0:00:04 > 0:00:07Beneath billowing clouds,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10in China's far southwestern Yunnan province,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12lies a place of mystery and legend...
0:00:17 > 0:00:22..of mighty rivers and some of the oldest jungles in the world.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Here, hidden valleys nurture strange and unique creatures...
0:00:31 > 0:00:34..and colourful tribal cultures.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Jungles are rarely found this far north of the tropics.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50So, why do they thrive here?
0:00:53 > 0:00:59And how has this rugged landscape come to harbour the greatest natural wealth in all China?
0:01:40 > 0:01:44In the remote south-west corner of China,
0:01:44 > 0:01:46a celebration is about to take place.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Dai people collect water for the most important festival of their year.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11The Dai call themselves The People Of The Water.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Yunnan's river valleys have been their home for over 2,000 years.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30By bringing the river water to the temple,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33they honour the two things holiest to them -
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Buddhism and their home.
0:02:54 > 0:03:00The Dai give thanks for the rivers and fertile lands which have nurtured their culture.
0:03:08 > 0:03:14Though to some, it might seem just an excuse for the biggest water fight of all time.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Dai lives are changing, as towns get bigger and modernise,
0:03:31 > 0:03:36but the Water Splashing Festival is still celebrated by all.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56The rivers which lie at the heart of Dai life and culture
0:03:56 > 0:03:58flow from the distant mountains of Tibet,
0:03:58 > 0:04:02southward through central Yunnan in great parallel gorges.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09The Dai now live in the borders of tropical Vietnam and Laos,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12but their legends tell of how their ancestors came here
0:04:12 > 0:04:16by following the rivers from mountain lands in the cold far north.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Lying at the far eastern end of the Himalayas,
0:04:22 > 0:04:28the Hengduan mountains form Yunnan's northern border with Tibet.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35Kawakarpo, crown of the Hengduan range, is a site of holy pilgrimage.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40Yet its formidable peak remains unconquered.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Yunnan's mountains are remote, rugged and inaccessible.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Here the air is thin and temperatures can drop below minus 40 degrees.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13This is home to an animal that's found nowhere else on Earth.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It's found only in these few isolated mountain forests.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37No other primate lives at such high altitudes,
0:05:37 > 0:05:40but these are true specialists.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56These ancient mountain dwellers have inspired legends.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Local Lisu people consider them their ancestors,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03calling them "the wild men of the mountains".
0:06:09 > 0:06:14During heavy snowfalls, even these specialists cannot feed.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18It seems a strange place for a monkey.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Between snows, the monkeys waste no time in their search for food.
0:06:33 > 0:06:39At this altitude, there are few fruits or tender leaves to eat.
0:06:40 > 0:06:4290% of their diet is made up
0:06:42 > 0:06:46of the fine, dry wisps of a curious organism.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Half fungus, half plant - it's lichen.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06How have monkeys, normally associated with lowland jungle,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08come to live such a remote mountain existence?
0:07:15 > 0:07:20This is not the only remarkable animal found within these isolated high peaks.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31A Chinese red panda.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Solitary and quiet, it spends much of its time in the tree tops.
0:07:49 > 0:07:50Despite its name,
0:07:50 > 0:07:54the red panda is only a very distant relative of the giant panda.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58It's actually more closely related to a skunk.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12But it does share the giant panda's taste for bamboo.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20Southwest China's red pandas are known for their very strong facial markings,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25which distinguish them from red pandas found anywhere else in the Himalayas.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Like the monkeys, they were isolated in these high forests
0:08:36 > 0:08:39when the mountains quite literally rose beneath them
0:08:39 > 0:08:43in the greatest mountain-building event in recent geological history.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Over the last 30 million years,
0:08:49 > 0:08:55the Indian subcontinent has been pushing northwards into Eurasia.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57On the border between India and Tibet
0:08:57 > 0:09:01the rocks have been raised eight kilometres above sea level,
0:09:01 > 0:09:06creating the world's highest mountain range, the Himalayas.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08But to the east,
0:09:08 > 0:09:14the rocks have buckled into a series of steep north-south ridges,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16cutting down through the heart of Yunnan,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19the parallel mountains of the Hengduan Shan.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35These natural barriers serve to isolate Yunnan's plants and animals
0:09:35 > 0:09:37in each adjacent valley.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45While the huge temperature range between the snowy peaks
0:09:45 > 0:09:47and the warmer slopes below
0:09:47 > 0:09:51provides a vast array of conditions for life to thrive.
