Designed in China: Part Two The Travel Show

Now on BBC News it's time for the Travel Show.

China offers the traveller more incredible natural landmarks

than almost any country on earth.

When it comes down to it, I guess all I can say is this

is a mind-boggling extravaganza of geological history and formation

and life all put together, and it's just incredible to believe

that no one really knew about it until recently.

The economic explosion in China has been well documented,

but I'm on a mission to explore this huge country's natural terrain,

largely unknown to the rest of the world - but not for long.

I've already marvelled at one of the world's most enigmatic

volcanic craters in the north-east of the country and experienced

the epic remote beauty of its Gobi Desert in

the north-west, bordering Mongolia.

I'm right on the edge of this sand dune, I can't believe it.

These are destinations that represent the next stage of China's

breakneck development, and what is already clear to me

is that as China's huge population outgrows its cities, so the demand

for outdoor recreation booms.

Domestic tourism is rising at a rapid rate and now it's a race

against time to prepare and protect China's pristine landscapes.

Gansu province, where China meets Eurasia, may be today one

of the country's poorest regions, but it's also home to one

of the world's geological miracles, the Rainbow Mountains.

China's Technicolor version of the Grand Canyon.

500 square kilometres of sandstone and minerals,

the bedazzling colours were formed by water erosion.

They were created during the same geological shift that

formed the Himalayas, some 80 million years ago.

As spectacular as the Rainbow Mountain range is, what's almost

as incredible is that until the turn of the millennium hardly

anybody in China, let alone the rest of the world,

had even heard of it.

And that is an unlikely story in itself, which begins

at this man's house.

One day a photographer passed by Mr Lei as he was carrying

out his normal farmer's chores.

So before then, no one recognised this was

a beautiful, natural wonder?

Soon, other photographers latched onto this undiscovered gem,

and their photos caught the eye of famous film director Zhang Yimou.

He shot a remake of the Coen Brothers' film Blood Simple

here and its success in China made the mountains famous.

Some of the props are still visible and Mr Lei himself was

an extra in the movie.

The area was awarded Unesco World Heritage

status in 2010.

Today, Mr Lei is a bit of a local celebrity and his house has been

extended into a 40-room hotel.

A museum has been built and a tourist complex

is under construction.

So can you describe your experience here in the mountains range?

Not you!

How proud are you of the way that China looks after

its natural wonders?

Has China always been good at looking after its environment?

When it comes down to it, I guess all I can say is that this

is a mind-boggling extravaganza of geological history

and formation and life, all put together, and it's just

incredible to believe that no one really knew about it until recently.

This park opened in 2008 and has quickly become

a big draw for tourists.

From just 30,000 visitors a year in the beginning, in 2015,

more than a million came here.

With that growth in tourism, is there a threat to

the environment here?

These aren't the only astonishing rock formations here.

But while the Rainbow Mountains were hardly known until recently,

this place doesn't even appear in any guidebook I've seen.

If the Rainbow Mountains range is all about the forces of nature

creating a vivid palette of colours, then this this geo-site

is all about amazing and sometimes lifelike shapes being created

by those very same forces.

Many of the formations bear uncanny resemblances to living

beings and monuments.

The Louvre Museum and an eagle's head, for example.

This might be China's best kept secret at the moment,

but it's only a matter of time before the world wakes up

to this natural wonder.

It's time to leave Gansu province and head to my next destination

and the last leg of my tour.

At least, that's what the plan is.

The hazards of travelling within China.

Actually, the hazards of travelling from any remote region

to another remote region.

Because of bad weather our plane was delayed from the first airport

and we are now stuck here and we've missed the connecting flight,

which means we're stranded here.

So watch this space.

Or rather, don't watch this space.

And so on to China's western region and the edge of the Tibetan plateau.

This is Sichuan province and here you'll find

Jiuzhaigou National Park.

The best-known features here are the dozens

of multicoloured lakes.

Indeed, there's an old saying which goes - once you've seen

the waters of Jiuzhaigou, you don't have to see any other

waters anywhere, ever.

There's two things I notice once I arrived here at

Jiuzhaigou airport.

Firstly, it's bracingly chilly, and secondly, I'm short of breath.

That's because the attitude here is 3500 metres

above sea level.

It's dizzyingly high.

Onwards.

The development of China's national park lands like these has been rapid

over the last two decades.

The area of all parks in China now covers nearly 17%

of its total land mass.

That's higher than in the USA.

