美丽中国wildchina英文.pdf

美丽中国 Wild China1 BBC The last hidden world, China. But isn't just wildlife that thrives in this environment. For centuries, travelers to China have told tales of The swampy ground provides ideal conditions for a magical landscapes and surprising creatures. remarkable member of the grass family. Rice. Chinese civilization is the world's oldest and today, its The Chinese have been cultivating rice for at least , largest, with well over a1.3 billion people. years. It's home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groups and a It has transformed the landscape. wide range of traditional lifestyles, often in close Late winter in southern Yunnan is a busy time for local partnership with nature. farmers as they prepare the age-old paddy fields ready We know that China faces immense social and for the coming spring. environmental problems. These hill slopes of the Yuanyang County plunge nearly , But there is great beauty here, too. metres to the floor of the Red River valley. Each China is home to the world's highest mountains, vast contains literally thousands of stacked terraces deserts ranging from searing hot to mind-numbing carved out by hand using basic digging tools. cold. Yunnan's rice terraces are among the oldest human Steaming forests harboring rare creatures. structures in China. Grassy plains beneath vast horizons. Still ploughed, as they always have been, by And rich tropical seas.