英语听力：Wild China 美丽中国：彩云之南-6（打印版）

The mystery is that these forests are growing well outside the tropics. By rights, none of this jungle or its animals should be here. These are bear macaques. They're found only in tropical and subtropical jungle. With a tiny home range of just a few square kilometers, they depend on the abundant fruit that only true rainforests can provide all year round. To the European plant hunters, these northern rainforests must have seemed a fantastic and mysterious lost world. Yet, when they came here, they would have found beautifully constructed ancient stone pathways, on which the forest could be explored.

Winding westwards into the hills, these were once some of the most important highways in Asia, the Southwestern Tea and Silk Road. Built thousands of years ago, the Southwestern Tea and Silk Road gave access to the world beyond China's borders, carrying tradesmen and travelers from as faraway as Rome. Wars were fought over access to this tiny path, the only sure route in or out of China that was guaranteed to be clear of snow all year round.

So what causes Gaoligongshan’s strange and remarkable climate? In late May, gusts of wind arrive, bringing with them the key to Gaoligongshan's mystery. The winds are hot and saturated with water. They come all the way from the Indian Ocean. Channeled by Yunnan’s unique geography, they bring with them the moisture of the tropical monsoon. The giant river valleys created millions of years ago act like immense funnels. The gorges are so deep and narrow that the moist warm air is driven right up into the north of Yunnan. The result is rain in torrents.

英语听力：Wild China 美丽中国：彩云之南-6（在线收听）