美丽中国1 中英文文档

最后的隐世净土 The last hidden world 中国 China 数世纪来 旅人传诵着关于这片神奇土地 For centuries, travellers to China have told tales of magical landscapes 以及那些神奇生物的传说 and surprising creatures 中国文明是世界最古老的文明 Chinese civilization is the world's oldest 而如今是最宏博的 and today it's largest 那数十亿的人民 with well over a billion people 现存超过五十个民族 It's home to more than 50 distinct ethnic groups 以及各式各样贴近自然的 and a wide range of traditional life styles 传统生活方式 often inclose partnership with nature 我们都知道中国面对着着众多社会 环境问 We know that China faces immense social and environmental problems 但这里也存在着令人窒息的美丽 but there is great beauty here too 中国有着世界最高峰 China is home to the world's highest mountains, 从无垠的炙热沙漠 vast deserts ranging from from searing hot 到麻木大脑的寒冷地带 to mind numbing cold 以及那蒸笼般的森林中 steaming forests 隐匿的各种珍稀生物 harboring rare creatures 天际下广阔无垠的草原 grassy plains beneath vast horizons 以及富饶的热带海洋 and rich tropical seas 现在 我们第一次有机会 Now, for the first time ever 深入探索这片伟大的土地 we can explore the whole of this great country 接触栖息于此的珍奇生物 meet some of the surprising and exotic creatures that live here 目睹中国这片神奇土地上 and consider the relationship of the people and wildlife of China 人与野生世界的羁绊 to the remarkable landscaping which they live 这就是最原味的中国 This is wild China 仅以此献给我们多灾多难但美丽依旧的祖国 For our troubled but drop-dead beautiful motherland 我们的中国探索之旅始于南方的亚热带 Our exploration of China begins in the warm subtropical south 漓江的渔人和鱼鸟栖坐在竹筏上 On the Li River fishermen and birds perch on bamboo rafts 这个组合已延续千年之久 a partnership that goes back more than a thousand years 这景致已为世人所熟悉 This scenery is known throughout the world 那是中国水墨永恒的主题 a recurring motif in Chinese paintings 和旅人永远的胜地 and a major tourist attraction 中国南部是片有英国国土 The south of China is a vast area 九倍之大的广阔土地 eight times larger than the UK 这里 It's a landscape of hills 是山雨的国度 but also of water 这里一年之中有250天在降雨 It rains here for up to 250 days a year 到处都是积水 and standing water is everywhere 在扬子江的涝原 In a floodplain of the Yangtse River 黑尾鹬在泥泞中寻索着虫子 black-tailed godwits probe the mud in search of worms 并非只有野生动物在这样的环境下茁壮成长 But it isn't just wildlife that thrive in this environment 沼泽般湿润肥沃的土地为作物家族最显著的成员提供了最理想的环境 the swampy ground provides ideal conditions for the remarkable member of the grass family 这就是稻米 rice 中国有着至少8000年的稻米种植史 The Chinese have been cultivating rice for at least 8 thousand years 他们改变了这块土地 It has transformed the landscape 对云南南部的农民而言 冬末是个繁忙的季节 Late winter in southern Yunnan is a busy time for local farmers 因为他们要为即将来临的春天整顿这片古老的稻田 as they prepare the age-old paddy field ready for the coming spring 元阳县的山坡以2000M之势 These hill slopes of Yuanyang county 斜插于红河谷地的河床 plunge nearly 2000m to the floor of the Red River Valley 包含了上千由原始刨掘工具所创造出的梯田 each contains literally thousands of stack terraces carved out by hand using basic digging tools 云南的梯田是中国最古老人类耕作痕迹中 Yunnan's rice terraces are among the oldest human structures in China 依旧被耕种使用的土地 still ploughed as they always have been 正如千百年来的习俗一样 by domesticated water buffaloes 源自云南河谷的家养水牛承担了耕作的重任 whose ancestors originated in these very valleys 这片人力开拓的土地是工业化前中国最惊奇宏伟的壮景 This man-made landscape is one of the most amazing engineering feats of preindustrial China 似乎这里的每一寸土地 It seems as if every square inch of land 都被打上了农耕的痕迹 has been pressed into cultivation 当薄暮降临 As evening approaches 另一场古老的仪式上演 an age-old ritual unfolds 现在是交配的季节 It's the mating season 雄禾田蛙们为了吸引异性而卖力高鸣 and male paddy frogs are competing for the attention of females 但这并非总能为你吸引来关注的目光 But it dosen't always pay to draw too much attention to youself 中国池鹭是个饕餮掠食者 The Chinese Pond Heron is a crapulous predator 就算在耕作过的稻田中央 Even in the middle of a ploughed paddy field 也会上演喙与爪的血腥剧目 nature is red in beak and claw 