From the eastern end of the Great Wall, China’s coast spans 14500 kilometresand more than 紫金山金铜矿5000 years of history. This is the area which shows the greatest contrast between China's past and its future. Today China's eastern aboards home to 700 懒人蛋糕million people, packed into some of the most dazzling hi-tech cities on earth. Yet the crowded shores remain hugely important for a wealth of wildlife. Now, as ancient traditions 皓首是什么意思mingle with new aspirations, is there any room at all for wildlife on China's crowded shores?
演讲人 In northern China's Haling Nature Rerve, a pair of red-crowned cranes have staked out their nesting territory in the stubble of a commercially managed reed bed. For centuries, cranes have been revered in Chinas symbols of longevity. Their statues were placed next to the Emperor's throne. The cranes have cau to celebrate. This chick is a sign of hope in difficult times. Red-crowned cranes are one of the world's most endangered species. Over the last century, China has lost nearly half of its coastal wetlands and most of what remains is managed for the benefit of people, not wildlife. A few months from now, this chick and its parents will face a long migration south to escape the harsh northern winter. Their route will take them along a coast which has been greatly affected by human activity. Along their jour
ney, the cranes will be joined by many thousands of other migrating birds. All heading south across the Bahia Gulfand along the shores of the Yellow and East China Seas, some even reaching as far as the South China Seain arch of a safe winter haven. The annual bird migration has been going on for thousands of years. Here at Mount Jinping on China's northeast coast, there is surprising evidence that people have lived here almost as long. Seven thousand years ago, members of the Shao Hao tribe carved magical symbols reprenting significant elements of their daily lives. The petro glyphs show wheat sheaves connected by lines to human figures, the first known recordings of cultivation in China. Familiar with the spectacle of yearly bird migrations, the Shao Hao people cho a symbol of a bird as their totem. Mount Jinping lies near the Shandong peninsula, an important wintering site for migrant birds, and even today there are still communities along this coastline who retain a special affinity with their local birdlife.Yandun Jiao village, on the north-eastern shore of the peninsula, is famous for its traditional aweed-thatched cottages.
On a chilly morning in early spring,Mr and Mrs Qu venture out at first lightarmed with the t
raditional aside accessories of bucket and spade.As the Qus head down into the harbour,a flock of whooper swans,known affectionately here as "winter angels",are waking out in the bay.The Qus and their neighbours arch for tube holesin the mud at low tide,the sign of cockles and razor shells hidden deep below.While gathering shellfish is a popular pastime,the main business of Yandun Jiao happens further out at a.As the boats t out, with Mr Qu on board,the swans t a parallel cour.The whole of the bay is a gigantic aweed farm.The men work all day cleaning and tending the kelp frondsthat are grown on ropes linked to a vast armada of buoys.The swans eat native aweeds growing on the surface ropesrather than the valuable crop of kelp,so they do no harm to the commercial operation. 写给女朋友的情话In the afternoon, as the wind picks up out at a,the workers and swans return to shore.While the culture of eking balance with nature goes back a long way in China,it is rare to e such harmonious relationships on China's crowded coast.As evening draws on,the Qu family prepare their evening meal of cockles,steamed bread and aweed.Leftovers are given to the village children to feed the swans.It's fun for the kids and providesan extra energy boost for the birds as they fac
e another cold night.The swans have been using this sheltered beat as a winter refuge for many generations.
As long as the tradition of respect for nature persists, this remarkable association between the Yandun Jiao community and their winter angels looks t to continue. Out in the Bahia Gulf, northeast of the swan village, a small rocky island provides a quiet resting spot for migrating birds. But Shihao Island has hidden dangers.Pallas' pit vipers trapped here , years ago by rising a levels have evolved a sinister lifestyle. For months of the year there is nothing substantial to eat on the island, so the reptiles conrve their energy by barely moving at all. As the sun warms their rocky home, the snakes climb up into the bushes and trees.