0:09:56 > 0:09:57Through spring,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02the Hengduan slopes stage one of China's greatest natural spectacles.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09The forests here are among the most diverse botanical areas in the world.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39Over 18,000 plant species grow here,
0:10:39 > 0:10:44of which 3,000 are found nowhere else.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54Until little more than a century ago, this place was unknown outside China.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59But then news reached the West
0:10:59 > 0:11:02of a mysterious, hidden world of the Orient.
0:11:02 > 0:11:07Hidden among the mountains, a lost Shangri-La paradise.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Western high society, in the grip of a gardening craze,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18was eager for exotic species from faraway places.
0:11:19 > 0:11:24This gave rise to a new breed of celebrity adventurers,
0:11:24 > 0:11:29intrepid botanist-explorers known as "the Plant Hunters".
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Yunnan became their Holy Grail.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42The most famous was Joseph Rock, a real-life Indiana Jones.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Remarkable film footage captured his entourage on a series of expeditions,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54as they pushed into the deepest corners of Yunnan.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00In glorious colour, he recorded the plant life he found
0:12:00 > 0:12:03on special photographic glass plates.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Sending thousands of specimens back to the West,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12the plant hunters changed the gardens of the world forever.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Rock's success was born of a massive effort.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21For, to find his Shangri-La,
0:12:21 > 0:12:26not only had he to traverse endless mountain ranges,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29but some of the deepest gorges in the world.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38The Nujiang is called the Angry River.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42This 300-kilometre stretch of raging rapids
0:12:42 > 0:12:46is as much a barrier to life as are the mountains above.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58But the plant hunters weren't the first people to travel here.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Along the Nujiang,
0:13:37 > 0:13:42less than 30 rope crossings allow locals passage across the torrents.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Tiny hamlets cling to the slopes.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51This morning, it's market day,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54drawing people from up and down the valley.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04PIG SQUEALS
0:14:07 > 0:14:09GOAT BLEATS
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Hanging from simple rope slings,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18people have been using the crossings for many hundreds of years.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25In such narrow, precipitous gorges
0:14:25 > 0:14:28it's by far the easiest way to get around.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Once across, the steep sides mean it's still a hike.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46Many trek for hours by foot before they get to the market.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54The immense valley is home to over a dozen ethnic groups.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58Some, like the Nu people, are found only here.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06The markets bring the mountain tribes together.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26To continue his expeditions,
0:15:26 > 0:15:31Rock had to get his entire entourage across the giant Yunnan rivers.
0:15:31 > 0:15:36He commissioned especially thick ropes made from forest rattan
0:15:36 > 0:15:37and filmed the entire event.
0:15:40 > 0:15:45With yak butter to smooth the ride, 40 men and 15 mules made the journey.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Not all made it across.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56On the far side of the great Nujiang gorge,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00the plant hunters made a remarkable discovery.
0:16:03 > 0:16:04Far from the tropics,
0:16:04 > 0:16:09they seemed to be entering a steamy, vibrant tropical jungle,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12the forest of Gaoligongshan.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The flora here is unlike anywhere else in the world.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29Next to subtropical species, alpine plants grow in giant form.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34Crowning the canopy, rhododendrons, up to 30 metres high.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46In April and May, their flowers turn the forests ruby red.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07Constant moisture in the air means that the branches are laden with flowering epiphytes,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09fiercely guarded by tiny sunbirds.
