Daily Life in China                  

Chinese traditional rice Combine harvester, portable:

   The portable combine can be used anywhere.  It's very light so can be hauled by hand cart, small tractor with a trailer or lifted into a small truck bed.  There are various types but all are similar. 

   There the lots are close to the road so the rice stalks were hand cut and carried to the road for combine threshing.  The stalks are piled to the right and an assembly line is made to pass the stalks to 2-3 people who push the stalks down a table to the mouth of the combine.   The chaff is blown out the back and the rice piles up quickly, also at the back on this unit.

Below is a portable on a hand cart.  The folded tarp at the bottom left will be spread out when the portable combine is setup.  The rice will be blown onto the tarp and the chaff to a side pile.  When there's a light wind it cleans the rice i.e., winnowing at the same time.  The rice usually gets raked so it's evenly spread over the tarp and left to dry in the sun. 

The roadside pile of chaff usually gets burned a few days after drying.

Another combine on it's portable trailer.  The owner will go from house to house.  The stalks are carried away to a pile.  After the initial threshing the rice may be threshed again for a cleaner produce.  Either way the yard is swept clean and the rice spread on it for drying. 

Below: Second threshing with the cleaned rice shooting out the back.  The rice is bagged for now but will be carried to another home or a road for drying.