But they aren't here to sunbathe. More and more vipers appear until virtually every perch where a bird might land has been booby-trapped. Then the waiting game begins. The rpents' camouflage is remarkable, but so are the birds' reactions, as this high-speed shot reveals. The birds will only stay on the island for a couple of weeks. But although the
猪肉白菜馅饺子>涂山雅雅图片snakes have been starving for months, their only hope of bagging a meal is to be patient and sit tight. The slightest miscalculation and the snake is left with a mouthful of feathers. The dropped meal is tracked down mainly by smell, the viper using its forked tongue to taste the air until it is clo enough to e its quarry. The final challenge is to swallow a meal that's twice the size of its head. It does so by dislocating its jaws and positioning its preys the beak is pointing backwards. For the reptiles, this time of plenty is all too brief. In a couple of weeks, the migration will be overhand the birds will have moved on. This could be the snake's last meal for six months. But it isn't just islands that experience cycles of feast and famine. The a, too, has its asons, a fact well known to fishing communities along the neighboring coasts. In Chewing harbour,the start of a new fishing ason provides the excu for a massive party. But for boat owner Mr Zhao, it’s a day of prayer as well as celebration. Zhao hopes that by prenting gifts and showing respect to the a goddess, he can help ensure a prosperous and safe year ahead for him and his crew. Meanwhile, drums, firecrackers and fireworks reflect the ancient belief that loud nois will frighten off dangerous a devils and bad fortune.
Occupying centre stage is a reprentation of the a dragon, mythical ruler of water and weather. In the calm of the evening,Mr Zhao and his family light paper boat lanterns.Each flickering flame carries a wish to the a goddess, a tradition pasd on from parents to children over countless generations. On China's crowded coasts, fishermen need to be extremely resourceful. Hauling in the nets is hard work, and so far there's not a fish in sight. Only jellyfish. Each year, millions of jellyfish are carried south with the currents in the Bahia Gulf. The ecological story behind this event is complex, but by no means unique to China. Jellyfish are fast-breeding plankton feeders. In recent years, human wage and fertilizers from intensive farming have incread plankton blooms in the Gulf, providing extra jellyfish food. While over-fishing has reduced their enemies and competitors. It’s a phenomenon that has become increasingly widespread across the world's as. However, what is en elwhere as a problem, in China is perceived as an opportunity. Back on shore, mule carts transport the jellyfish to nearby warehous where they will be procesd and sold as food all over China. Four generations tuck into a bowl of sliced jellyfish, the recipe for a long and healthy life.
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Leaving the Bahia Gulf behind, migrating cranes, spoonbills and ducks are joined by other birds, all heading south in arch of a safe winter haven. The birds' migration route follows the coast of the Yellow Sea down into Jiangsu Province, a fertile agricultural landscape with some of the last remaining salt marshes in China. At Dafeng,a small salt marsh rerve is home to an animal which is lucky to be alive. The Chine e the Milo as a curious composite animal, with a hor's head, cow’s feet, a tail like a donkey and backwards-facing antlers. In the West, we know it as Peer David's Deer, after the first European to describe it.
During the rut, stags decorate themlves with garlands of vegetation collected in their antlers. Fierce battles decide mating rights. The females still have last year's fawns in tow. They haven't been weaned by the time of the rut and band together in large crèches, only returning to their mothers to feed. This unique behavior helps to keep them clear of the aggressive males. Today, there are just , Milo in China, but it is remarkable that there are any at all. In the early s Milo became extinct in the wild, but luckily, some of the Imperial herd had been nt as a gift to Europe. Tho at Woburn Abbey, in England, pro
spered. And in the early s, of the deer were returned to their homeland where they continue to thrive. The migrating cranes have so far travelled over 2000 kilometers southwards along the coast. Passing the Milo Deer Rerve at Dafeng,they are approaching another salt marsh which will provide the perfect conditions for them to spend the winter. This is Yanting, the largest coastal wetland in China, visited by an estimated three million birds each year. Crane chicks that were only born ven months ago have now completed the first leg of a round trip which they will repeat every year.
