Three Parallel Rivers: UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China

Among the towering mountains and deep valleys, 45 million years of geological evolution have created the most spectacular combination of mountains and valleys on the planet. This is the landscape that is home to Yunnan's three parallel rivers. Half a billion years ago, the earth was a water world. About 450 million years ago, the ancient Mediterranean Sea began to close and the Indian subcontinent rushed towards the Eurasian plate. With that began the most intense deformation of the earth's tectonic plates in history. The rise of the Himalayas led to a collision with the Pangduan mountains. At the intersection of East Asia, West Asia and the Tibetan plateau, the tightest and narrowest orogenic belt on earth was created. Three rivers originated in the Tibetan plateau flowing eastward until features of the Chinese topography caused them to turn south, winding through the mountains. To the west is the Nu River. In the center is the Lantang River. And to the east lies the Jinsha River. The shortest distance between the Jinsha and Lantang rivers is 66 kilometers, while the shortest distance between the Lantang and the Nu rivers is less than 19 kilometers. The three rivers flow parallel for over 170 kilometers from north to south in the mountains without any intersection. It was through this way the great forces of geological evolution gave rise to a wonder unique in the world, the three parallel rivers in China's Yunnan province. Laomudang village, located in Nu Mountain on the eastern coast of the Nu River, is the residence of the Nu ethnic people. Every morning after a full meal, the people begin the day's work. A few days ago, Si Tai suffered a shock during a collapse caused by a mudslide and his body went limp. To cure him, the villagers have organized a soul-shouting ceremony. The person performing the shouting ceremony is Si Tai's 85-year-old uncle, Laji. Laji learned the soul-shouting ceremony 40 years ago and he became qualified to perform it. It's a ceremony to summon the healthy soul back to the patient. The ceremony requires rich food to be carefully prepared for the gods of nature. Relatives come to help and witness the return of Si Tai's soul. Eggs symbolize Si Tai's lost spirit. After Si Tai and Laji eat the eggs, it means that his soul has returned. The ceremony ends an hour later. The Nu is one of the ancient ethnic groups of China. It has a population of about 280,000 people, all living in the Three River Valley in Yunnan province. Legend has it that the Nu River came after the Nu ethnic people. The Nu River originates on the Tibetan Plateau. It begins its 316-kilometer rush between the Gaoligong Mountains and Biluo Snow Mountain in the territory of Chinese Yunnan. The average depth of the canyons is over 2,000 meters. In this peak, over 3,000 meters up in the middle of the Gaoligong Mountains, is a geological wonder by the Nu River. It is a hole created by dissolving groundwater that has been raised up by the lifting of the Earth's crust. Due to its shape, it is known as the Stone Moon. According to the legends of the local Li Su people, their ancestors once lived here. Like the Nu ethnic people, most villages of the Li Su people are built in the depths of the mountains. With a population of nearly 450,000, the Li Su people is the largest ethnic group in the Nu Grand Canyon. This is the sumac, a deciduous tree species unique to China, which grows around the villages. The fruit of the sumac can be squeezed into cooking oil. The process of making the oil is very simple. First, the sumac seeds are crushed to a powder and then stir-fried in a wok. Finally, the crushed seeds are put in bags and squeezed into oil on a stone mortar. Today, a bride who's been married for three days will, in accordance with custom, bring her husband back to meet her family. The arrival of a newly married couple always brings joy to the village. Fried pork with sumac oil wrapped in rice is eaten by hand. It is the most sumptuous and finest food of the Li Su people, and it's known as hand pilaf. Thank you very much. Tightly hugging each other, a man and a woman drink the same cup of wine together. This drinking tradition has been passed down for hundreds of years. This night, the villagers will stay up for the whole night. Mountains and rivers block the villagers' communication with the outside world. The New Grand Canyon is a little-known mystery zone. Deep in the mountains lives an ethnic group with a very small population. The Durrung people, with a population of just 6,000, live simply in the Nool Basin. A Durrung carpet, woven with twine and cotton, is generally 70 centimetres wide and up to six metres long. It can be used for either clothes or bed linen. Sales of Durrung carpets are the people's main source of income. This elderly Durrung woman has blue tattoos on her face. It's said that the colourful butterfly is the totem worshipped by Durrung women, and so the butterfly pattern is tattooed on their faces. A more realistic explanation for this practice, however, is that this small ethnic group has often been subjected to tyrannical aggression, and so the girls tattooed their faces to avoid being taken away. Over time, the tattoos gradually became a rare and unique custom. As the Durrung people have no written script, the exact origins of the tattoos remain a mystery. However, because they disfigure the women, some 50 or so years ago such tattoos were banned. So today, only five women still bear such marks. Durrung cattle, large and ferocious due to long-term mountain stocking, are the Durrung people's most important property. Long-term living in an enclosed environment has made the