BBC美丽中国(1)
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The last hidden worldChinaFor centuries, travellers to China have told tales of magical landscapesand surprising creaturesChinese civilization is the world's oldestand today it's largestwith well over a billion peopleIt's home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groupsand a wide range of traditional life stylesoften inclose partnership with natureWe know that China faces immense social and environmental problemsbut there is great beauty here tooChina is home to the world's highest mountains,vast deserts ranging from from searing hotto mind numbing coldsteaming forestsharboring rare creaturesgrassy plains beneath vast horizonsand rich tropical seasNow, for the first time everwe can explore the whole of this great countrymeet some of the surprising and exotic creatures that live hereand consider the relationship of the people and wildlife of Chinato the remarkable landscaping which they liveThis is wild ChinaFor our troubled but drop-dead beautiful motherlandOur exploration of China begins in the warm subtropical southOn the Li River fishermen and birds perch on bamboo raftsa partnership that goes back more than a thousand yearsThis scenery is known throughout the worlda recurring motif in Chinese paintingsand a major tourist attractionThe south of China is a vast areaeight times larger than the UKIt's a landscape of hillsbut also of waterIt rains here for up to 250 days a yearand standing water is everywhereIn a floodplain of the Yangtse Riverblack-tailed godwits probe the mud in search of wormsBut it isn't just wildlife that thrive in this environmentthe swampy ground provides ideal conditions for the remarkable member of the grass familyriceThe Chinese have been cultivating rice for at least 8 thousand yearsIt has transformed the landscapeLate winter in southern Yunnan is a busy time for local farmersas they prepare the age-old paddy fieldready for the coming springThese hill slopes of Yuanyang countyplunge nearly 2000m to the floor of the Red River Valleyeach contains literally thousands of stack terraces carved out by hand using basic digging toolsYunnan's rice terraces are among the oldest human structures in Chinastill ploughed as they always have beenby domesticated water buffaloeswhose ancestors originated in these very valleysThis man-made landscape is one of the most amazing engineering feats of preindustrial ChinaIt seems as if every square inch of landhas been pressed into cultivationAs evening approachesan age-old ritual unfoldsIt's the mating seasonand male paddy frogs are competing for the attention of femalesBut it dosen't always pay to draw too much attention to youselfThe Chinese Pond Heron is a crapulous predatorEven in the middle of a ploughed paddy fieldnature is red in beak and clawThis may look like a slaughterbut as each heron can swallow only one frog at a timethe vast majority will escape to croak another dayTerrace paddies like those of YunYang county are found across much of southern ChinaThis whole vast landscape is dominated by rice cultivationIn heated Guizhou province the Miao minority have developed a remarkable rice cultureWith every inch of fertile land given over to rice cultivationthe Miao build their wooden houses on the steepest and least productive hillsides In Chinese rural life everything has a usedried in the sun manure from the cowsheds would be used as cooking fuelIt's midday and the Song family aretucking into a lunch of rice and vegetablesOblivious to the domestic chitchatgranddad Guyong Song has serious maters on his mindSpring is a start of the rice growing seasonthe success of the crop will determin how well the family will eat next yearso planting at the right time is criticalThe ideal date depends on what the weather will do this yearnever easy to predictBut there is some surprising help at handOn the cielling of the Song's living rooma pair of red-rumped swallow newly arrive from their winter migrationis busy fixing up last year's nestIn China animals are valued does much for their symbolic meaning as for many good they may doMiao people believe that swallow pairs remain faithful for lifeso their presence is a favor and a blessingbringing happiness to a marriage and good luck to a homeLike most Miao dwellings, the Song's living room windows look out over the paddy fieldsFrom early spring, one of these windows is always left open to let the swallows come and go freelyEach year granddad Gu knows the exact day the swallows returnMiao people believe the birds arrival predicts the timing of a season aheadThis year, they were lateso Gu and the other community elders have agreed that rice planting should be delayed accordinglyAs the Miao prepare their fields for plantingthe swallows collect mud to repair their nestsand chase after insects across the newly ploughed