或许这看上去像一场屠杀 This may look like a slaughter 但每只池鹭一次只能吞噬一只蛙 but as each heron can swallow only one frog at a time 此时剩余的多数派得以逃生并获得了明日再度高歌的机会 the vast majority will escape to croak another day 元阳县这样广泛种植水稻的 Terrace paddies like those of YunYang county are found across much of southern China 梯田横贯中国南部 This whole vast landscape is dominated by rice cultivation 苗族人在炎热的贵州发展了高度发达的水稻种植 In heated Guizhou province the Miao minority have developed a remarkable rice culture 苗族人把木屋建立在陡峭低产的山壁上 With every inch of fertile land given over to rice cultivation 用其余每寸丰饶的土地来种植水稻 the Miao build their wooden houses on the steepest and least productive hillsides 所有东西在中国农村都自有其用处 In Chinese rural life everything has a use 牛棚里的肥料在太阳下晒干用作煮饭的燃料 dried in the sun manure from the cowsheds would be used as cooking fuel 中午时分 宋家人正饱餐以米和蔬菜为主的中饭 It's midday and the Song family are tucking into a lunch of rice and vegetables 老祖父宋古永置身于天伦之乐外 Oblivious to the domestic chitchat 寻思着重要的事情 granddad Guyong Song has serious maters on his mind 春季是稻禾生长的伊始时节 Spring is a start of the rice growing season 庄稼的长势决定了来年宋家人的生计 the success of the crop will determin how well the family will eat next year 因而选择合适的时机进行耕作是至关重要的 so planting at the right time is critical 时机的选择取决于当年的天气情况 The ideal date depends on what the weather will do this year 而这些却是永难估料的 never easy to predict 但是身边就存在着贴心小帮手 But there is some surprising help at hand 宋家厅堂房梁上的是一对刚从冬季迁徙中归来的金腰燕 On the cielling of the Song's living room a pair of red-rumped swallow newly arrive from their winter migration 他们正在为装潢新一年度的宅邸而忙碌 is busy fixing up last year's nest 在中国 动物们被赋予独特的象征意义并被细心呵护 In China animals are valued does much for their symbolic meaning as for many good they may do 苗族人笃信成双燕终身相伴不离不弃 Miao people believe that swallow pairs remain faithful for life 因此他们的存在被视为 so their presence is a favor and a blessing 幸福生活与美满婚姻的象征 bringing happiness to a marriage and good luck to a home 如大多数苗人一样 宋家起居室的窗子可以眺望见成片的梯田 Like most Miao dwellings, the Song's living room windows look out over the paddy fields 从早春起 一扇窗子便为了方便燕子往返穿飞而敞开 From early spring, one of these windows is always left open to let the swallows come and go freely 古老爹知晓每年燕子归来的确切时间 Each year granddad Gu knows the exact day the swallows return 苗族人坚信这些鸟儿的归来预示着春季的来临 Miao people believe the birds arrival predicts the timing of a season ahead 然而今年 他们姗姗来迟 This year, they were late 因而古老爹和其他族中长老一致认为今年的插秧应当推迟 so Gu and the other community elders have agreed that rice planting should be delayed accordingly 当苗族人为了插秧而整备田地时 As the Miao prepare their fields for planting 燕子们或搜集修整巢穴用的泥巴 the swallows collect mud to repair their nests 或穿越新耕的稻田追逐昆虫 and chase after insects across the newly ploughed paddies 最终 经过了几周的准备 Finally, after weeks of preparation 这个预定种植的时刻来临了 the ordained time for planting has arrived 首先 秧苗必须从苗床上连根拔起 but first the seedlings must be uproot from the nursery beds 扎成捆移植到高处山地 and bundled up ready to be transported to their new paddy 那崭新的苗床上 higher up the hillside 宋家邻里乡亲全员出动帮助移植 All the Song's neighbors have turned out to help with the transplanting 这是一直来他们的集体协作方式 It's how the community has always worked 当然一旦时刻来临 宋家人也会做出相同行为来报恩 when the time comes, the Songs will return the favor 当农户们忙碌在田埂间时 While the farmers are busy in the fields 飞燕们则衔着修整巢穴的材料来来往往 the swallows fly back and forth with material for their nest 人多力量大 Many hands make light work 插秧的整个过程只持续了仅一个多小时 planting the new paddy takes a little more than an hour 当工作完成 农户们得以休息 Job done, the villagers can relax 至少在明天来临之前 at least until tomorrow 然而对这些筑巢的飞鸟而言 修筑家园的宏大工程 But for the nesting swallows, the work of raising a family 才刚刚开始 has only just begun 新耕种的田地里 In the newly planted fields 白鹭在寻找食物 little