Durrung people retain their original faith. They believe that they can express their awe of the gods only through the sacrifice of Durrung cattle. Each year, the Durrung people hold a ceremony to sacrifice cattle to the gods. The ceremony begins with a priest throwing millet into the sky. The people encircle the cattle, each turn indicating an expression of good hope to the gods. The task of the two fighters is to kill the bull with a javelin. The climax of the ceremony is reached when the bull is presented to the gods. Finally, the bull's carcass, now bestowed with a divine power, is evenly distributed among all the villagers. In 1888, a French Catholic missionary came to Gongshan on the Niu River. There, he began to proclaim the gospel. The missionary was buried at the side of the church. Zhongding Church, which was reconstructed several times over the course of 100 years, exhibits a typical Gothic style. The development of Catholicism on the Niu River covers the adjacent Lantang River basin. The Lantang River originates in Tangula on the Tibetan Plateau. It winds more than 1,000 kilometers through the Niu Mountains and Yunling Mountains of Yunnan Province. Located in Niu Mountain by the Lantang River is Tzu Chung, a natural Tibetan-based village. In the 19th century, six French and Swiss missionaries came to Tzu Chung, bringing French grapeseeds with them, teaching the locals the art of wine production. The Tzu Chung Catholic Church was completed in 1921. A Chinese attic roof now replaces the Gothic spire so that people will no longer be opposed to it. The classic Chinese architectural style creates a homely atmosphere, but the tall bell tower and the cross at the top end confirm its Western identity. Inside the church, it is entirely God's territory. The combination of Chinese and Western architectural styles represents a road through a period of turbulent history. At an elevation of 5,630 meters, Jiala Chuni Peak, with its perennial snow, is the highest peak in the Yunling Mountains. According to the local Tibetan legends, it is a god of war converted to Buddhism. At the foot of the snow-capped mountain, the earth reveals the development of the Three Parallel Rivers region. Fifty million years ago, the collision of continental plates caused an outbreak of undersea volcanic activity. Ophiolite, which normally exists only deep under the sea, was lifted here with the movement of the earth's crust. Radiolarian silicalite is a type of rock resulting from the extrusion and metamorphism of these abed microbial deposits from 250 million years ago. With the uplift of the mountains, the radiolarian silicalite, originally on the seabed, was exposed. Here, 50 million years ago, the Indian and Pacific plates collided. It was the huge force of the impact that brought these unique landforms of mountains and canyons into being. To this day, the momentum of the impact continues. For humans, the Three River Valley is full of challenges, but for plants and animals, it is Eden. As the Three Parallel Rivers region was not covered by quaternary glaciers, it therefore became the main passageway and refuge for the migration of Eurasian biological species. The Three River Valley, as one of the world's biological gene pools, gathers almost all biomes in the Northern Hemisphere climate zones. These are Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys. They are often seen in primeval forests 3,500 to 4,500 metres high. Beet, asnia, leaves and bamboo shoots. A male monkey, two to three females and several young monkeys compose a family. The adult monkeys weigh in at around 30 kilograms. Several families live together in a range of hundreds of square kilometres. This species is a national treasure in China, inferior only to the giant panda. Today, there are only 1,500 Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys, making them a highly endangered species. The Jinsha River, the easternmost river of the Three, is a typical canyon river. At 3,900 metres deep, this is a huge canyon. Within the 16-kilometre long basin, the water drop is 213 metres. At its narrowest, it's only 30 metres wide, and the flow rate is close to 8 metres per second. Legend has it that a tiger leaped over the gorge by virtue of this 13-metre rock in the middle of the river. For this reason, it's honoured with the name Tiger Leaping Gorge. The Jinsha River rises in the Tangula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau. It is the world's longest river canyon, with a total length of 2,308 kilometres. The Jinsha River basin receives little rain throughout the year and is thus very arid. The main ethnic group living in the basin are Tibetans. This is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan. It is the Ganden Samsa Ling Monastery. Built on top of a hill, it occupies an area of about 30 hectares. The two main structures were built on the highest point in the centre of the monastery. The top floor of the main hall is both resplendent and magnificent. This is a Dharmakakra. The kakra was a powerful lethal weapon in ancient India. Later, Buddhism borrowed it to symbolise that the Dharma, like an unstoppable rotating wheel, will be spread down from generation to generation. Muri Snow Mountain in the north part of New Mountain has 13 peaks with an average elevation of above 6,000 metres. It is the most sacred snow-covered mountain in the Tibetan spiritual world. Kawar Gabor Peak, at 6,740 metres above sea level, is the highest peak of the New Mountains. Tibetans do not allow any scaling of these peaks. In their hearts, Kawar Gabor is the guardian of their good life. Muri Snow Mountain is truly an exquisite monument to nature in this extraordinary region known as the Three Parallel Rivers.