paddiesFinally, after weeks of preparationthe ordained time for planting has arrivedbut first the seedlings must be uproot from the nursery bedsand bundled up ready to be transported to their new paddyhigher up the hillsideAll the Song's neighbors have turned out to help with the transplantingIt's how the community has always workedwhen the time comes, the Songs will return the favorWhile the farmers are busy in the fieldsthe swallows fly back and forth with material for their nestMany hands make light workplanting the new paddy takes a little more than an hourJob done, the villagers can relaxat least until tomorrowBut for the nesting swallows, the work of raising a familyhas only just begunIn the newly planted fieldslittle egrets hunt for foodsThe rice paddy harbor tadpoles fish and insectsand egrets have chicks to feedThis colony in Chongqing province is established in 1996when a few dozen birds build nests in thebamboo grove behind YanGuang villageBelieving they were assigned of lucklocal people initially protected the egrets and the colony groveBut their attitude change when the head of the village fell illThey blame the birds and were all set to destroy their nestswhen the local government stepped in to protect themBendy bamboo may not be the safest nesting placebut at least these youngsters won't end up at someone's dinnerThese chicks have just had a meal delivered by their momquite a challenge for litter beaksProviding their colonies are protectedwading birds like egrets are among the few wild creatures which benefit directly from intensive rice cultivationGrowing rice needs lots of waterbut even in the rainy south, there are landscapes where water is surprisingly scarceThis vast area of southwest Chinathe size of France and Spain combinedis famous for its clusters of conical hillslike giant upturned egg cartonseperated by dry empty valleysThis is the karsta limestone terrain which has become the defining image of southern ChinaKarst landscapes are oftenstudded with rocky outcropsforcing local farmers to cultivate tiny fieldsThe people who live hereare among the poorest in ChinaIn neighboring Yunnan provincelimestone rocks have taken over entirelyThis is the famous Stone Forestthe product of countless years of erosionproducing a maze of deep gullets and sharp-edged pinnaclesLimestone has a strange property that is dissolves in rain waterOver many thousands of years, water has corrode its way deep into the heart of the bedrock itselfThis natural wonder has a famous tourist spotreceiving close to 2 million visitors each yearThe Chinese are fond of curiously shaped rocksand many have been given fanciful namesNo prices for guessing what this one is calledBut there is more to this landscapethan meets the eyeChina has literally thousands of mysterious cavernsconcealed beneath the visible landscape of the karstMuch of this hidden world has never been seen by human eyesAnd it's only just now being exploredFor a growing band of intrepid young Chinese explorerscaves represent the ultimate adventureExploring a cave is like taking the journey through timea journey which endless raindrops would have followed over countless centuriesFed by countless drips and tricklesthe subterranean river carves ever deeper into the rockThe cave river's course is channeled by the beds of limestoneA weakness in the rock can not allow the river to increase its gradient flowrateproviding a real challenge for the cave explorersThe downward rushes halted when the water table is reachedHere the slow flowing river carves tunnels with a more rounded profileThis tranquil world is home to specialized cave fisheslike the eye-less Golden BarbChina may have unique kinds of cave evolved fishesthan anywhere else on EarthAbove the water tableancient caverns abandoned by the river slowly fill up with stalactites and stalagmitesStalactites form as trickling water deposites tiny quantities of rockover hundreds or thousands of yearsStalagmites grow up where lime laid and drips hit the cave floorSo far, only a fraction of China's caves have been thoroughly prospectedand caves are constantly discovering new subterranean marvelsmany of which are subsequently developed into commercial show cavesFinally escaping the darknessthe cave river and its human explorers emerge in a valley far from where their journey beganor now the adventure is overRivers which issue from cavesare the key to survival in the karst countryThis vertical gorge in Guizhou provinceis a focal point for the region's wildlifeThis is one of the world's rarest primatesFrancois's langurIn China, they survive in just two southern provincesGuizhou and Guangxialways in ragged limestone terrainsLike most monkeys, they're social creaturesand spend a great deal of time grooming each otherLangurs are essentially vegetarian with a diet of buds, fruits, and tender