Any flat surface is used for drying rice – drive ways, parking lots, road way and highways.
To make the “squares,” people walk in a straight line north to south dragging their feet. The space left between rows of rice is heated by the sun. About two hours later, people walk in a straight line west to east dragging their feet. The rice moves to the space heated by the sun. They continue walking until the rice is throughly dried.
Kenneth Li
The foregoing picture reminds me of how we use to dry the rice when I was a child in China.
I’m originally from a Taishan village. My parents said the town is called Fu Sing and the village is called Hang How Foon. The village is not too far from Kaiping (Hoiping) because it took my mom from around noon (12pm) to in the evening (6pm) to bike there. I used Google maps find Fu Sing town but was not able to find it. If you have any idea where Fu Sing (TaiShan or Cantonese pronunciation) please do not hesitate to contact me.
I still speak Taishan and reside in the SF Bay Area.