Hobbies And Interests
Xiaozhai Tiankeng
Tiankeng, which can be translated as "heavenly pit" or "sky hole," are enormous sinkholes in limestone bedrock. Found by European speleologists in 1994, the Xiaozhai Tiankeng near Fenjie in the municipality of Chongqing is the largest sinkhole yet discovered anywhere on Earth. This tiankeng measures 662 meters from the base of the pit to the rim, with an astounding volume of 119,348,000 cubic meters. Of the 75 tiankengs so far discovered on Earth, 50 are located in China, making them a truly Chinese landform.
Fenglin
The city of Yangshuo sits among massive limestone arches and pillars on the Li River's alluvial plain, creating a landform known as "fenglin," or "peak forest." Speleologists refer to this landform as tower karst, and it is found in very few places on the planet. These formations are usually formed within robust sparitic limestones, with the irregularities in their morphology produced by variations in incline in sedimentary bedding planes. The fenglin in Yangshuo are considered to be a Chinese national treasure and are a frequent tourist destination.
Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon
At 150 miles, the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is longer than the Grand Canyon in the American Southwest and is deeper than any other canyon in the world. The gorge is rich in endemic species and has been little explored. The climate within the gorge ranges from arctic at its start to subtropical at its terminus. The river that cut the gorge begins at the foot of Mount Kailash and ends in the Brahmaputra forms a hidden waterfall known as Zangbo "Badong" Falls. Until 1998, no outside team had ever successfully found these falls.
Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
The Qinghai-Tibetan plateau is an enormous, elevated expanse of land that stretches from Yunnan and Sichuan all the way to Indian Kashmir. Called "the roof of the world," it contains all 14 of the world's mountains over 8,000 meters in elevation. The land itself is a high-altitude steppe rendered low in rainfall by the rainshadow of encircling mountain ranges. Many parts of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau are covered in permafrost, with annual average temperatures as low as -4 degrees Fahrenheit in the coldest regions.