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Nectar feeders, these are the hummingbirds of the Old World tropics.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37The forests of Gaoligongshan are home to some of China's rarest wildlife.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53This is a female Temminck's Tragopan.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55She has a colourful male admirer.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30He's hoping to woo her with his peculiar peek-a-boo display
0:18:30 > 0:18:32but she's not about to be rushed.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54His colourful skin wattle reflects more light than feathers do.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56To her, this is like a neon sign.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Seeing his chance, the male makes his move.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15Constant moisture in the Gaoligongshan forests
0:19:15 > 0:19:19means that throughout the year there are always fruits on the trees.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24Such abundance of food encourages a high diversity of fruit eaters
0:19:24 > 0:19:27more commonly found in the tropics.
0:19:30 > 0:19:34The black giant squirrel is found only in undisturbed rainforest.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39At close to a metre in length, it's one of the world's largest squirrels.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50The mystery is that these forests are growing well outside the tropics.
0:19:54 > 0:20:00By rights, none of this jungle, or its animals, should be here.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13These are bear macaques.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19They're found only in tropical and subtropical jungle.
0:20:30 > 0:20:34With a tiny home range of just a few square kilometres,
0:20:34 > 0:20:36they depend on the abundant fruit
0:20:36 > 0:20:39that only true rainforests can provide all year round.
0:20:48 > 0:20:50To the European plant hunters,
0:20:50 > 0:20:56these northern rainforests must have seemed a fantastic and mysterious lost world.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03Yet, when they came here, they would have found
0:21:03 > 0:21:06beautifully constructed ancient stone pathways
0:21:06 > 0:21:09on which the forest could be explored.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Winding westwards into the hills,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25these were once some of the most important highways in Asia -
0:21:25 > 0:21:29the southwestern tea and silk road.
0:21:34 > 0:21:36Built thousands of years ago,
0:21:36 > 0:21:42the southwestern tea and silk road gave access to the world beyond China's borders,
0:21:42 > 0:21:47carrying tradesmen and travellers from as far away as Rome.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Wars were fought over access to this tiny path -
0:22:00 > 0:22:02the only sure route in or out of China
0:22:02 > 0:22:06that was guaranteed to be clear of snow all year round.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16So what causes Gaoligongshan's strange and remarkable climate?
0:22:19 > 0:22:21In late May, gusts of wind arrive,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25bringing with them the key to Gaoligongshan's mystery.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The winds are hot and saturated with water.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34They come all the way from the Indian Ocean.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Channelled by Yunnan's unique geography,
0:22:38 > 0:22:43they bring with them the moisture of the tropical monsoon.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52The giant river valleys, created millions of years ago,
0:22:52 > 0:22:54act like immense funnels.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56The gorges are so deep and narrow,
0:22:56 > 0:23:01that the moist warm air is driven right up into the north of Yunnan.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06The result is rain...in torrents!
0:23:49 > 0:23:54Four months of daily rainstorms sustain luxuriant vegetation.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01The arrival of the monsoon awakens one of the forest's
0:24:01 > 0:24:04most extraordinary moisture-loving inhabitants.
0:24:17 > 0:24:24The crocodile newt is one of the most unusual of the many amphibian species found here.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35As the rains arrive, they emerge to mate.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54The newts are said to leave an odour trail
0:24:54 > 0:24:56that potential mates can follow.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02The crocodile newt gets its name from the bumps along its back.
0:25:02 > 0:25:03These are its defence.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10If grabbed by a potential predator,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15the tips of its ribs squeeze a deadly poison from the bumps.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28The deluge wakes another forest inhabitant.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40This one is particularly astounding in its vigour!
0:25:54 > 0:25:57It can grow up to a metre a day,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01fast overtaking the other plants around it.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14The taller it grows, the faster its growth rate,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18so that in a matter of days, it towers above the undergrowth
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and continues reaching for the sky.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Not bad for what is essentially a grass.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34It's bamboo.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Given the chance,
0:26:49 > 0:26:54bamboo will create immense forests, dominating entire areas.
