In Taizhou City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, an 8-mu (about 0.53 hectares) field has been transformed into a ribbon of golden coils. Some 6,000 straw bales, stacked in staggered piles and stretching about 1,000 metres, look uncannily like giant Swiss rolls and have quickly become an internet sensation and rural selfie hotspot.

Each bale measures about 1 metre in diameter and 1.5 metres in length. Formed by baling machines after the rice harvest, they are intended for sale to paper mills and power plants, turning leftover stalks into added value. While awaiting pickup, the neat, rolling stacks have created a striking landscape that has caught the attention of visitors and photographers.

What once gave villagers headaches is now a countryside draw. The straw bales solve an environmental disposal problem, bring economic returns, and offer an unexpected new form of rural spectacle.