Glutinous rice stored in a Dong family granary

Stored glutinous rice in a Dong community in Guizhou. The golden rice has been kept in the family’s liángcāng (粮仓), or granary, where traditionally the amount of rice a household could store was also an indication of its wealth. A larger granary and a fuller store of rice meant greater security for the family.

This tradition is changing as fewer young people remain in the villages to farm. For the older generation who have stayed, however, growing and storing glutinous rice continues to be an important part of life. At the same time, some local communities are looking for new ways to give this old crop a future, turning the rice into products that can be sold beyond the village and introducing more people to the varieties they have grown for generations.