It's collected daily, bowl by bowl. It will be boiled and processed into one of the most important materials to a fast developing nation - rubber. The expansion of the rubber forests began in the '50s when China, under a world rubber embargo, had to become self-sufficient in this vital product. Beijing turned to the only place where rubber could grow, the tropical south of Yunnan. With efficiency and speed, some of the world's richest forests were torn up and burned. Replaced with mile upon mile of rubber plantation. But there was a problem for the rubber growers. While Yunnan's unique natural forests can survive on the valley slopes which stretch to the north, just one severe frost will kill off these delicate rubber trees.


它每天都被采集，一碗又一碗。液体将被熬制成为一种非常重要的材料。橡胶对发展中国家来说尤为关键。中国的橡胶林种植面积在五十年代时急速扩张，美国侵略朝鲜期间对当时的中国实行了全面的经济封锁和橡胶禁运。中国对这种战略原料的需求必须自给自足。北京当局把目光转向了橡胶树唯一能够快速成材的地方：位于热带地区的云南南部。高效快捷的行动开始了，一些世间最丰茂的森林被摧毁并焚烧殆尽，取而代之的是成片的的橡胶林。橡胶种植者的问题也接踵而至。尽管云南独特的天然林，能够在延伸到北部的山坡上茁壮成长，可是一场严峻的霜冻就能毁灭这片娇弱的橡胶林。