As the plane descended, the paddy fields' greenness reached the sky in an endless jade sea — breathtaking.
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history
From Yang Wanli's (杨万里) Southern Song poem 《晓出净慈寺送林子方》 (Seeing Lin Zifang Off at Dawn from the Jingci Temple). Couplet: 接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红 — 'Lotus leaves meet the sky, endlessly green; lotus flowers mirror the sun, a singular red.' Taken at West Lake in Hangzhou, near Jingci Temple, it is the canonical Chinese lotus-pond image.
usage
Paired couplet — invariably quoted with its mate 映日荷花别样红. Standard reference for West Lake summer scenery, but also used metaphorically for any vast green expanse (paddy fields, forests, golf courses).