egrets hunt for foods 稻田成了虫 鱼 蝌蚪的乐园 The rice paddy harbor tadpoles fish and insects 而白鹭正好以此哺育幼鸟 and egrets have chicks to feed 重庆自然保护区建立于1996年 This colony in Chongqing province is established in 1996 当成群的鸟儿安家在阳光村后方的小竹林 when a few dozen birds build nests in the bamboo grove behind YanGuang village 当地人将其视为幸运的使者 Believing they were assigned of luck 他们最初小心保护这些白鹭和他们的栖息地 local people initially protected the egrets and the colony grove 但当村长病重后他们的态度发生了转变 But their attitude change when the head of the village fell ill 当政府开始介入保护鸟群时 They blame the birds and were all set to destroy their nests 他们开始敌视鸟群并着手摧毁巢穴 when the local government stepped in to protect them 易弯曲的竹子或许并非安家的最佳场所 Bendy bamboo may not be the safest nesting place 但至少这些小家伙们不会成为捕食者的腹中餐 but at least these youngsters won't end up at someone's dinner 这些小家伙刚从母亲嘴里分得美食 These chicks have just had a meal delivered by their mom 对新生的小嘴着实是一大挑战 quite a challenge for litter beaks 介于他们的栖息地是受保护的 Providing their colonies are protected 像白鹭这样的候鸟是少数直接从发达的水稻种植中获益的鸟类 wading birds like egrets are among the few wild creatures which benefit directly from intensive rice cultivation 水稻生长需要大量的水 Growing rice needs lots of water 但即便是在多雨的南方 有些土地也面临缺水的危机 but even in the rainy south, there are landscapes where water is surprisingly scarce 相当于法国和西班牙国土加起来那么大 This vast area of southwest China 的中国西南的广阔土地 the size of France and Spain combined 因为宛如被干燥中空的谷地隔离开来的巨大蛋盒般 is famous for its clusters of conical hills 连绵的锥形山脉而闻名于世 like giant upturned egg carton seperated by dry empty valleys 这就是喀斯特地貌 This is the karst 石灰石地貌俨然成为南部中国的标志性特征 a limestone terrain which has become the defining image of southern China 喀斯特地貌通常以突起的裸岩状态分布 Karst landscapes are often studded with rocky outcrops 这迫使当地农民只得在破碎的小块土地上耕作 forcing local farmers to cultivate tiny fields 当地人是中国最贫穷的居民之一 The people who live here are among the poorest in China 在毗邻的云南省 In neighboring Yunnan province 遍布着石灰石 limestone rocks have taken over entirely 这就是著名的石林 This is the famous Stone Forest 无数年侵蚀作用的产物 the product of countless years of erosion 造就了无数的狭道与巅峰 producing a maze of deep gullets and sharp-edged pinnacles 石灰石有一个独性 那就是能被雨水分解 Limestone has a strange property that is dissolves in rain water 在数千年的漫长光阴中 水的侵蚀深入到岩床的心脏地带 Over many thousands of years, water has corrode its way deep into the heart of the bedrock itself 这一自然奇观成为了著名的旅游景点 This natural wonder has a famous tourist spot 每年的访客数量多达200万人 receiving close to 2 million visitors each year 中国人特别喜好奇形怪状的岩石 The Chinese are fond of curiously shaped rocks 并以为嶙峋怪石冠上千奇百怪的名字为乐 and many have been given fanciful names 但没人来猜测这个块怪石的名字 No prices for guessing what this one is called 但百闻不如置身这片奇妙山地亲身一见 But there is more to this landscape than meets the eye 在中国醒目的喀斯特地貌下 China has literally thousands of mysterious caverns 隐匿着无数的神秘洞穴 concealed beneath the visible landscape of the karst 这些隐秘世界大多不为世人所知 Much of this hidden world has never been seen by human eyes 而现在他们将被展现在世人眼前 And it's only just now being explored 奇险洞穴中再现了一场终极的探险 For a growing band of intrepid young Chinese explorers 主角是一群日渐成长 初生牛犊般的年轻探险家 caves represent the ultimate adventure 探索一个洞穴 犹如一场穿越时空的探险 Exploring a cave is like taking the journey through time 常年积水叮咚伴随着无止境般的旅途 a journey which endless raindrops would have followed over countless centuries 水滴潺潺落下 Fed by countless drips and trickles 地下河流深切入岩 the subterranean river carves ever deeper into the rock 石灰岩河床将洞穴的河道分割成千沟万壑 The cave river's course is channeled by the beds of limestone 石灰岩薄弱处被河水冲刷差距的陡坡处水量激增 A weakness in the rock can not allow the river to increase its gradient flowrate 为洞穴探险带来相当的挑战 providing a real challenge for the cave explorers 水流到达地下水位后便停止下流 The downward rushes halted