This Is China II

On the basis of the documentary This Is China （Season 2）， this book inherits the unique perspective of the documentary and gives a deeper and broader exploration of Chinese culture. It contains three chapters， including China’s speed， China’s treasure， and China’s taste. The original content of the documentary film is expanded by audio visual resources and static images. At the same time， tips and expert commentaries are added to encourage readers to reflect on. Through short stories and the work and life of ordinary Chinese people， this book shows China’s brilliant civilization and rapid development.

This Is China Ⅱ

He Yuan， Zhu Xinmei， Zhao Ning

China Radio and Television Publishing House

January 2021

79.00 （CNY）

He Yuan

He Yuan is president of Beijing Zhongshi Yayun Cultural Communication Center. As a senior documentary filmmaker， he has been devoted to

foreign cooperation and international communication of Chinese

documentaries. His major works include This is China， Hello， China and soon. He has won more than 30 awards including the Outstanding International Communication Award of National Radio and Television Administration and the China Academy Awards of Documentary Film.

Zhu Xinmei

She is the former deputy director and researcher of the International Institute of the Development Research Center， National Radio and Television Administration of China （NRTA）. She organized the review and evaluation of the “Going Global” program series within the NRTA. She is responsible for the research of the important project “Going Global through Radio Film and Television” initiated by the Publicity

Department of the CPC Central Committee and the International

Division of the NRTA.

Zhao Ning

He is the head of the Marketing Department of China Radio and

Television Publishing House and deputy editor of This is China I. He was praised as the “Excellent Young Staff” of the National Radio and

Television Administration in 2006 and 2007.

The Last Fairyland in the World

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， known as the “roof of the world”， has not only the world’s highest peak – Mount Qomolangma but also the longest and deepest

canyon – the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. With a length of 504.9 kilometers and a depth of 6，009 meters， the grand canyon has an average depth of 2，268 meters. A great topographic contrast of nearly 10，000 meters between the high peaks and deep canyons makes up the world’s most spectacular landscape. As the canyon is intertwined with glaciers， cliffs， steep slopes， mudslides and massive rivers， the environment condition is very complex. As many of its parts are inaccessible， the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon has been crowned as “the Last Fairyland in the World”.

Facing the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean， the canyon is a natural channel for the warm and humid moisture from the Indian Ocean， turning the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into the world’s largest precipitation area. A sharp contrast in terrain endows it with nine vertical natural zones， ranging from glaciers in the high mountains to tropical rain forests in the valley bottom. The valley floor is filled with exotic flowers and subtropical rain forests. On the hillside are temperate evergreen broad-leaved forests while on the top of the valleys are coniferous trees such as pines and cypresses in a cold climate. Many creatures， which should not have lived here， inhabit and breed in this region. Thanks to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon， many ancient species survive in the Quaternary Glaciation. They live and multiply on this land， making up a large and tolerant family. This is a veritable world of ecological diversity and a puzzle gifted by nature to human beings.

The discovery of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is regarded by the scientific community as one of the most important geographical discoveries of mankind in the 20th century. Since the end of the 20th century， lots of scientific expedition teams have conducted many comprehensive scientific investigations， and have obtained thousands of specimens in geology， hydrology， plants， insects， glaciers and land-forms. According to statistics， there are 2/3 of the known higher plant species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， 1/2 of the identified mammal species， 4/5 of the known insect species， and 3/5 of the known macrofungi species in China. According to scientific investigation， the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is the most biologically diverse mountain in the world. It is regarded as the “Gene Pool of Biological Resources” and the “Natural Museum of Plants”.

The Great Bend of the Yarlung Zangbo River

The first great bend of the Yarlung Zangbo River is the area between the transfer station at Pai Town and Zhibai Village. The river rushes from west to east. At the great bend， it is blocked by the mountain and then turns to the south. After the river takes a great turn， it continues to flow east. The reason is that the head-ward erosion of the north-south rivers on the southern slopes of the Himalayas has captured the east-west rivers on the northern slopes.

A wonderful story goes about in the region. It is said that Mount Kinabalu has four children， namely the Yarlung Zangbo River （River Horse）， Shiquan River （River Lion）， Xiangquan River （River Elephant） and Kongque River （River Peacock）. The four separately set off and join in the Indian Ocean. After going through twists and turns， the Yarlung Zangbo River comes to the Gongbu area. Deceived by a sparrowhawk， the Yarlung Zangbo River believes the other three have already arrived， so he hurriedly turns around at the foot of the Namchabarwa Mountain and heads south. Even the towering peaks and cliffs all the way could not stop him from running. In order to meet his siblings as soon as possible， he jumps from precipitous terrain. Thus， it gives rise to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon， embedded in innumerable mountains and valleys and the world-famous “great bend”.