0:26:55 > 0:26:59Bamboo forests occur across southwest China,
0:26:59 > 0:27:01all the way to Shanghai.
0:27:03 > 0:27:07But probably the highest diversity of bamboos in the world
0:27:07 > 0:27:10is found on the hills and valleys of Yunnan.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22Though incredibly strong, bamboos have hollow stems,
0:27:22 > 0:27:26a perfect shelter for any creatures which can find a way in.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32This entrance hole was made by a beetle
0:27:32 > 0:27:35but it's being used by a very different animal.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46A bamboo bat.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50The size of a bumblebee, it's one of the tiniest mammals in the world.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58The entire colony, up to 25 bats,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02fits into a single section of bamboo stem,
0:28:02 > 0:28:05smaller than a tea cup.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07It's quite a squeeze!
0:28:10 > 0:28:12Half the colony are babies.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Though barely a week old, they are already almost as big as their mums.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Feeding such a fast-growing brood is hard work.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27The mums leave to hunt just after dusk each night.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09Back in the roost, the young are left on their own.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Special pads on their wings help them to grip on the bamboo walls...
0:29:15 > 0:29:17most of the time.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24The young bats use the extra space to prepare for a life on the wing
0:29:24 > 0:29:26by preening and stretching.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38Packed in like sardines, they would make an easy target...
0:29:38 > 0:29:39for a snake.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05But the snake has no chance of getting in.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08The entrance is thinner than the width of a pencil.
0:30:18 > 0:30:19When the mothers return,
0:30:19 > 0:30:24they can push through the narrow entrance
0:30:24 > 0:30:28only because of their unusually flattened skulls.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32But it's still a squeeze.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47Bamboos are exploited in a very different way by another forest dweller.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Fresh bamboo shoots are an important forest crop.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13Ai Lao Xiang is of the Hani tribe,
0:31:13 > 0:31:16from the mountain village of Mengsong.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32Roasted, the tender shoots he gathers will make a tasty dish.
0:31:39 > 0:31:45The Hani have many uses for the different bamboos they grow and find in the forest around.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Though flexible enough to be woven,
0:31:51 > 0:31:55bamboo has a higher tensile strength than steel.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57Succulent when young,
0:31:57 > 0:32:02in maturity it's tough and durable, ideal for making a table
0:32:02 > 0:32:08and strong enough for a pipe to last a lifetime.
0:32:15 > 0:32:16The people of southwest China
0:32:16 > 0:32:21have found an extraordinary number of ways to exploit this most versatile of plants.
0:32:53 > 0:32:56Part of bamboo's phenomenal success
0:32:56 > 0:32:59is that it's so tough that few animals can tackle it.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Yet bamboo does come under attack.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30A bamboo rat.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33Feeding almost exclusively on bamboo,
0:33:33 > 0:33:38they live their entire lives in tunnels beneath the forest.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45The thinner species of bamboo are easy to attack and pull below.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54She has a fantastic sense of smell
0:33:54 > 0:33:58and can sniff out the fresh growth through the soil.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05Bamboo spreads along underground stems.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09By following these, new shoots are found.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Once a shoot is detected,
0:34:14 > 0:34:19she snips it free and drags it down into her burrow.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25This female has a family.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27At just a few weeks old,
0:34:27 > 0:34:31the youngsters can already tackle the hardest bamboo stems
0:34:31 > 0:34:34and are eager to try.
0:34:54 > 0:34:59Bamboo's tough reputation is such that another bamboo specialist
0:34:59 > 0:35:03was known by the Chinese as "The Iron Eating Animal".
0:35:10 > 0:35:14The giant panda is famous for its exclusive diet.