youngleavesBabies are born with ginger furwhich gradually turns black from the tail endYoung infants have a vise-like gripused for cling on to mom for dare lifeAs they get olderthey get bolder and take more risksThose have survive spend a lot of time travellingYet experienced adults know exactly where to find seasonal foodin different parts of their rangeIn such steep terraintravel involves a high level of climbing skillThese monkeys are spectacularly good rock climbers from the time they learnt to walkIn langur societyfemales rule the roostand take the lead when the family is on the moveOne section of cliffwoops is a trickle of mineral-rich waterwhich the monkeys seem to find irresistibleThese days there are few predators in the Mayanghe Reserve which might pose a risk to baby monkeybut in past centuries, this area of south Chinawas home to leopards, pythons, and even tigersTo survive dangerous night prowlersthe langurs went undergroundusing their rock climbing skills to seek shelter in inaccessible cavernsFilmed in near darkness using a night vision camerathe troop clambers along familiar ledgesworn smooth by generations before themDuring cold winter weatherthe monkeys venture deeper undergroundwhere the air stays comparatively warmAt last, journeys end,a coated niche beyond the reach of even the most enterprising predatorBut it's not just monkeys that find shelter in cavesThese children are off to schoolIn rural China, that may mean a long trek each morningpassing through a cave or two on the wayBut not all pupils have to walk to schoolThese children are boardersAs the day pupils near journey's endthe boarders are still making breakfastIn the school yard, someone seems to have switched the lights offBut this is no ordinary play groundand no ordinary schoolIts houseinside a caveA natural vault of rock keeps out the rainso there is no need for a roof on the classroomZhongdong cave school is made up of 6 classeswith a total of 200 childrenAs well as a school, the cave houses 18 familiestogether with their livestockThis could be the only cave dwelling cows on EarthWith school work over, it's play time at lastIn southern China, caves aren't just used for shelterthey can be a source of revenue for the communityPeople have been visiting this cave for generationsThe cave floor is covered in guanoso plentiful that 10 minutes' work can fill these farmer's basketsThis used as a valuable source of fertilizerA clue to the source of the guano can be heard above the noise of the riverThe sound originates high up in the roof of the caveThe entrance is full of swiftsThey are very sociable birdsmore than 200,000 of them share this cave in southern Guizhou provinceThe biggest swift colony in ChinaThese days, Chinese house swiftsmostly nest in the roofs of buildingsbut rock crevasses like these were their original homelong before houses were inventedThough the swifts depend on the cave for shelterthey never stray further than the limits of daylightas their eyes can't see in darkHowever, deep inside the cavernare the creatures are better equippedfor subterranean lifeA colony of bats is just waking upusing ultrasonic squeaks to orientate themselves in the darknessNight is the time to go huntingRickett's mouse-eared bat is the only bat in Asia which specializes in catching fishestracking them down from the sound reflection of ripples on the water surface This extraordinary behavior was only discovered in the last couple of yearsand has never been filmed beforeIf catching fish in the dark is impressiveimagine eating a slippery minnow with no hands while hanging upside downDawn, over the karst hills of GuilinThese remarkable hills owe their peculiar shapesto the mildly acid waters of the Li Riverwhose meandering course over eons of time has corrode away their basisuntil only the rocky course remainedLi is one of the cleanest rivers in Chinaa favorite spot for fishermen with their trained cormorantsThe men, all called Huang, come from the same villagenow in their seventies and eightiesthey've been fishermen all their livesBefore they release the birdsthey tie a noose, loosely around the neckto stop them swallowing any fish they may catchChancing and dancing, the Huangs encourage their birds to take the plungeUnderwaterthe cormorant's hunting instinct kicks inturning them into fish seeking missilesWorking together,a good cormorant team can catch a couple of dozen decent-sized fish in a morningThe birds return to the raft with their fish because they've been trained to do soFrom the time it first hatchedeach of these cormorants has been reared to a life of obedience to its master The birds are, in effect, slavesBut they are not stupidIt's said the cormorants can key the tally of the fish they catchat least up to sevenSo unless they get a reward now and then,they simply withdraw their laborThe fishermen of course keep