1、前2：10使用The last hidden world, China.For centuries, travelers to China have told tales of magical landscapes and surprising creatures. Chinese civilization is the worlds oldest and today, its largest, with well over a1.3 billion people. Its home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groups and a wide range
2、 of traditional lifestyles, often in close partnership with nature. We know that China faces immense social and environmental problems, but there is great beauty here, too. China is home to the worlds highest mountains, vast deserts ranging from searing hot to mind-numbing cold, steaming forests har
3、boring rare creatures, grassy plains beneath vast horizons and rich tropical seas. Now for the first time ever, we can explore the whole of this great country, meet some of the surprising and exotic creatures that live here and consider the relationship of the people and wild life of China to the re
4、markable landscape in which they live. This is wild China. 最后的隐世净土 中国数世纪来，旅人传诵着关于这片神奇土地，以及那些神奇生物的传说。中国文明是世界最古老的文明，而如今是最宏博的。那数十亿的人民，现存超过五十个民族，以及各式各样贴近自然的传统生活方式。我们都知道中国面对着着众多社会环境问题，但这里也存在着令人窒息的美丽。中国有着世界最高峰、从无垠的炙热沙漠、到麻木大脑的寒冷地带、以及那蒸笼般的森林中隐匿的各种珍稀生物、天际下广阔无垠的草原、以及富饶的热带海洋。现在 我们第一次有机会深入探索这片伟大的土地，接触栖息于此的珍奇生物，
5、目睹中国这片神奇土地上，人与野生世界的羁绊。这就是最原味的中国14:5521:22 喀斯特地貌This vast area of southwest China, the size of France and Spain combined, is famous for its clusters of conical hills, Iike giant upturned egg cartons, separated by dry empty valleys. This is the karst, a limestone terrain which has become the defining
6、image of southern China. Karst landscapes are often studded with rocky outcrops, forcing local farmers to cultivate tiny fields. The people who live here are among the poorest in China. In neighbouring Yunnan Province, Iimestone rocks have taken over entirely. This is the famous Stone Forest, the pr
7、oduct of countless years of erosion, producing a maze of deep gullies and sharp-edged pinnacles. Limestone has the strange property that it dissolves in rainwater. Over many thousands of years water has corroded its way deep into the heart of the bedrock itself. This natural wonder is a famous touri
8、st spot, receiving close to two million visitors each year. The Chinese are fond of curiously-shaped rocks and many have been given fanciful names. No prizes for guessing what this one is called! But theres more to this landscape than meets the eye. China has literally thousands of mysterious cavern
9、s concealed beneath the visible landscape of the karst. Much of this hidden world has never been seen by human eyes and is only just now being explored. For a growing band of intrepid young Chinese explorers, caves represent the ultimate adventure. Exploring a cave is like taking a journey through t
10、ime. A journey which endless raindrops will have followed over countless centuries. Fed by countless drips and trickles, the subterranean river carves ever deeper into the rock. The cave rivers course is channelled by the beds of limestone.A weakness in the rock can allow the river to increase its g
11、radient and flow-rate, providing a real challenge for the cave explorers. The downward rush is halted when the water table is reached. Here the slow-flowing river carves tunnels with a more rounded profile. This tranquil world is home to specialised cave fishes, like the eyeless golden barb. China m
12、ay have more unique kinds of cave-evolved fishes than anywhere else on earth. Above the water table, ancient caverns abandoned by the river slowly fill up with stalactites and stalagmites. Stalactites form as trickling water deposits tiny quantities of rock over hundreds or thousands of years. Stala
13、gmites grow up where lime-laden drips hit the cave floor. Oi! Whoo-hoo! So far, only a fraction of Chinas caves have been thoroughly prospected and cavers are constantly discovering new subterranean marvels, many of which are subsequently developed into commercial show caves. Finally escaping the da
14、rkness, the cave river and its human explorers emerge in a valley far from where their journey began. For now, the adventure is over. Rivers which issue from caves are the key to survival in the karst country. This vertical gorge in Guizhou Province is a focal point for the regions wildlife. 相当于法国和西
15、班牙国土加起来那么大的中国西南的广阔土地因为宛如被干燥中空的谷地隔离开来的巨大蛋盒般，连绵的锥形山脉而闻名于世。这就是喀斯特地貌。石灰石地貌俨然成为南部中国的标志性特征，喀斯特地貌通常以突起的裸岩状态分布。这迫使当地农民只得在破碎的小块土地上耕作，当地人是中国最贫穷的居民之一。在毗邻的云南省，遍布着石灰石。这就是著名的石林。无数年侵蚀作用的产物，造就了无数的狭道与巅峰。石灰石有一个独性，那就是能被雨水分解。在数千年的漫长光阴中，水的侵蚀深入到岩床的心脏地带。这一自然奇观成为了著名的旅游景点。每年的访客数量多达200万人。中国人特别喜好奇形怪状的岩石，并以为嶙峋怪石冠上千奇百怪的名字为乐。但没人
16、来猜测这个块怪石的名字。但百闻不如置身这片奇妙山地亲身一见，在中国醒目的喀斯特地貌下，隐匿着无数的神秘洞穴。这些隐秘世界大多不为世人所知。而现在他们将被展现在世人眼前，奇险洞穴中再现了一场终极的探险。主角是一群日渐成长 初生牛犊般的年轻探险家。探索一个洞穴犹如一场穿越时空的探险。常年积水叮咚伴随着无止境般的旅途，水滴潺潺落下，地下河流深切入岩。石灰岩河床将洞穴的河道分割成千沟万壑，石灰岩薄弱处被河水冲刷差距的陡坡处水量激增，为洞穴探险带来相当的挑战。水流到达地下水位后便停止下流。这里缓缓流动的河流切割出一条圆形隧道。这静谧的世界是穴居鱼的家，比如无目金鲃。中国或许拥有地球上种类最为繁多的洞穴进化鱼。在地下水位线，远古洞穴溢满的河水中充斥着石笋和钟乳石。含有沉积物的水流，在千万年间“滴水成石”。含有石灰质的水滴落石床形成石笋。迄今为止被探索发掘的中国洞穴是中国大地上的九牛一毛。而被发掘的洞穴不断为我们展现地底奇观，许多在后来被开发成了商业景点。探索者沿着洞穴河流出山谷的轨迹逃离了黑暗，在远离出发地的河谷，这场冒险拉上了帷幕源自洞穴河流，为喀斯特地区提供了生命之泉。贵州的垂直峡谷，成为了当地野生动物的密集焦点。
