How far is the journey of a drop of water.
We can't measure.
But where it goes.
But it is "every step of the way".
It was a great journey that never ended.
Hibernation, meandering, climbing, condensing.
The waters of South Asia trek thousands of miles to the top of the mountain.
Ablation, flow, transpiration, fall.
The cold glaciers of the very high mountains can also reach the bottom of the sea.
Follow the qi veins formed by the convergence of thousands of drops of water.
Embark on our journey.
The race for life
Pick a starting point and start in the Indian Ocean.
The southwest monsoon passes through the vast warm tropical ocean.
It was saturated with moisture and began to head north.
The huge folded valleys between the mountains are moats for humans.
But it's a long-distance path for water vapor to go straight into.
The warm and humid air currents from the Indian Ocean bring abundant precipitation to the South Asian subcontinent.
It then enters from southern Yunnan along the river valley.
It has nourished countless verdant forests.
It's warm and humid all year round.
Plants in the rainforest make the most of water vapor and valuable space.
A variety of lifestyles have evolved.
The layers are rich and can reach as many as more than a dozen layers.
Step into the jungle and begin.
The first thing you encounter is the one that grows at your feet.
Orchidaceae, ginger and other forest bottom herbs.
At eye level is a one-person-tall understory shrub, which is cluttered and dense.
and dominant populations of large ferns, Alocasia, and wild plantains.
Grabbing ground space.
And the liana chose to withdraw from the fierce ground competition.
Instead climbed tall trees.
Expand the living space upwards.
In the same vein as them are epiphytes.
Light herbaceous plants are epiphytic on branches or trunks.
It survives on nutrients decomposed from the decay of the bark and moisture in the air.
Nest fern, staghorn fern, etc.
and many other epiphytes of the orchid family, endiveaceae.
Together, they form a wonderful "hanging garden".
The gaze continues to move upwards and is the majority of the forest:
Lauraceae, Moraceae, Shellaceae and other trees more than ten meters high.
Further up, there are the upper populations in the rainforest.
Some tall trees of the Sapindaceae, Legume family, and Neem family.
It can often grow to thirty or forty meters.
They are able to enjoy plenty of sunlight.
And to be able to surpass all kinds.
There are very few large trees that emerge from the canopy of the rainforest.
Only a few kinds of green skin, sarashuang, and wangtian trees can do it.
Huge umbrella-shaped canopies cover each other.
Make it difficult to see sunlight under the forest.
Epiphytic, strangled, slab root development, single tree forest......
The competition between rainforest plants for water and light is unmatched.
But because of that.
It shows the tenacity and wisdom of life.
Unleashed vigorous energy and enthusiasm.
Colorful
The moisture didn't stop there.
The barrier of the mountains did not quench the enthusiasm.
It fearlessly invades the Hengduan Mountains, China's largest north-south folded mountain system.
The most typical area of the Hengduan Mountains is the "Three Parallel Rivers".
It is the world's tightest and narrowest giant composite orogenic belt.
There are three river systems of the Nu River, the Lancang River and the Jinsha River.
Take advantage of the huge difference in elevation.
Several parallel mountain valleys have been formed.
The deep river valley is the Yangguan Avenue where the water vapor goes north.
Plenty of water vapor and heat.
Blocked by high mountains, he climbed the valley and went up.
When it is cold, it forms abundant precipitation, giving thousands of vitality.
The mountains along the way have a rich vertical natural spectrum.
The vertical vegetation distribution of the extremely high mountains in the Hengduan Mountains is equivalent to.
Horizontal distribution of vegetation types in the Northern Hemisphere from the polar zone.
Due to the special geographical location and geological changes.
It has become a passage and meeting area for the advance and retreat of plants from the north and south.
New species evolve here.
Relict species take refuge here from the ice age.
As a result, the abundant alpine vegetation and rare flora and fauna are preserved.
The cold and wet dense forest is full of tall trees such as fir and spruce.
Pineapples hanging from these trees like a drapery.
It is one of the rations of the "alpine elf" Yunnan golden snub-nosed monkey.
Beyond the lush greenery.
There's a lot more to it here.
Red, yellow, blue, purple.
It is unique to high altitude.
Alpine rhododendron, green velvet artemisia, primrose and gorgeous gentian.
Get out of the jungle. Trek through alpine meadows, savanna scrublands, and bare rocks.
A belt of ice and snow until the extinction of life.
The journey of water vapor is never-ending.
We're with it, too.
Gallop along the path of the Qi veins.
Beneath the clouds
Glaciers are the dress of the extremely high mountains.
In the Hengduan Mountains.
Warm and humid air currents from the Indian Ocean can transport water vapor along river valleys.
Reach mountains at an altitude of 4,000 meters or even higher.
They are the water vapor of numerous giant glaciers**.
The Hengduan Mountains are located on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
It is the southernmost and easternmost point of modern glaciers in China.
It is also second only to the southeast in terms of area.
The second monsoon oceanic glacier distribution area in China.
Unclimbable mountain tops.
Entrenched in deep and hard glaciers.
It seems to have been like this for thousands of years.
But in fact, under the cold exterior.
It's a slow flow and renewal.
Every glacier is a story of strength, time, and beauty.
Unlike continental glaciers with lower ice temperatures.
Marine glaciers because of the area in which they are located.
It has a humid climate, heavy snowfall and a low snow line.
Therefore, the ice temperature is high, and it is also called warm glacier.
The accumulation and melting of glaciers here is significant.
And the speed of flow is also faster.
The massive glaciers are home to all living things in the Hengduan Mountains.
Plenty of snow melt water is provided.
The glaciers in the Hengduan Mountains are diverse.
There are hanging glaciers, cirque glaciers, valley glaciers, canyon glaciers,
Slope glaciers and ice caps or flat-topped glaciers.
Due to the high mountain, the terrain is steep.
The number of hanging glaciers is the largest, and the glacier ice reserves in the valley are the largest.
There are valleys at the end of glaciers at the end of the glacier tongue.
It also juts out into the lush forest.
The formation of a peculiar scene of the fusion of the cryosphere and the biosphere.
The drop of sea water that used to freeze.
Finally melted away and returned to the earth.
In the midst of thousands of lives.
Embark on a long journey to rivers, lakes and seas.
With the way of nature, nourish the life of all things.
A drop of water may be small.
But gather thousands of drops of water.
But it can nourish the magnificent mountains and rivers.
Giving birth to a colorful world.
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