0:35:21 > 0:35:28Giant pandas are thought to have originated in southwest China, millions of years ago,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30but they are no longer found in Yunnan.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Recently, their specialised diet has had dire consequences.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45Bamboo has a bizarre life cycle,
0:35:45 > 0:35:50flowering infrequently, sometimes only once every hundred years or so.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56But when flowering does occur, it's on a massive scale,
0:35:56 > 0:36:00and it's followed by the death of all of the plants.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Sometimes an entire bamboo forest may die.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17In undisturbed habitat, pandas simply move to another area
0:36:17 > 0:36:20where a different bamboo species grows.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29But as human activity has fragmented their forest home,
0:36:29 > 0:36:36pandas find it increasingly hard to find large enough areas in which to survive.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41Wild pandas are now found only in the forests of central China,
0:36:41 > 0:36:43far to the east.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51But in the hidden pockets of lowland jungle in Yunnan's tropical south,
0:36:51 > 0:36:55live one of China's best-kept wildlife secrets.
0:37:09 > 0:37:11DEEP BELLOW
0:37:15 > 0:37:17The wild Asian elephant.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26Elephants once roamed across China as far north as Beijing.
0:37:26 > 0:37:31But it's only in the hidden valleys of Yunnan that they have survived.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47Elephants are the architects of the forest.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51Bamboos and grasses are their favourite food, but saplings,
0:37:51 > 0:37:56tree leaves and twisted lianas are all taken, with little care.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11As they move through the forest,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15the elephants open up clearings, bringing light to the forest floor.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23This has a major impact on their home.
0:38:40 > 0:38:46The richest forests are now known to be those which, from time to time, experience change.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02The Jinou people are incredibly knowledgeable about their forests
0:39:02 > 0:39:07and claim to have uses for most of the plants that they find there.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14They have names for them all,
0:39:14 > 0:39:20those good for eating and some which even have strong medicinal qualities.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27By working here, the Jinou play a similar role to the elephants,
0:39:27 > 0:39:33opening up the forest, bringing space, light and diversity.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Green, fast-growing species are encouraged.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41Insects are in high abundance here,
0:39:41 > 0:39:44together with the animals that feed on them.
0:39:49 > 0:39:54Knowledge of the forest enables the Jinou to find not just plants,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56but other tasty forest food too.
0:39:59 > 0:40:05Forest crabs are common here, feeding on the abundant leaf litter.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08This will be a tasty addition to the evening meal.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Flowing through Yunnan's southern valleys,
0:40:19 > 0:40:24the once angry rivers are now swollen,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26their waters slow and warm.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35These fertile lowland valleys are the home of the Dai.
0:40:39 > 0:40:40The "People of the Water"
0:40:40 > 0:40:44live along streams which originate in the surrounding hills.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56Each family keeps a kitchen garden
0:40:56 > 0:41:00modelled on the multi-layered structure of the surrounding forests,
0:41:00 > 0:41:01which the Dai hold sacred.
0:41:10 > 0:41:15The gardens are made more productive by inter-planting different crops.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20Tall, sun-loving species give shelter to plants which thrive in the shade.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26As companions, the plants grow better.
0:41:36 > 0:41:41Yunnan's forests are home to more than a dozen wild banana species
0:41:41 > 0:41:45and banana crops grow well in most Dai gardens.
0:41:47 > 0:41:52The huge banana flowers are rich in nectar for only two hours a day,
0:41:52 > 0:41:59but it's enough to attract a range of forest insects, including hornets.
0:42:02 > 0:42:04With their razor sharp mandibles,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07they find it easy to rob the flowers of their nectar.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12But hornets are predators too.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15They hunt other insects and carry them back to their nest.
0:42:21 > 0:42:22An ideal target.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26But this grasshopper is no easy meal.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29There may be a price to pay.
0:42:32 > 0:42:39The Dai men, Po and Xue Ming, take advantage of a hunter's instincts.
0:42:53 > 0:42:55The hornet's sting is agony.
0:42:56 > 0:43:01But for now it's distracted, intent on cutting away
0:43:01 > 0:43:05a piece of grasshopper small enough to carry back home.
0:43:08 > 0:43:09Success!
