Chinese authorities have given the prestigious status of an agricultural cultural heritage site to the Paddy Field National Park in Sanya on the southern coast of Hainan Island. This was announced by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the so-called agrarian culture practice bases, which now officially include the Sanya Paddy Field Park, "are designed to stimulate sustainable development and to foster a love of labor" among the younger generation. "All regions of China should realize the important role these facilities play," commented the Ministry of Agriculture.
In addition to Sanya, another agricultural tourism development area located in Qionghai City in eastern Hainan has been added to the honorary list, as noted. It is expected that these two sites will provide a "new and innovative direction for the promotion of the culture of agricultural regions of the People's Republic of China."
The Sanya Paddy Field National Park opened in January 2018 and has since welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors. The attraction is closely related to China's national breeding development program.
Hainan plays a key role in China's seed breeding program. The breeding projects carried out in the province attract the attention of several hundred research organizations, leading universities and enterprises every year. Thousands of specialists from different regions of China, as well as from other countries, participate in them. The fate of the leading Chinese breeder, the "father of hybrid rice," Yuan Longping (1930-2021), who regularly visited the island in winter for more than 50 years, was closely connected with the developments in Sanya.
