In the 7th century, they immigrated into the area near Mt. Ailao and Mt. Wuliang. In the Tang （618-907）and Song dynasties（960-12790, the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms successively reigned in this area. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) established a prefecture to rule the Hani and other ethnic groups in Yunnan. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) exercised its rule through local chieftains, who were granted official posts. During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) court officials replaced the chieftains.
The Hani ethnic group comprises over twenty subgroups. They used to be called Hani, Heni, Budu, Biyue, Yani, etc. With the founding of the PRC in 1949, following consultations with the ethnic group, the Hani ethnic group was agreed upon.
The inspirator of the “terrace culture”
Terraces of Hani nationality, in the Ailao mountain range southwest of Yunnan province, is an agricultural and farming landscape created by locals, mainly Hanis, while making use of local climatic conditions. There are 170,000 mu（0.0667 hectares）of terrace in Yuanyang county, the core region of Hani terraces. The highest terrace is more than 3,000 steps from the mountain foot to the top, presenting different sights as seasons change. Thanks to hundreds years of cultivation, the Hani terrace has formed a virtuous agricultural ecological system involving river, forest, villages and terrace.
The Hani Terraces are of the most representative of Chinese terraces and a wonder in the world of agricultural civilization. The four-elemental forest-village-terrace-river structure of the agriculture ecosystem and its unique terrace cultural landscape is unparalleled in the world. The features of human beings living peacefully with their environment are highly evaluated in the 21st century. The Honghe Hani Terrace deserves worldwide protection and must be treasured on the basis of sustainable development, especially in an increasingly industrialized and modern society.
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