Ｎａｔｕｒｅ　ｉｎ　Ａｌｌ　Ｉｔｓ　Ｖａｒｉｅｔｙ.docVIP

Ｎａｔｕｒｅ　ｉｎ　Ａｌｌ　Ｉｔｓ　Ｖａｒｉｅｔｙ 　　 　　DURING the legendary military campaign that came to be known as the Long March, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong was deeply impressed by the Wumeng Mountain, even mentioning it in one of his most celebrated poems. Much of the mountain lies in Bijie, in northwestern Guizhou Province, and together with its many rivers, lakes and abundant flora, is Mother Nature at her most beautiful. 　　Wumeng Mountain is the origin of the Wujiang River, which has sustained the local population since time immemorial. The river’s northern branch rises in Hezhang County of Bijie, and its southern branch in Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County. It flows through steep mountains, carving out exotically shaped cliffs, nourishing lush vegetation and creating spectacular waterfalls and limestone caverns along its 300-kilometer course. The region’s landscape has been acclaimed as excelling that of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. 　　The fertile soil nourishes scores of wild groves, and the Baili Dujuan National Forest Park is known as the largest natural garden on Earth. Each year from late March to the end of April, azaleas of various species bloom, covering the mountain slopes and surrounding fields in splendid hues. 　　 　　Caohai Lake 　　 　　Caohai (literally meaning sea of grass), in Weining Yi, Hui and Miao Autonomous County is among the three largest plateau freshwater lakes in China, and sustains the only wetland in Guizhou Province. It is also the only nature reserve on Earth inhabited not only by wild species, but also by a human population numbering nearly 100,000. 　　The lake covers 26 square kilometers, and is between one and five meters deep. Its water is so crystal clear that one can see hundreds of clusters of swinging plants and shoals of fish on its bottom with the naked eye. 　　Each winter, more than 100,000 migratory birds belonging to 203 species (there are 1,186 bird species in China) make the lake their home, turning it into