Thai rice fields transformed into vibrant art depicting red dragon, feline deity

CHIANG RAI, Thailand - A red dragon, a feline deity and dogs and cats cover Tanyapong Jaikham's rice paddies in northern Thailand, a living tribute in rice plants to flooding that inundated nearby areas in September, stranding thousands.

To transform more than 2 hectares (5 acres) of land into the vibrant images, Tanyapong and his team used AI to plot and refine the design outlines and GPS to mark precise coordinates for the careful planting of 20 kg (45 pounds) of rainbow rice seeds.

Tanyapong, who began the work in October, chose the dragon and the local four-eared, five-eyed feline deity to mark the Lunar New Year's end, along with dogs and cats trapped in floodwaters, waiting for help from the flooding of Chiang Rai and other areas in the north of the Southeast Asian nation.

"We designed the dragon to carry away all the negativity, hoping this crisis would soon pass," Tanyapong told Reuters.

Since the paddy art's launch in December, thousands of visitors, including students, families and locals, have visited, finding inspiration, hope and reflection, he said.

"We couldn’t make a living at all," said farmer Tanet Mala, reflecting on the flooding. "Everything was like a sea."

(Reporting by Artorn Pookasook and Napat Wesshasartar; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by William Mallard)