0:43:18 > 0:43:21The white feather hardly slows the hornet,
0:43:21 > 0:43:24and, more importantly,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26it can be seen.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Now the hunter is the hunted.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35So long as Po and Xue Ming can keep up!
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Back at the nest, the other hornets
0:43:59 > 0:44:02immediately begin to cut the feather free.
0:44:04 > 0:44:09But it's too late. The nest's location has been betrayed.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26The relationship between the forest animals and the people who live here
0:44:26 > 0:44:28was never one of harmony.
0:44:33 > 0:44:38Yet the fact that the Dai and other ethnic groups considered these forests to be sacred,
0:44:38 > 0:44:41has ensured their survival
0:44:41 > 0:44:45and now many have been given extra protection as nature reserves.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Ingenuity and hard work pays off at last.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03The fattened larvae are considered a delicacy by the Dai.
0:45:11 > 0:45:15Although these forests have experienced a great deal of change,
0:45:15 > 0:45:20they are still host to some ancient and incredible relationships.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27Almost 60 centimetres high,
0:45:27 > 0:45:31this is the immense flower of the elephant yam.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36Locals call it the "Witch of the Forest".
0:45:44 > 0:45:48As the stars rise, the witch begins to cast her spell.
0:45:52 > 0:45:58The forest temperature drops, but the flower starts to heat up.
0:46:04 > 0:46:08A heat-sensitive camera reveals the flower's temperature rising...
0:46:08 > 0:46:10by an incredible 10 degrees Celsius.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21At the same time, a noxious stench of rotting flesh fills the forest air.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33As the flower's heat increases, a cloud of odour rises up.
0:46:33 > 0:46:36The foul perfume carries far and wide.
0:46:38 > 0:46:41It doesn't go unnoticed.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Carrion beetles arrive on the scene.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49The beetles come in search of a feast of warm decaying flesh,
0:46:49 > 0:46:51but they've been tricked.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Slippery sides ensure they tumble
0:47:00 > 0:47:04straight into the centre of the monster flower.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12There's not enough room to spread their wings
0:47:12 > 0:47:15and the waxy walls ensure that there's no escape.
0:47:23 > 0:47:28But there's nothing sinister in the flower's agenda.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31The beetles will be its unwitting helpers.
0:47:37 > 0:47:41Dawn arrives, but the flower remains unchanged,
0:47:41 > 0:47:44holding its captives through the day.
0:47:56 > 0:48:01As the second night falls, the witch stirs again.
0:48:09 > 0:48:10In a matter of minutes,
0:48:10 > 0:48:15the flower's precious golden pollen squeezes from the stamens
0:48:15 > 0:48:17and begins to fall...
0:48:19 > 0:48:21..showering onto the captive beetles below.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42Now, at last, the prisoners are free to go.
0:48:42 > 0:48:47The flower's wall changes texture, becoming rough
0:48:47 > 0:48:50to provide the ideal escape ladder.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55Loaded with their pollen parcels, they can now climb to freedom,
0:48:55 > 0:49:00just as other forest witches are beginning to open.
0:49:00 > 0:49:05Seduced by the irresistible perfume, the beetles are sure to pay a visit,
0:49:05 > 0:49:07so ensuring pollination,
0:49:07 > 0:49:12and another generation of incredibly big, smelly flowers.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34As dawn arrives, forest birds claim their territories in the canopy.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37BIRDSONG
0:49:51 > 0:49:56But there's one call which stands out among the rest -
0:49:56 > 0:49:58virtuoso of the forest symphony.
0:49:58 > 0:50:01STRANGE CALL RINGS OUT
0:50:11 > 0:50:12It's a gibbon.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14CALL CONTINUES
0:50:25 > 0:50:29Living on a remote mountain range in south central Yunnan
0:50:29 > 0:50:34is one of the few remaining wild gibbon populations in China.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37The black-crested gibbons of Wuliangshan.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43They are confined to these forest mountains,
0:50:43 > 0:50:47so remote and steep that few hunters ever come here.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02The Wuliangshan gibbons are unusual for their social structure.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04Most gibbons live in small family groups
0:51:04 > 0:51:08consisting of a mating pair and their offspring.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16But these gibbons exist in troops.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20One male can have two or sometimes three females
0:51:20 > 0:51:22and all of these can have young.