when the water table is reached 这里缓缓流动的河流切割出一条圆形隧道 Here the slow flowing river carves tunnels with a more rounded profile 这静谧的世界是穴居鱼的家 This tranquil world is home to specialized cave fishes 比如无目金鲃 like the eye-less Golden Barb 中国或许拥有地球上种类最为繁多的 China may have unique kinds of cave evolved fishes 洞穴进化鱼 than anywhere else on Earth 在地下水位线 Above the water table 远古洞穴溢满的河水中充斥着石笋和钟乳石 ancient caverns abandoned by the river slowly fill up with stalactites and stalagmites 含有沉积物的水流 Stalactites form as trickling water deposites tiny quantities of rock 在千万年间“滴水成石” over hundreds or thousands of years 含有石灰质的水滴落石床形成石笋 Stalagmites grow up where lime laid and drips hit the cave floor 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 So far, only a fraction of China's caves have been thoroughly prospected 而被发掘的洞穴不断为我们展现地底奇观 and caves are constantly discovering new subterranean marvels 许多在后来被开发成了商业景点 many of which are subsequently developed into commercial show caves 探索者沿着洞穴河流出山谷的轨迹逃离了黑暗 Finally escaping the darkness 在远离出发地的河谷 the cave river and its human explorers emerge in a valley far from where their journey began 这场冒险拉上了帷幕 or now the adventure is over 源自洞穴河流 Rivers which issue from caves 为喀斯特地区提供了生命之泉 are the key to survival in the karst country 贵州的垂直峡谷 This vertical gorge in Guizhou province 成为了当地野生动物的密集焦点 is a focal point for the region's wildlife 这是世界上最珍稀的灵长类之一 This is one of the world's rarest primates 白颊黑叶猴 Francois's langur 在中国他们只残存于两个南部省份 In China, they survive in just two southern provinces 贵州与广西 Guizhou and Guangxi 多半栖息于崎岖的石灰岩地貌地带 always in ragged limestone terrains 正如大多数猴子一样 他们是社会性生物 Like most monkeys, they're social creatures 并且他们乐于耗费大把时间为彼此整理仪容 and spend a great deal of time grooming each other 叶猴是个不折不扣以嫩芽、嫩叶、水果为食的素食主义者 Langurs are essentially vegetarian with a diet of buds, fruits, and tender young leaves 叶猴宝宝裹着姜黄色的毛发出生 Babies are born with ginger fur 这些毛发随着生长逐渐从尾部开始变成黑色 which gradually turns black from the tail end 叶猴宝宝虎钳般的爪 Young infants have a vise-like grip 帮助他们附着在妈妈身上以保证安全 used for cling on to mom for dare life 随着年龄的增长 As they get older 他们越发胆大，并开始常识更多刺激 they get bolder and take more risks 这些是经历诸多冒险后的幸存者 Those have survive spend a lot of time travelling 尽管经验丰富的成年叶猴深知 Yet experienced adults know exactly where to find seasonal food 到守备范围内不同区域的哪里去寻觅当季的食物 in different parts of their range 在如此陡峭的地带 In such steep terrain 旅途顺利包含了高超的攀爬技巧 travel involves a high level of climbing skill 这些猴子打会走路起就是卓越的攀岩专家 These monkeys are spectacularly good rock climbers from the time they learnt to walk 叶猴族群 In langur society 是母系社会 females rule the roost 并且是举家迁徙的领队人物 and take the lead when the family is on the move 峭壁一侧 One section of cliff 分泌的水是富含矿物质的 woops is a trickle of mineral-rich water 这对猴子们而言是不可抗拒的诱惑 which the monkeys seem to find irresistible 如今麻阳河自然保护区已鲜有危及猴宝宝的捕食者 These days there are few predators in the Mayanghe Reserve which might pose a risk to baby monkey 然而在过去的数个世纪 but in past centuries, this area of south China 中国南部的这个地区是豹子 巨蟒 甚至老虎的家 was home to leopards, pythons, and even tigers 为了在暗夜潜行者的利爪下存活 To survive dangerous night prowlers 叶猴们前往地底 the langurs went underground 用他们的高超的攀爬技巧爬到洞穴上方寻找庇护所 using their rock climbing skills to seek shelter in inaccessible caverns 夜视镜在近乎黑暗的坏境下记录下 Filmed in near darkness using a night vision camera 叶猴一家爬上了 the troop clambers along familiar ledges 被数代猴族磨蚀光润的石壁的情景 worn smooth by generations before them 当冬日寒冷来袭 During cold winter weather 猴子们则冒险潜入 the monkeys venture deeper underground 空气相对保持温暖的地下 where the air stays comparatively warm 旅途的终点 At last, journeys end, 高悬的庇护所使得最激进的捕食者都束手无策 a coated niche beyond the reach of even the most enterprising predator 并非只有猴子们在洞穴中寻找遮蔽