Under population pressure, the transition from the long-fallow shifting cultivation to short-fallow shifting cultivation with associated land degradation has been claimed to be unavoidable and sedentary cultivation would be advocated as the only future to replace the unsustainable short-fallow shifting cultivation in the mainstream research and development. The recent development of the shifting cultivation system in Yunnan, Southwest China demonstrates how local peoples hybridize elements of the traditional shifting cultivation and the new agriculture and forestry technologies as a new and dynamic rotational agroforestry system for economic development without losing the natural resource base. Comparing experiences in other regions and under some conditions, the rotational agroforestry system may be promoted as a viable option for development of the shifting cultivation system in the mountainous areas where the introduction of sedentary agriculture is much constrained.