Also sharing the same style is the bell tower, which originated slightly later, in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It is said to have accommodated an 800-kilogram bell, inscribed with the full text of the Heart Sutra, but it is now lost.

Since the temple is no longer functional as a religious site, it is quiet inside, with very few visitors. That allows a closer look at the architectural details, including its exquisite dougong, the quintessential Chinese interlocking wooden brackets supporting the roof, and a simple but elegant caisson in the Mahavira Hall.

Rice and wild rice

In front of the Shisi Temple is a road that winds downhill into a steep, lush valley where another spectacle of ancient heritage awaits.

Morning fog rises from deep in the valley as I descend along the road. Fleeting breaks in the mist reveal a huge array of terraced fields along the mountainside, spanning hundreds of meters in elevation.

A cluster of rustic cottages made from rammed-earth walls, many of them 200 years old, are scattered on a steep slope beside the terraces. This is Xiaozuo Village, inhabited by the Yan family, who moved here in the early Song Dynasty from Yanzhoufu, the area around today's Qiandao (Thousand Island) Lake in Hangzhou.

According to the villagers, their ancestors started to build the terraces to grow rice some 400 years ago. Today the whole cultivation area covers more than 100 layers vertically.

Though not a match in scale to the world-famous terraces in Yunnan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, this is still among the largest terrace constructions in Zhejiang Province. It's actually too expansive for such a small village as Xiaozuo. Why did the Yan ancestors grow more rice than they needed in such a rugged backwater? The relic of a Ming Dynasty silver mine, located some distance uphill, provides a clue.

These mountains of Zhejiang used to be the site of mass silver and gold mining for the Ming Dynasty treasury. The necessity of feeding the huge number of miners may have given rise to the large cultivation terraces found in this area.

Terraces are perfect examples of ancient ecological engineering. They make use of the elevation differences to create effective water circles, as moisture from deep in the valley condenses and precipitates on the much cooler mountaintop and then returns to the bottom in the form of water through the cultivated terraces.

They are also a scenic treat for tourists and photographers because of their beautiful curves. The Xiaozuo terraces fell into disuse in the last century, and it was not until recent years that they were re-cultivated, partly as tourism attractions.

Back in the villages around Daji, traditional rice planting has also shrunk in the last decade to make room for a more profitable crop — wild rice shoots. Known as jiaobai, the swollen crisp white shoots created by the infection of smut fungus are seasonal delicacies popular in Shanghai and surrounding regions. While it is impossible to grow wild rice shoots in lowlands during high summer because of the heat, in Daji they are harvested in early August, filling a gap in urban market supplies.

Grown in the pleasant alpine climate and irrigated by mountain springs, Daji wild rice shoots are known for their exceptionally tender texture and juicy flavor. I tucked into a plate of them, fresh from the paddies and stir-fried with the simplest of condiments. It was a dish to savor.

Indeed, the traditions and endeavors of Daji villagers are also something to savor. While they may not be able to escape infringement by modernization in such a fast-developing province as Zhejiang, they do guard the small, precious windows into their history.

If you go

Admission: 45 yuan. It's free to walk around the villages, but tickets will be checked if you visit Shisi Temple, Mei's Ancestral Hall, Snowflake Falls and other attractions.

? By public transport: The bullet train from Shanghai to Lishui takes around 2.5 hours. Change to a bus at the Lishui Railway Station and head for Jingning County, about 1.5 hours further on. Mini-bus service is available between Jingning County and Daji Township — three buses a day on a trip that takes 1.5 hours.

? Driving: Follow expressways G60 — S26 — S27 — G25 — S34 and exit at Jingning County. Then follow Provincial Road S228, turn right at Baihe Village and take the road to Daji.