In early October, visitors passing along Highway 25, which cuts through H Bong and la Pal communes in Chu Se District, are greeted by the glistening terraced rice fields in these highlands. The Chu Se terraces lie 40 km away from Pleiku Town in Gia Lai, with beauty no less than that of the terraces in the northwestern region.

Small passageways carve out the plots of the fields which are situated symmetrically side by side, and appear similar to the veins of a leaf.

Rice paddies thrive from the freshwater flow spewing from the artificial lake Ayun Ha and streams in Gia Lai.

For many generations, the Jrai people have inhabited this region and cultivated the land surrounding these hills into a staircase-like structure to expand the fields for intensive farming. The passages interwoven between each field create shapes throughout the land, turning the landscape into a giant canvas of patterns.

Humble-sized tents are used by the locals to rest and store away personal possessions when visiting the fields.

In the picture above, one can see that each field consecutively connects to another forming a mosaic of green shades on the highland. “I feel refreshed when wandering amongst these deep green rice paddies, relishing in the peaceful ambiance free from air pollution,” photographer Hoang Quoc Vinh from Gia Lai Province said.

A field in Chu Se District captured in the early morning. Apart from this area, tourists in Chu Se frequent other famous sites such as the Phu Cuong waterfall, Ayun Ha lake, and the Nhon Hoa elephant village.

Photos by Hoang Quoc Vinh, Nguyen Quang Thanh

While Vietnam’s terraced fields in the northern highlands are all the rage these days, the Mekong Delta offers another version of scenic splendor.

Rice paddy fields in An Giang Province are shining bright yellow these days, signaling the start of the spring-summer harvest.

Driving along the provincial Highway 943 from Long Xuyen Town to Thoai Son District in An Giang, paddy fields stretch out like vast, velvety carpets of brilliant green and yellow.

Yellow rice fields in Long Xuyen Town.

Since early June, photographers from HCMC travel around 240 kilometers, hunting for their own shots of ‘gold’ and capture the daily lives of local farmers who work hard from dawn till dusk.

These days, the rice is harvested mainly by machines, but farmers cannot remain idle at this time, worried as they are about the sudden onset of rain.

A farmer collects rice after the modern combine harvester has worked on a section of the field.

Farmers still spend most of their day on the paddy fields.

With more than 2.2 million people, An Giang is the most populous province in the Mekong Delta.

An aerial view of farmers loading bags of newly-collected rice plants onto a tractor to carry them to the threshing machine.

“I am happy that good weather has made everything easier and faster,” a local farmer said.

About 22 million people or 24 percent of Vietnam’s total population live in the Mekong Delta. Farmers in the delta produce more than half of Vietnam’s rice output and contribute an overwhelming 80 percent of the country’s rice exports.

“Watching the golden rice paddies stretching out over the vast space, then walking between them and witnessing the hardship of local farmers in the field have left unforgettable impressions on me during this trip to An Giang,” said Ho Chi Minh City-based photographer Huynh Van Thai.

“If you have no chance to head up north to admire the golden season of rice terraced fields in the northern mountainous region in September and October, don’t miss ripened and ripening paddy fields in the south with their golden glow in June,” Thai said.

Photos by Huynh Van Thai