the best fish for themselvesThe cormorants get the leftover tiddliesWith its collar removed,the bird can at last swallow its prizeBest of all,when it isn't meant to have...These days,competition for modern fishing techniquesmeans the Huangs can't make a living from traditional cormorant fishing alone And this 1300-year old traditionis now practiced mostly to entertain touristsBut on Caohai lake in nearby Guizhou Provincean even more unusual fishing industry is alive and wellGeng Zhongsheng is on his way to set out his net for the nightGeng's net is a strange tubular contraption with a closed off endMore than a hundred fishermen make their living from the lakeIts mineral-rich waters are highly productiveand there are nets everywhereThe next morning, Geng returns with his son to collect his catchAt first sight, it looks disappointingTiny fishes, lots of shrimps, and some wriggling bugsGeng doesn't seem too down heartedThe larger fish are kept alivethe only way they'll stay fresh in the heatSurprisingly, some of the bugs are also singled out for special treatmentThey are the young stage of dragonfliespredators that feed on worms and tadpolesNowhere else in the world are dragonfly nymphs harvested like thisBack home, Geng spreads his catch on the roof to dryIt's being in China, nothing edible would be wastedThere is a saying in the far south"We will eat anything with legs, except a table;and anything with wings, except a plane."Within a few hours, the dried insects are ready to be backed up and taken to marketIts the dragonfly nymphs that fetch the best priceFortunately, Caohai's dragonflies are abundant and fast breedingso Geng and his fellow fishermen have so far had little impact on their numbers But not all wildlife is so resilientThis buddhist temple near Shanghaihas an extraordinary story attached to itIn May 2007A Wild China camera team filmed this peculiar Swinhoe's turtlein the temple's fishpondAccording to the monks, this turtle had been given to the temple during the Ming dynastyover 400 years agoIt was thought to be the oldest animal on EarthSoft shell turtles are considerd a god-made delicacy by many Chineseand when it was filmedthis was one of just three Swinhoe's Turtles left alive in ChinaThe rest of its kindhaving been rounded up and eatenSadly, just a few weeks after filmingthis ancient creature diedThe remaining individuals of its species are currently kept in seperate zoosand Swinhoe's Turtle is now reckoned extinct in the wildIn fact, most of the 25 types of fresh water turtles in Chinaare now vanishingly rareThe answer to extinctionis protectionAnd there is now a growing network of nature reserves through southern China Of these, the Tianzi Mountain Reserve at Zangjiajie is perhaps the most visitedby Chinese nature loverswho come to marvel at the gravity-defying landscape of soaring sand stone pinnaclesWinding between Zhangjiajie's peakscrystal clear mountain streams are home to what is perhaps China's strangest creatureThis bizarre animalis a type of newtthe Chinese Giant SalamanderIn China, it is known as the baby fishbecause when distressed, it makes a sound like a crying infantIt grows up to a meter and a half longmaking it the world's largest amphibianUnder natural conditions, a Giant Salamander may live decadesBut like so many Chinese animalsit is considered delicious to eatDespite being classed as protected speciesgiant salamanders are still illegally sold for foodand the baby fish is now rareand endangered in the wildFortunately in a few areas like Zhangjiajie,Giang Salamanders still survive under strict official protectionThe rivers of Zhangjiajie flow northeast into the Yangtse floodplainknown as the land of fish and riceOn an island in a lake in Anhui provincea dragon is stirringThis is the ancestral home of China's largest and rarest reptileA creature of mystery and legendDragon eggs are greatly prizedthese babies need to hatch out quickIt would seem someone is on their trailFor a helpless baby reptileimprisoned in a leathery membrane inside a choky shella process of hatchingis a titanic struggleAnd time is running outIt's taken 2 hours for the little dragon to get its head out of this eggIt needs to gather its strength nowa final massive pushFree at lastthe baby Chinese alligators instinctively head upwards toward the surface of the nestand a side worldBut the visitors are not what they seemSheshuzhen and her son live nearbyShe has been caring for her local alligators for over 20 yearsso she had fair idea when the eggs will likely to hatchBack home, she's built a pond,surrounded by netting to keep out predatorswhere her charges will spend the next 6 monthsuntil they are big enough to fend for themselvesFor the past twenty yearssmall scale conservation projects like this are all that have kept China's 150 wild alligators from extinctionJust south of the