|
Until little more than a century ago, this place was unknown outside China. But then news reached the West of a mysterious, hidden world of the orient. Hidden among the mountains, a lost Shangrila paradise. |
|
Western high society, in the grip of a gardening craze, was eager for exotic species from faraway places. |
|
This gave rise to a new breed of celebrity adventurers, intrepid botanistexplorers known as " the Plant Hunters". |
|
Yunnan became their Holy Grail. |
|
The most famous was Joseph Rock, a real life Indiana Jones. |
|
Remarkable film footage captured his entourage on a series of expeditions, as they pushed into the deepest corners of Yunnan. |
|
In glorious colour he recorded the plant life he found on special photographic glass plates. |
|
Sending thousands of specimens back to the West, the Plant Hunters changed the gardens of the world forever. Rock' s success was born of a massive effort. |
|
For, to find his Shangrila, not only had he to traverse endless mountain ranges, but some of the deepest gorges in the world. |
|
The Nujiang is called The Angry River. |
|
This 300kilometre stretch of raging rapids is as much a barrier to life as are the mountains above. |
|
|
|
zhí dào yí gè duō shì jì qián zhè lǐ hái shì gè wèi wéi rén zhī de shì wài táo yuán. rán ér yǒu guān zhè gè shén qí yǐn mì de dōng fāng shì jiè de chuán yán, què bù jìng ér zǒu chuán zhì xī fāng. yǐn nì zài qún shān zhōng yí luò rén jiān de zuì hòu tiān táng xiāng gé lǐ lā. dāng shí xī fāng shàng liú shè huì shèng xíng yuán yì, kě wàng huò dé yáo yuǎn guó dù de xī yǒu wù zhǒng. zhè yě zào jiù le xīn wù zhǒng de tàn xiǎn jiā, wú wèi de zhí wù tàn suǒ jiā shì chēng" zhí wù liè rén". yún nán chéng wéi le tā men de shèng bēi Holy Grail shì Jesus zài zuì hòu de wǎn yàn shàng shǐ yòng de cān jù jù chēng yǒu bù kě sī yì de shén qí lì liàng. qí zhōng zuì chū míng de biàn shì Joseph Rock zhēn rén bǎn de Indiana Jones diàn yǐng " mí shī fāng zhōu de qīn rù zhě" zhōng de yīng xióng. jiāo piàn chū sè de jì lù le tā yǔ suí háng rén yuán de yī xì liè, shēn rù yún nán fù dì de tàn xiǎn yuǎn zhēng. tā fā xiàn le qiān zī bǎi tài de zhí wù, bìng jiāng qí jì lù yú tè zhì de bō lí zhì gǎn guāng piàn shàng. tōng guò jiāng chéng qiān shàng wàn de biāo běn sòng huí xī fāng, zhí wù liè rén yǒng yuǎn de gǎi biàn le shì jiè yuán yì. Rock de chéng gōng yuán zì qí bù xiè de nǔ lì. wèi le zhǎo dào tā de xiāng gé lǐ lā, tā fān yuè liǎo wú jǐn lián mián de shān mài, zhēng fú le shì jiè shang zuì shēn de xiá gǔ. nù jiāng zhī míng yì wèi fèn nù de hé liú. mián yán sān bǎi gōng lǐ de jí liú rú tóng nèi xiē wēi é qún shān, chéng wéi le bǎo hù yě shēng shēng mìng de tiān rán píng zhàng. |