side that is half damaged due to the decay of the wooden board over time, the rest are well preserved.

Ming'ao features stone arch bridges, moon altars, and many ancient houses. The oldest of these houses dates back approximately 680 years. Although new houses have been built where parts of the old walls were missing, the original structure has largely been retained. This old house, with its weathered and simple eaves, silently tells the stories of centuries past. It is said that the house once had four plaques, but over time, three have disappeared. Only one remains in the upper corner of the main room, the large characters “齿德兼修” (Virtue and Integrity Combined) still faintly visible. Outside the house, there is a washbasin carved from a single piece of stone. Beside the courtyard and an equally ancient well, there sits a small recumbent stone Buddha.

The terraces are the crowning glory of Ming'ao’s landscape, living sculptures etched into the earth. Stretching as far as the eye can see, they follow the contours of the hills, their stepped, crescent-shaped platforms covering vast areas. One cannot help but marvel at this grand feat—a masterpiece crafted over 1,000 years ago by ancestors using primitive tools—that has provided generations with a place to live, thrive, farm, and cultivate.

Public Transport: Take a ferry from Wenzhou’s Anlan Wharf to Yongjia’s Oubei, then catch a bus from Oubei to Ming'ao.

Self-Drive:

1. From downtown Wenzhou, take the Jinhua-Lishui-Wenzhou Expressway, exit at Qiaoxia, and drive through Xuxia Township to reach Ming'ao.

2. From downtown Wenzhou, cross the Dong’ou Bridge, pass through Oubei Town, Shangtang Town, Shatou Town, Daruoyan Town, and Bilian Town to reach Ming'ao.