You've got to say as soon as you walk into this park

and you see scenery like this, it's pretty magnificent.

This bus system is pretty efficient and it has to be.

Way back in 1984, when the park opened, there were only 5000 people

visiting a year.

Today, it is 2 million a year and up to 10,000 a day.

In fact, the park puts a limit on the number

of tourists coming in each day.

Jiuzhaigou is named after the nine Tibetan villages of the valley

and around 1000 Tibetan minority people live inside the park.

Tourism has helped employ many.

Park ranger Liang Feng being one.

Do you think that the Tibetan attitude to nature is very important

in helping this place be clean and healthy?

The park has become an ideal holiday getaway for China's urban

population, which now outnumbers its country dwellers.

Do you think it's romantic here?

Do you think it's romantic here?

Yes.

And some people aren't just content with visiting here.

There's quite an interesting phenomenon going on at the moment

which is against the general trend in China, whereby people

are actually leaving the city to go and live in the countryside and I'm

going to a hostel right now which was set up by three cousins

who came here on holiday last year and decided they wanted

to stay for good.

This looks great, can you show me around?

Li Ling isn't the only one who's noticed the commercial potential

of Jiuzhaigou's pristine nature.

Despite protective measures inside the park, rapid development

outside has raised concerns about the environmental impact.

I mean look at this place.

This hotel complex has more than 1000 rooms and it resembles

an aircraft hangar, it's so huge, and these shopping outlets

are just everywhere.

If you want a puffa jacket I suggest you come here.

But I'm in search of a more authentic experience in Jiuzhaigou

and one that gives me an insight into one of China's most famous

and controversial minority cultures.

If you want a really eco-conscious authentic experience,

there are options.

Right now we are in one of nine Tibetan villages here in the valley,

and here we have an eco-lodge.

Now, check this out.

Lovely room, two nice beds, hot water.

Look at that, plus heating.

Very comfortable experience, and you can feel good about yourself

too, doing it.

Sink, and I've heard there's even Wi-Fi.

What more could you want?

This is a family business, with Tibetan origins.

This woman's grandparents were born in Tibet, and her own life

was going a familiar traditional path until this strong-willed woman

decided she had other ideas.

But she had other ambitions and told her cousin she didn't

want to get married.

She lived in Beijing for five years, working and studying.

She returned home to Jiuzhaigou with a business idea.

Her business acumen has provided her family with not just eco-homestays,

but also a restaurant in town and a chance for tourists to learn

about traditional cuisine.

I'm making veggie soup, which I'm sure has got

a proper Tibetan name, but I'm going to make that,

and you guys, what are you making?

I'm making yak meatballs.

Yak meatballs.

I'm doing some yak meat-based thing that's wrapped in tinfoil,

from what I saw.

Pretty good.

And you?

I'm doing a seasoned salad, it looks like.

A seasoned salad.

Nice.

OK, so let's begin.

After an hour of beavering away in the kitchen,

we're ready for a taste.

Wow, who made this?!

We did.

So tell us what each of these dishes that I know we made,

what each of these dishes are?

OK, so this vegetable and yak meat.

That's potato and inside it has yak meat.

This comes from the mountains, it's a very special Tibetan dish.

Is there a traditional Tibetan ceremony or something that you say

before people eat?

Yes, we have tea, and we say it like this.

"Chin chey, chin chey".

Really?

What does this mean?

Very happy get-together, thank you and a few things,

we are happy to get-together.

Yes.

ALL: Chin chey.

Oh, and there is one other ceremony that she wants to show me.

When it's drunk, I sing.

We need one person drinking, so I can choose the person,

so I choose you, OK?

It's for good luck, she says.

I'm not so sure, but she's my host, so what can I do?

SHE SINGS A LIVELY SONG

Thank you.

SHE CONTINUES SINGING

The hospitality was astonishing, the singing was brilliant,

the food is lovely.

The wine is good.

Three glasses in a row is probably pushing me

to the limit, but you know, let's just have fun.

HE EXHALES

Yeah, thanks - there's no point overdoing it, exaggerating it!

It's likely that just as with every other place I've

experienced in China, the number of people visiting

here will continue to rise and that will pose challenges in balancing

the innocence and authenticity of these regions against the forces

of grand scale development and mass tourism.

Certainly amongst the individuals I've met there's been a strong

recognition that the country's natural assets have to be protected

from the onslaught of big business, and I really, really

hope their wisdom prevails.