alligator countrydawn breaks over a very different landscapeThe 1800 meter high granite peaksof the Huangshanor yellow mountainTo the ChineseHuangshan's pines are peak mines,the strength, and resilience of natureSome of these trees are thought to be over a thousand years oldBellow the granite peakssteep forest in the valleysshelter surprising inhabitantsHuangshan macaquesrare descendents of the Tibetan macaques of western Chinaare unique to these mountain valleys where they enjoy strict official protection After a morning spent in the treetopsthe troop is heading for the shade of the valleya chance for the grownups escape the heatand maybe pickup a lanch snack from the streamAs in most monkey societiessocial contact involves a lot of groomingGrooming is all very well for grownupsBut young macaques have energy to burnLike so much monkey businesswhat starts off is a bit of playful rough-and-tumblesoon begin to get out of handThe alpha male has seen it all beforehe's not in the least botheredbut someone or something is watchingwith a less than friendly interestThe Chinese Moccasin is ambush predator with a deadly biteThis is one of China's largest and most feared venomous snakesBut the mondkeys have lived alongside these dangerous serpent for thousands of yearsThey use this, specific alarm call, to warn each other whenever a snake is spotted Once its cover is blown, the bite proposes no threat to the monkeysnow safe in the treetopsAnd life soon returens to normalBy later summer, the rice fields of southern Chinahave turn to goldThe time has come to bring in the harvestNowadays, modern high yield strains are grown throughout much of the rice lands Boosted by chemical fertilizersand reaped by combine harvestersThis is the great rice bowl of Chinaproducing a quarter of the world's riceInsects, stirred up by the noisy machines,are snapped up by gangs of red-rumped swallowsincluding this year's youngsterswho have fledged several weeks agoThis could be their last feast before they head for the winterMechanized farming works best in the flat bottom valleys of the lowlandTo the south, in the terraced hills in Zhejiang provincean older and simpler lifestyle persistsIt's 7 in the morningand Longxian's most successful business manis off to workIn the golden terraces surrounding the villagethe ears of rice are plump and right for harvestingBut today, rice isn't upon the most in Mr Yang's mindHe has bigger fish to fryFurther at valley, the harvest has already beganYang's fields are ripe toobut they haven't been drained yetThat's because for him, rice is not the main cropThe baskets he's carried up the hillside give a clue to Yang's businessBut before he starts workhe needs to let some water out of the systemAs the water level dropsthe mystery is revealedgolden carpLongxian villages discoverd the benefits of transferring wild caught carp into their paddy fields long agoThe tradition has been going on herefor at least 700 yearsAs the water level in the paddy dropsbamboo gate stop the fish's escapingThe beauty of this farming methodis that it delivers two cropsfrom the same field at the same timefishand riceSmart ecology like thisis what enables China to be largely self-sufficient in foodeven todayBack in the villageYang has his own smoke housewhere he preserves his fish ready for marketLongxian carp have unusually soft scalesand a very delicate flavorperhaps as a result of the local waterMeanwhile, outside the smoke housethere is something fishy going onTo mark the harvestthe village is staging a partyChildren from Longxian schoolhave spent weeks preparing for their big momentEveryone from the community is here to support themThe rice growing cycle is completeBy Novembernorthern China is becoming distinctly chillybut the south is still relatively warm and welcomingAccross the vast expanse of Poyang lakethe birds are gatheringTundra swans are long-distance migrant from northern SiberiaTo the Chinese, they symbolize the essence of natural beautyThe Poyang Lake Nature Reserve offers winter refuge to more than a quarter of a million birdsfor more than 100 speciescreating one of southern China's finest wildlife experiencesThe last birds to arrive at Poyangare those which have made the longest journey to get hereAll the way from the arctic coast of SiberiaThe Siberian Crane, known in China, the White Craneis seen as a symbol of good luckEach year, almost the entire world population of these critically endangered birdsmake a 9000km round tripto spend the winter at PoyangLike the white cranesmany of southern China's unique animals face pressure from exploitation and competition with peopleover space and resourcesBut if China is leaving proof of anythingit is that wildlife is surprisingly resilientGiven the right helpeven the rarest creatures can return from the brink If we show the willnaturewill find the way.。