Yunnan Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries

In the dog days of summer, Yunnan Province, located in the southwest of China, is lush with rice paddies; far from YunnanMore than 3,900 kilometers away in Bali, Indonesia, a similar expanse of lush green organic rice fields spanning nearly 400 mu continue a friendship that has endured for over 620 years. On June 30th, the "Zheng He's Journey of Friendship Envoys" series of cultural exchange activities were launched in Jakarta, Indonesia. During the sub-activity "Global Civilization Initiative" and the Zheng He Spirit International Communication Seminar, representatives from both China and Indonesia jointly narrated the story of friendship behind the "Rice of Solidarity".

The photo shows tourists experiencing swinging next to organic rice fields in Bali, Indonesia. Yunnan Province's diplomatic mission in Indonesia(Jakarta) Business Representative Office Provided Photo

Over 620 years ago, Zheng He, a Chinese navigator born in Jinxing, Yunnan, made seven voyages to the Western Seas, visiting the Indonesian archipelago on multiple occasions. He brought not only silk, porcelain, and tea but also agricultural technologies such as rice cultivation, sowing the seeds for early exchanges and mutual learning between China and Indonesia.

In 2003, Yunnan Province and Bali Province of Indonesia officially established friendly province relations. Over two decades later, the organic rice project from the hometown of Zheng He, Yunnan, has been implemented in Bali, writing a new chapter in this "friendship between cities".

In 2024, the "Heart to Heart, Yunnan Journey" project made its first foray into Indonesia, implementing an organic rice planting project in the Jati鲁维 area of Tabanan regency, Bali province. "This region boasts terraced landscapes similar to those in the Red River Valley of Yunnan, providing a natural契合point for agricultural exchanges between the two places," said Zhang Junlei, deputy director of the Yunnan Provincial People's Foreign Affairs Association's office in Indonesia (Jakarta) (hereinafter referred to as the "office"), during a seminar. The project, which has been implemented for more than two years, is organized by the Yunnan Provincial People's Foreign Affairs Association and executed by the office, has cumulatively benefited more than 1,400 local residents.

In addition to providing production materials such as ploughing cattle, tractors, thresher, and high-quality rice seeds, the project has also organized a variety of trainings including organic agriculture planting, digital marketing, online promotion of agricultural products, rural tourism, and rural entrepreneurship, with a total training of 104 times.

Nowadays, new leisure facilities such as coffee shops and swings have been built among the terraced organic rice fields, and more and more foreign tourists are coming here to experience rural tourism, purchasing organic rice and local handicrafts.

Chairman of the Indonesia Tourism Village Development Network Foundation, Ika(Eka Budiyasa) stated that the project provides significant assistance to local farmers to increase their income, revitalizes rice fields, and most importantly, allows the local community to feel the positive impact of organic farming.

Foreign tourists taking photos in the organic rice fields of Bali, Indonesia. Yunnan Province's diplomatic mission in Indonesia.(Jakarta) Business Representative Office Provided Photo

The project will also continue to buildThe "Bali Organic" agricultural tourism brand promotes the integrated development of green agriculture and ecological tourism, and explores the establishment of a long-term cooperation mechanism with the participation of local governments, civil organizations and farmers.

ForFor Wayan, a local villager in his 40s, the change is more concrete. His family has been farming rice under the traditional Indonesian irrigation system, "subak," for generations. When the project first started, he hesitated to accept the invitation, worried that the lack of chemical fertilizers would lead to a reduction in yield.

After participating in the training, Vayang mastered the technology of organic composting and biological pesticides. The yield of the first season of organic rice planting is comparable to that of previous years, but the selling price of organic rice is more than twice that of ordinary rice, and the income of a single season has increased by about 30%.

Now, Vyang has become the village"Organic farming demonstration households", his rice fields, have also set an example for the integration of local agriculture and tourism. He also actively shares his experience with other farmers, driving 23 households to join the planting. "I used to think I couldn't do without chemical fertilizers, but now I know that the land can become healthier with each harvest," he said.

The changes in Wangan are just a microcosm of local development and change. In Zhang Junlei's view, what is more valuable than the increase in production is the growing trust of the local villagers. In order not to live up to the trust, the project team further focused on what else the villagers need in their lives.

Zhang Junlei recalled,During a home visit in December 2024, they sat down with the villagers for a conversation. As night fell, with no streetlights around, everyone could only talk by the faint light in the courtyard. Niluh, a villager, thanked the project team for helping them grow rice well and increase their income. She looks forward to a better life, where there are streetlights at night to illuminate the roads, allowing children to play freely and neighbors to visit each other comfortably in the evenings.

The words of the villagers have inspired the project team to further extend agricultural assistance to rural public services. Zhang Junlei introduced,At present, the third phase project has begun to be prepared. In addition to adding about 10 hectares of organic rice planting, it is also planned to build a set of solar street lights to improve the conditions for villagers to travel at night.

It is worth mentioning that these streetlights will add Chinese cultural elements, and through the use of Chinese and Indonesian bilingual signs, the lighting facilities will serve both practical and cultural display functions."Hope to improve the production and living conditions of the villagers while promoting organic agriculture, green energy, and cultural exchanges simultaneously," said Zhang Junlei.

A plant;"Lotus Rice", which also reflects the continuous deepening of Yunnan's foreign people's cooperation.

From 2022 to 2025, the Yunnan People's Association for Foreign Friendship has focused on Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Indian Ocean region, and has successively implemented 187 "Heart to Heart, Yunnan Journey" projects in 24 countries, covering infrastructure, agricultural technology, green energy, medical and health care, education assistance, people-to-people exchanges and other fields. It has benefited 153 overseas communities (villages), 201 schools, and directly and indirectly benefited about 4.6 million people.

From the exchange of farming technology during Zheng He's time to today's agricultural, cultural, and tourism integration project in Yunnan once again taking root in Indonesia, a single plant that transcends mountains and seas.“Lianxin Rice” connects two fields and also links the shared vision of common development between the people of the two regions.