Recent online aerial photos show the pastoral beauty of crop fields in Pantiange of Weixi County, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.  

Pantiange was at first a swamp inhabited by ethnic minorities. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, locals in Weixi excavated canals and water in the marshes drained away.

Thanks to efforts by later generations of the Pumi ethinc group, the basin area with an elevation of 2,700 meters was transformed into an excellent farming area for black rice.    

Source: Yunnan Net; trans-editing by Wang Shixue