0:51:29 > 0:51:33Often even the juveniles stay in the community.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38BABY SQUEAKS
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Rarely glimpsed, this baby may be only a day old.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50If it survives infancy, then it has a promising future
0:51:50 > 0:51:53in these few valleys with its close-knit family.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04GIBBON CALLS RING OUT
0:52:13 > 0:52:17Gibbon song once inspired the ancient poets of China,
0:52:17 > 0:52:21their glorious calls echoing far across the hills.
0:52:31 > 0:52:36But now, new, strangely quiet forests have come to Yunnan.
0:52:41 > 0:52:46These trees are here to produce an important and valuable crop.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15When the tree bark is scored, it yields copious sticky sap,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18so bitter and tacky that nothing can feed on it.
0:53:18 > 0:53:22It's the tree's natural defence against attack.
0:53:25 > 0:53:28It's collected daily,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30bowl by bowl.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36It will be boiled and processed into one of the most important materials
0:53:36 > 0:53:40to a fast-developing nation - rubber.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46The expansion of the rubber forests began in the '50s when China,
0:53:46 > 0:53:48under a world rubber embargo,
0:53:48 > 0:53:52had to become self-sufficient in this vital product.
0:53:55 > 0:53:59Beijing turned to the only place where rubber could grow,
0:53:59 > 0:54:01the tropical south of Yunnan.
0:54:06 > 0:54:07With efficiency and speed,
0:54:07 > 0:54:12some of the world's richest forests were torn up and burned.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18Replaced with mile upon mile of rubber plantation.
0:54:22 > 0:54:26But there was a problem for the rubber growers.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28While Yunnan's unique natural forests
0:54:28 > 0:54:32can survive on the valley slopes which stretch to the north...
0:54:34 > 0:54:38..just one severe frost will kill off these delicate rubber trees.
0:54:40 > 0:54:46So Yunnan's terrain puts a limit on how far the plantations can spread,
0:54:46 > 0:54:50halting at least their northwards advance.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00The jungles of Yunnan are increasingly under pressure.
0:55:04 > 0:55:05HORN BEEPS
0:55:05 > 0:55:09New roads criss-cross the tiny remnant forests -
0:55:09 > 0:55:15the infrastructure needed for trade, industry and, increasingly, tourism.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23It's a meeting of two very different worlds.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27ELEPHANT TRUMPETS
0:56:02 > 0:56:05That elephants still exist in China is remarkable,
0:56:05 > 0:56:08considering the immense pressures
0:56:08 > 0:56:11in the world's most highly populated country.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27The 250 or so wild elephants which still live here
0:56:27 > 0:56:29are now strictly protected.
0:56:31 > 0:56:35And each year, young are born to the small herds.
0:56:42 > 0:56:46If elephants were to survive anywhere in China,
0:56:46 > 0:56:49it could only have been here, in Yunnan.
0:56:51 > 0:56:54The same mountains which guide the monsoon rains north
0:56:54 > 0:56:59and which made Joseph Rock's journeys so treacherous,
0:56:59 > 0:57:03also guarded Yunnan's forests and its wildlife.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08ELEPHANTS GRUNT AND TRUMPET
0:57:53 > 0:57:58For the moment, the mountains are still carpeted in a rich green,
0:57:58 > 0:58:01deceptive in its simplicity.
0:58:03 > 0:58:09Below the canopy lies perhaps China's richest natural treasure.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11Delicate and unique,
0:58:11 > 0:58:15a complex world of intricate relationships between animals,
0:58:15 > 0:58:20plants and people, beneath the clouds.
0:58:41 > 0:58:44Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd