1 00:00:04,971 --> 00:00:09,041 The Great Wall of China was built by the Han Chinese 2 00:00:09,109 --> 00:00:12,311 to keep out the nomadic tribes from the north. 3 00:00:15,281 --> 00:00:18,083 They called these people barbarians, 4 00:00:18,151 --> 00:00:21,954 and their lands were considered barren and uninhabitable. 5 00:00:24,257 --> 00:00:29,094 Northern China is indeed a harsh place of terrible winters, 6 00:00:29,963 --> 00:00:31,630 ferocious summers, 7 00:00:33,033 --> 00:00:34,700 parched deserts. 8 00:00:37,470 --> 00:00:40,105 But it is far from lifeless. 9 00:00:43,943 --> 00:00:45,644 With colourful places, 10 00:00:47,113 --> 00:00:49,281 surprising creatures, 11 00:00:55,955 --> 00:00:57,589 amazing people 12 00:01:01,327 --> 00:01:03,629 and strange landscapes. 13 00:01:10,570 --> 00:01:14,573 The further we travel, the more extreme it becomes. 14 00:01:19,512 --> 00:01:25,517 So how do people and wildlife cope with the hardships and challenges 15 00:01:25,585 --> 00:01:27,586 of life beyond the Wall? 16 00:01:56,116 --> 00:02:00,018 The northern limits of Ancient China were defined by the Great Wall 17 00:02:00,086 --> 00:02:04,323 which meanders for nearly 5,000 kilometres from east to west. 18 00:02:09,729 --> 00:02:13,732 The settled Han people of the Chinese heartland were invaded many times 19 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,201 by warlike tribes from the north. 20 00:02:18,571 --> 00:02:22,508 The Great Wall was built to protect the Han Chinese from invasion. 21 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:30,315 To meet those fearsome northerners and the wild creatures 22 00:02:30,416 --> 00:02:34,853 who share their world, we must leave the shelter of the Wall 23 00:02:34,921 --> 00:02:37,356 and travel into the unknown. 24 00:02:40,627 --> 00:02:44,463 Northeast China was known historically as Manchuria. 25 00:02:46,199 --> 00:02:50,002 Its upper reaches are on the same latitude as Paris 26 00:02:50,069 --> 00:02:55,474 but in winter it is one of the coldest, most hostile places on the planet. 27 00:03:00,813 --> 00:03:04,283 Bitter winds from Siberia regularly bring temperatures 28 00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:06,385 of 40 degrees below zero. 29 00:03:15,061 --> 00:03:18,730 Dense forests of evergreen trees cover these lands. 30 00:03:19,799 --> 00:03:24,870 And the rugged terrain is made even more difficult by impenetrable ravines. 31 00:03:39,152 --> 00:03:41,653 We start our journey on a frozen river 32 00:03:41,721 --> 00:03:46,124 snaking between China's northeasternmost corner and Siberia. 33 00:03:47,493 --> 00:03:50,829 The Chinese call it the Black Dragon River. 34 00:03:53,700 --> 00:03:57,502 The people who live here aren't exactly fearsome warriors. 35 00:03:58,304 --> 00:04:01,573 They're too busy coping with the harsh winter conditions 36 00:04:01,641 --> 00:04:05,510 and they respond to the challenge in some creative ways. 37 00:04:10,016 --> 00:04:14,586 The Black Dragon River is home to one of the smallest ethnic groups in China. 38 00:04:14,654 --> 00:04:16,321 The Hezhe People. 39 00:04:28,701 --> 00:04:33,038 It's not just bicycles that seem out of place in this icy world. 40 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:38,443 Fishing boats and nets lie abandoned, a long way from open water. 41 00:04:45,184 --> 00:04:50,088 Underneath a metre of solid ice swim a huge variety of fish, 42 00:04:50,156 --> 00:04:52,557 including 500-pound sturgeon, 43 00:04:53,226 --> 00:04:56,428 enough to feed a family of Hezhe for weeks. 44 00:05:00,099 --> 00:05:02,768 But how can they catch their quarry? 45 00:05:03,836 --> 00:05:08,373 First they must chisel a hole through the ice to reach the water below. 46 00:05:12,378 --> 00:05:16,014 Then they need to set their fishing net under the ice, 47 00:05:16,683 --> 00:05:18,317 a real challenge. 48 00:05:20,486 --> 00:05:24,489 A second hole is made, 20 metres away from the first 49 00:05:24,557 --> 00:05:27,326 and a weighted string is dropped in. 50 00:05:31,197 --> 00:05:34,599 Then, a long bamboo pole is used to hook the string 51 00:05:35,168 --> 00:05:38,236 and pull the net into position beneath the ice. 52 00:06:06,065 --> 00:06:09,401 After a few days, the nets are checked. 53 00:06:20,313 --> 00:06:24,015 These days, almost nobody catches a rare giant sturgeon. 54 00:06:24,984 --> 00:06:28,987 The Black Dragon River has been overfished like so many others. 55 00:06:33,893 --> 00:06:37,129 But even these smaller fish are a welcome catch. 56 00:06:49,942 --> 00:06:53,979 Frozen within seconds, the fish are guaranteed to stay fresh 57 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:56,548 for the wobbly cycle ride home. 58 00:07:22,341 --> 00:07:25,811 The forests that lie south of the Black Dragon River 59 00:07:25,878 --> 00:07:29,114 are bound up in snow for more than half the year. 60 00:07:30,750 --> 00:07:32,517 It's deathly silent. 61 00:07:35,354 --> 00:07:38,390 Most of the animals here are either hibernating 62 00:07:38,458 --> 00:07:41,159 or have migrated south for the winter. 63 00:07:43,296 --> 00:07:45,597 But there is an exception. 64 00:07:52,572 --> 00:07:55,574 Wild boars roam the forests of the northeast. 65 00:07:58,444 --> 00:08:03,315 Like the Hezhe people, the boars find it difficult to gather food in winter. 66 00:08:05,885 --> 00:08:08,587 To survive, they follow their noses, 67 00:08:08,654 --> 00:08:11,556 among the keenest in the animal kingdom. 68 00:08:15,294 --> 00:08:18,263 They will eat almost anything they unearth. 69 00:08:18,331 --> 00:08:22,033 But one energy-rich food source is particularly valued. 70 00:08:24,303 --> 00:08:25,570 Walnuts. 71 00:08:27,773 --> 00:08:31,610 When a lucky boar finds a walnut, there's bound to be trouble. 72 00:08:37,950 --> 00:08:40,919 But despite the squabbles, wild boars are social animals 73 00:08:40,987 --> 00:08:43,555 and gather together in groups. 74 00:08:43,623 --> 00:08:47,626 Staying close together may help them to keep warm in the extreme cold. 75 00:08:50,162 --> 00:08:52,731 But there is another reason for group living. 76 00:08:52,832 --> 00:08:55,467 More ears to listen out for danger. 77 00:09:04,076 --> 00:09:07,379 Siberian tigers also live in these forests. 78 00:09:12,752 --> 00:09:15,654 But these days, only in captivity. 79 00:09:20,526 --> 00:09:24,863 There may be less than a dozen wild Siberian tigers left in China. 80 00:09:25,531 --> 00:09:28,767 Though there are many more in breeding centres. 81 00:09:40,446 --> 00:09:46,318 This enclosure at Hengdaohezi started breeding tigers in 1986 82 00:09:46,385 --> 00:09:50,388 to supply bones and body parts for the Chinese medicine market. 83 00:09:53,726 --> 00:09:57,963 Trade in tiger parts was banned in China in the 1990s 84 00:09:58,030 --> 00:10:01,800 and the breeding centre is now just a tourist attraction. 85 00:10:15,481 --> 00:10:18,883 The forests of the northeast stretch to where the Chinese, 86 00:10:18,951 --> 00:10:21,686 Russian and Mongolian borders meet. 87 00:10:32,632 --> 00:10:35,900 Here, a surprising herd of animals is on the move. 88 00:10:39,572 --> 00:10:42,641 The reindeer were introduced to China hundreds of years ago 89 00:10:42,708 --> 00:10:46,845 by the nomadic Ewenki people who came here from Siberia. 90 00:10:54,954 --> 00:10:59,024 It's late April, and the women are calling in their reindeer, 91 00:10:59,125 --> 00:11:03,228 which are semi-wild, and have spent all winter away in the forest. 92 00:11:13,739 --> 00:11:16,274 This is a very special relationship. 93 00:11:16,909 --> 00:11:19,444 Each reindeer has its own name 94 00:11:19,512 --> 00:11:22,380 and many were hand-reared by these women. 95 00:11:30,656 --> 00:11:33,591 Finally reunited after months apart, 96 00:11:33,659 --> 00:11:36,494 they will now remain together until autumn. 97 00:11:48,674 --> 00:11:52,911 The Ewenki women are anxious to check the condition of their animals 98 00:11:52,978 --> 00:11:55,747 and to see which of the reindeer might be pregnant. 99 00:12:31,584 --> 00:12:36,821 Eighty-one-year-old Maliya Suo is one of only 30 Ewenki people 100 00:12:36,889 --> 00:12:41,359 still living the nomadic life in these cold northern lands. 101 00:12:43,796 --> 00:12:48,333 Almost all her fellow Ewenki have given up the forest life 102 00:12:48,434 --> 00:12:52,370 to settle in concrete houses in modern cities. 103 00:12:54,507 --> 00:12:59,410 The reindeer herders are now almost as rare as wild Siberian tigers. 104 00:13:09,889 --> 00:13:13,057 There's about to be a new addition to the family. 105 00:13:38,050 --> 00:13:41,152 The women act as midwives to the newborn calves, 106 00:13:41,854 --> 00:13:46,257 helping to nurture them through their first precious minutes of life. 107 00:13:48,994 --> 00:13:51,930 But the world around them is changing fast. 108 00:13:52,531 --> 00:13:57,001 This could be the last generation this ancient partnership will endure. 109 00:13:58,904 --> 00:14:02,173 This is hardly the image of the dangerous tribal people 110 00:14:02,241 --> 00:14:05,243 that the Great Wall was built to keep at bay. 111 00:14:29,702 --> 00:14:35,006 Along China's border with North Korea is this region's most famous mountain, 112 00:14:36,842 --> 00:14:38,576 Changbaishan. 113 00:14:38,644 --> 00:14:40,879 Its name means Ever-White, 114 00:14:41,513 --> 00:14:44,682 and it harbours the world's highest volcanic lake. 115 00:14:45,417 --> 00:14:48,586 Even in mid-May there is still ice everywhere. 116 00:14:49,788 --> 00:14:53,291 But there are signs that the seasons are changing. 117 00:15:02,668 --> 00:15:07,171 Warmer winds arrive from the south, and within a few short weeks 118 00:15:07,239 --> 00:15:09,874 Changbai Mountain is transformed. 119 00:15:17,316 --> 00:15:20,718 Water begins to flow down the mountainside once more, 120 00:15:21,387 --> 00:15:23,588 replenishing the landscape. 121 00:15:26,458 --> 00:15:32,063 It's June, and insects emerge to take advantage of the abundance of flowers. 122 00:15:54,053 --> 00:15:57,622 The warm weather sees the arrival of migrant birds. 123 00:15:58,724 --> 00:16:02,660 Stonechats that have spent the winter in the south of China 124 00:16:02,728 --> 00:16:05,430 return here to raise their chicks. 125 00:16:21,613 --> 00:16:26,417 With so many insects around, the stonechats may have several broods. 126 00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:55,446 Heading west from Changbai Mountain, 127 00:16:55,514 --> 00:16:58,850 the forests give way to rolling grasslands. 128 00:17:06,125 --> 00:17:09,494 The Great Wall stretches off into the distance, 129 00:17:09,561 --> 00:17:13,264 defining the southern limits of the vast Mongolian Steppe. 130 00:17:18,070 --> 00:17:21,105 North of the Wall are huge areas of grassland 131 00:17:21,940 --> 00:17:25,943 but one place on our journey is particularly significant. 132 00:17:34,353 --> 00:17:39,090 In the tall grass, a family of red foxes is raising its cubs. 133 00:17:43,262 --> 00:17:46,764 Today they have this meadow pretty much to themselves. 134 00:17:49,234 --> 00:17:51,469 But it wasn't always the case. 135 00:17:53,305 --> 00:17:57,775 Eight centuries ago, this place would have been teeming with people. 136 00:17:59,378 --> 00:18:03,281 Now these ruins in a field a short distance from Beijing 137 00:18:03,348 --> 00:18:06,918 are all that remains of the great city of Xanadu, 138 00:18:07,786 --> 00:18:10,455 once the summer capital of China. 139 00:18:14,159 --> 00:18:18,696 Within these walls it is said that the leader of the Mongolians, 140 00:18:18,797 --> 00:18:23,201 the mighty Kublai Khan, welcomed Marco Polo to China. 141 00:18:25,437 --> 00:18:29,307 Mongolian warriors established the greatest empire in history, 142 00:18:30,042 --> 00:18:32,643 stretching to the borders of Europe. 143 00:18:33,245 --> 00:18:36,180 Fear of this warrior tribe is the main reason 144 00:18:36,248 --> 00:18:38,850 the Han Chinese built the Great Wall. 145 00:18:43,722 --> 00:18:46,657 The cornerstone of the Mongolian's supremacy 146 00:18:46,725 --> 00:18:49,193 was their relationship with horses. 147 00:18:49,261 --> 00:18:52,430 This is what brought them such success in war. 148 00:18:54,700 --> 00:18:58,703 The Mongolian raiders travelled light, and rode with spare horses 149 00:18:58,770 --> 00:19:00,638 so they could move huge distances, 150 00:19:00,706 --> 00:19:04,142 strike and then retreat quicker than their opponents. 151 00:19:10,382 --> 00:19:14,018 At the heart of Mongolian culture is horse racing. 152 00:19:15,020 --> 00:19:18,456 The annual Nadam Festival, held each July, 153 00:19:18,524 --> 00:19:22,560 is a chance for young Mongolians to show off their horsemanship. 154 00:19:23,862 --> 00:19:27,231 It's said that Mongolian people are born in the saddle. 155 00:19:27,299 --> 00:19:30,601 Even as children, they are consummate riders. 156 00:20:47,713 --> 00:20:50,781 Horsemanship was the core of the Mongolians' success 157 00:20:50,849 --> 00:20:52,917 as warriors in the past, 158 00:20:52,985 --> 00:20:56,153 and is central to their lives as nomads today. 159 00:21:02,194 --> 00:21:05,796 In an area of grassland known as Bayanbulak, 160 00:21:05,864 --> 00:21:08,866 families of nomadic Mongolians are gathering. 161 00:21:25,884 --> 00:21:29,353 The name Bayanbulak means "rich headwaters" 162 00:21:30,188 --> 00:21:33,324 and they've come here to set up temporary homes 163 00:21:33,392 --> 00:21:36,894 to graze their livestock on the lush summer pastures. 164 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:53,277 The search for fresh fodder for their animals keeps them on the go 165 00:21:53,345 --> 00:21:57,114 and being able to move home so easily is a real advantage. 166 00:22:02,621 --> 00:22:05,289 It takes only a few minutes for the Mongolian family 167 00:22:05,357 --> 00:22:07,291 to set up their yurts. 168 00:22:15,934 --> 00:22:19,670 But the Mongolians don't have this place all to themselves. 169 00:22:24,009 --> 00:22:27,845 The rich resources also attract a huge variety of birds. 170 00:22:30,349 --> 00:22:32,149 Demoiselle cranes, 171 00:22:34,353 --> 00:22:38,656 wading birds and waterfowl migrate here from all over Asia, 172 00:22:39,624 --> 00:22:43,494 drawn to the rivers and wetlands fed by glacial meltwater 173 00:22:43,562 --> 00:22:45,529 from nearby mountains. 174 00:22:52,404 --> 00:22:56,140 This place is known in China as Swan Lake. 175 00:22:56,975 --> 00:23:00,878 It's the world's most important breeding site for whooper swans, 176 00:23:01,513 --> 00:23:03,914 and arguably, mosquitoes as well. 177 00:23:11,923 --> 00:23:15,626 The pastures at Swan Lake provide endless amounts of lush grass 178 00:23:15,694 --> 00:23:18,996 for birds to nest in and for livestock to eat. 179 00:23:23,935 --> 00:23:27,238 It would seem there's plenty for everybody. 180 00:23:27,305 --> 00:23:30,708 But occasionally they can get too close for comfort. 181 00:23:35,380 --> 00:23:37,148 Eight hundred years ago, 182 00:23:37,215 --> 00:23:40,885 the Mongolians were the most feared people on earth. 183 00:23:40,952 --> 00:23:43,721 But they have a spiritual side as well. 184 00:23:46,124 --> 00:23:49,593 The birds of Swan Lake have little cause to worry. 185 00:23:51,997 --> 00:23:55,399 The Mongolians protect the swans, and venerate them, 186 00:23:55,467 --> 00:23:57,935 calling them Birds of God. 187 00:24:15,353 --> 00:24:19,457 The Great Wall's journey through northern China continues westward 188 00:24:20,325 --> 00:24:24,428 bisecting a landscape that becomes increasingly parched. 189 00:24:41,246 --> 00:24:45,015 Our journey has brought us halfway across northern China 190 00:24:45,083 --> 00:24:49,620 and the grasslands are becoming hot, dry and desolate. 191 00:24:59,564 --> 00:25:03,901 Wandering these wastes are creatures that look more African than Asian. 192 00:25:07,572 --> 00:25:12,409 These are goitered gazelles, skittish and easily startled. 193 00:25:15,113 --> 00:25:18,749 When threatened by danger, they're as fast as a racehorse. 194 00:25:19,284 --> 00:25:23,387 But in this intense heat, they favour a gentler pace. 195 00:25:26,057 --> 00:25:28,592 There's little standing water here, 196 00:25:28,660 --> 00:25:30,761 but the gazelles have a remarkable ability 197 00:25:30,829 --> 00:25:33,430 to extract moisture from dry grass. 198 00:25:34,232 --> 00:25:38,068 Although finding enough worth eating keeps them constantly on the move. 199 00:25:53,285 --> 00:25:58,088 Even out here in the semi-deserts, the Wall continues its long march. 200 00:25:59,624 --> 00:26:02,726 Here, it's made of little more than compacted earth. 201 00:26:03,495 --> 00:26:06,163 But with hardly any rain falling, 202 00:26:06,231 --> 00:26:09,800 it's suffered very little erosion over the centuries. 203 00:26:11,169 --> 00:26:15,005 Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives building it. 204 00:26:15,440 --> 00:26:18,842 Yet it seems hard to believe that anyone felt 205 00:26:18,944 --> 00:26:22,179 that these distant wastelands needed protecting. 206 00:26:24,516 --> 00:26:27,585 But the Wall still has one final surprise. 207 00:26:34,559 --> 00:26:39,296 This is Jiayuguan, the mighty fortress in the desert. 208 00:26:40,865 --> 00:26:44,034 Built in the Ming dynasty over 600 years ago, 209 00:26:44,102 --> 00:26:48,973 legend says that the construction of the fortress was so meticulously planned 210 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,409 that 100,000 bricks were specially made 211 00:26:52,477 --> 00:26:55,679 and only one brick was left unused. 212 00:26:59,217 --> 00:27:03,053 This fortress marks the end of the Great Wall of China. 213 00:27:03,555 --> 00:27:06,256 The greatest man-made barrier on earth. 214 00:27:07,559 --> 00:27:11,228 But ahead lies an even more formidable barrier. 215 00:27:12,197 --> 00:27:16,066 A vast no-man's land of deserts that stretch westward 216 00:27:16,134 --> 00:27:18,435 to the borders of Central Asia. 217 00:27:24,576 --> 00:27:26,744 Jiayuguan Fortress was considered 218 00:27:26,811 --> 00:27:30,014 to be the last outpost of Chinese civilisation. 219 00:27:31,182 --> 00:27:34,351 Beyond this point lay utter desolation. 220 00:27:39,791 --> 00:27:44,728 China's largest desert, the Taklamakan, lies out here. 221 00:27:45,230 --> 00:27:50,467 Its name has been translated as "You go in, and you never come out." 222 00:27:53,171 --> 00:27:55,539 This is a place of intense heat, 223 00:27:56,174 --> 00:28:01,245 abrasive wind-blown sand totally hostile to life. 224 00:28:04,349 --> 00:28:07,084 Yet there was a route through the desert. 225 00:28:07,552 --> 00:28:10,788 For those brave enough to risk their lives for it. 226 00:28:14,459 --> 00:28:17,494 People were lured into the horrors of the deserts 227 00:28:17,562 --> 00:28:20,831 because the Chinese had a secret so powerful 228 00:28:20,899 --> 00:28:23,534 that it changed the course of history. 229 00:28:24,302 --> 00:28:27,471 The key to that secret lies in the distant past. 230 00:28:28,973 --> 00:28:33,077 Legend has it that around 5,000 years ago, 231 00:28:33,144 --> 00:28:35,913 a princess was walking in her garden 232 00:28:35,980 --> 00:28:39,483 when something unusual fell into her tea cup. 233 00:28:41,019 --> 00:28:43,654 A magical thread was extracted 234 00:28:43,722 --> 00:28:47,257 and it became more prized than gold or jade. 235 00:28:49,427 --> 00:28:52,496 The thread was silk. 236 00:28:57,368 --> 00:29:02,473 Incredibly, such a beautiful substance and all the history behind it 237 00:29:02,540 --> 00:29:05,809 comes from a humble little insect. 238 00:29:05,877 --> 00:29:07,411 The silkworm. 239 00:29:11,983 --> 00:29:17,521 Silk moths lay several hundred eggs, and the tiny caterpillars that emerge 240 00:29:17,956 --> 00:29:20,290 eat nothing but mulberry leaves. 241 00:29:30,034 --> 00:29:32,603 After 50 days of gluttony 242 00:29:32,670 --> 00:29:35,672 they've grown 10,000 times heavier. 243 00:29:36,908 --> 00:29:41,044 By this stage, 25% of their body mass 244 00:29:41,112 --> 00:29:43,514 is made up of silk glands. 245 00:29:46,684 --> 00:29:50,053 In the process of turning into adult moths, they spin a cocoon 246 00:29:50,121 --> 00:29:55,125 from a single strand of silk which can be over 1 ,000 metres long. 247 00:29:57,195 --> 00:30:00,030 It was the legendary strength and brightness of silk fibres 248 00:30:00,098 --> 00:30:02,432 that made it so sought after. 249 00:30:06,070 --> 00:30:09,506 For over 5,000 years, people built great fortunes 250 00:30:09,574 --> 00:30:12,643 and mighty kingdoms on these delicate threads. 251 00:30:13,845 --> 00:30:17,181 And the desert routes those ancient traders took 252 00:30:17,248 --> 00:30:20,184 became the fabled Silk Road. 253 00:30:26,558 --> 00:30:31,461 The principle of extracting raw silk hasn't changed since its discovery. 254 00:30:33,698 --> 00:30:36,700 Harvested cocoons are dropped into boiling water 255 00:30:36,768 --> 00:30:39,336 which unravels the long filaments. 256 00:30:40,405 --> 00:30:44,441 These are then gathered and spun into raw silk thread. 257 00:31:29,854 --> 00:31:33,056 Here at Hotan, on the ancient Silk Road, 258 00:31:33,524 --> 00:31:36,660 silk weaving is still a cottage industry, 259 00:31:36,728 --> 00:31:39,796 done the old-fashioned way on wooden looms. 260 00:31:54,045 --> 00:31:56,713 For the ancient Silk Road traders, 261 00:31:56,781 --> 00:31:59,516 the problem was still how to get the valuable silk 262 00:31:59,584 --> 00:32:01,852 from the fortress at Jiayuguan 263 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,923 through the deserts to the markets of Central Asia and beyond. 264 00:32:20,204 --> 00:32:23,573 Those early travellers heading west on the Silk Road 265 00:32:23,641 --> 00:32:26,777 were setting off on the worst voyage imaginable 266 00:32:27,345 --> 00:32:30,547 through some of the most terrible places on earth. 267 00:32:32,817 --> 00:32:35,919 Starting with the world's tallest sand dunes. 268 00:32:40,425 --> 00:32:45,963 Strong winds whipping in from the west blow the sand into ever higher dunes. 269 00:32:47,465 --> 00:32:51,168 Over millennia, mega-dunes build up. 270 00:32:51,235 --> 00:32:55,405 Walls of sand soaring to over 500 metres tall. 271 00:32:59,177 --> 00:33:03,847 Camels are the only beasts of burden that can tackle these monstrous dunes. 272 00:33:04,682 --> 00:33:09,319 Their feet are wide and splay outwards to stop them sinking in loose sand. 273 00:33:17,328 --> 00:33:20,030 The wind that whips the sand into dunes 274 00:33:20,098 --> 00:33:24,101 has created other bizarre shapes in China's western deserts. 275 00:33:25,837 --> 00:33:29,973 Mysterious giant structures, known as Yardangs, 276 00:33:30,041 --> 00:33:32,476 were sculpted by flying sand. 277 00:33:43,888 --> 00:33:48,058 The wind brought other hazards to travellers in these deserts. 278 00:33:48,126 --> 00:33:50,594 Marco Polo wrote, 279 00:33:50,661 --> 00:33:54,931 "Sometimes the stray travellers will hear the tramp and hum 280 00:33:54,999 --> 00:33:59,736 "of a great cavalcade of people away from the real line of march 281 00:33:59,804 --> 00:34:04,074 "and taking this to be their own company they will follow the sound. 282 00:34:04,776 --> 00:34:09,913 "And when day breaks, they find that a cheat has been put on them. 283 00:34:09,981 --> 00:34:12,682 "And that they are in an ill plight." 284 00:34:20,191 --> 00:34:23,593 To this day, no one knows what causes the sands 285 00:34:23,661 --> 00:34:26,897 in some parts of the desert to sing. 286 00:34:30,168 --> 00:34:34,004 No wonder travellers call this place Fury of God 287 00:34:34,072 --> 00:34:36,006 and Sea of Death. 288 00:34:39,911 --> 00:34:43,013 But the most severe problem was lack of water. 289 00:34:44,148 --> 00:34:47,417 The reason this place is so intensely dry 290 00:34:47,485 --> 00:34:50,954 can best be appreciated from a satellite view. 291 00:34:52,290 --> 00:34:57,194 China's deserts are the farthest place on earth from any ocean. 292 00:34:59,897 --> 00:35:04,101 This lack of water is what created the Taklamakan. 293 00:35:05,303 --> 00:35:08,271 An area the size of Germany, covered in sand dunes, 294 00:35:08,339 --> 00:35:11,508 through which the Silk Road traversed, 295 00:35:11,576 --> 00:35:14,811 this is the world's largest shifting sand desert. 296 00:35:16,914 --> 00:35:19,616 Most living creatures would die here. 297 00:35:20,251 --> 00:35:24,321 But the camel is uniquely equipped for desert survival. 298 00:35:27,859 --> 00:35:32,429 Its nose humidifies the dry desert air as it breathes in, 299 00:35:33,097 --> 00:35:38,034 then dehumidifies it on the way out, conserving precious water. 300 00:35:39,604 --> 00:35:42,405 The camel's thick fur keeps it warm at night 301 00:35:42,473 --> 00:35:45,175 while reflecting sunlight by day 302 00:35:45,243 --> 00:35:49,246 and its body temperature can rise by six degrees Celsius 303 00:35:49,313 --> 00:35:51,648 before it even begins to sweat. 304 00:35:53,151 --> 00:35:57,554 With these adaptations, it can go for days without drinking. 305 00:36:04,896 --> 00:36:08,431 For the camel trains, travel through the desert is about moving 306 00:36:08,499 --> 00:36:11,835 between one lifesaving oasis and the next. 307 00:36:14,205 --> 00:36:16,973 When they finally do reach a drinking hole, 308 00:36:17,041 --> 00:36:21,945 camels can drink up to 60 litres of water in 10 minutes. 309 00:36:38,763 --> 00:36:44,201 Without oases, life in the Taklamakan couldn't exist 310 00:36:44,268 --> 00:36:46,570 and travel would be impossible. 311 00:36:47,672 --> 00:36:50,440 But nothing is permanent in the desert. 312 00:36:50,508 --> 00:36:53,777 The shifting sands and the extreme climate mean 313 00:36:53,844 --> 00:36:57,614 that these precious water sources can disappear. 314 00:37:03,854 --> 00:37:08,124 This is exactly what happened at Aydingkol Lake. 315 00:37:11,762 --> 00:37:14,931 The lake bed is the second-lowest place on earth 316 00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:19,069 at 154 metres below sea level. 317 00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:22,205 It's the hottest place in China 318 00:37:22,273 --> 00:37:26,643 with air temperatures recorded as high as 50 degrees Celsius 319 00:37:26,711 --> 00:37:29,879 and ground temperatures up to 80 degrees. 320 00:37:31,849 --> 00:37:34,985 Yet not far from Aydingkol is a surprise. 321 00:37:36,854 --> 00:37:39,889 A thriving human settlement in the desert. 322 00:37:52,970 --> 00:37:55,772 This is Turpan oasis. 323 00:37:58,743 --> 00:38:02,312 And it's famous in China for an unexpected product. 324 00:38:05,683 --> 00:38:07,083 Grapes. 325 00:38:09,253 --> 00:38:14,724 But how on earth can a water-hungry crop grow in such abundance in a desert? 326 00:38:18,029 --> 00:38:21,064 The secret lies below ground. 327 00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:26,069 A subterranean network of canals known as karez 328 00:38:26,137 --> 00:38:31,541 is used to channel water around Turpan's streets and into the vineyards. 329 00:38:33,611 --> 00:38:36,212 But where does the water come from? 330 00:38:37,181 --> 00:38:41,484 The clue lies on the desert floor in these lines of holes which mark 331 00:38:41,552 --> 00:38:44,487 the course of the subterranean waterways. 332 00:38:46,490 --> 00:38:49,826 Over two millennia ago, local people carved 333 00:38:49,894 --> 00:38:52,696 more than 3,000 kilometres of these canals 334 00:38:52,763 --> 00:38:57,701 beneath the desert, diverting water from the distant mountains. 335 00:38:59,603 --> 00:39:02,038 Channelling the flow underground 336 00:39:02,106 --> 00:39:06,276 means that less water is lost to evaporation in the desert heat. 337 00:39:44,382 --> 00:39:47,016 In August, the grapes are harvested. 338 00:39:59,830 --> 00:40:03,199 This rich bounty does not go unnoticed. 339 00:40:04,802 --> 00:40:09,372 In the lush vineyards of Turpan, one animal is thriving. 340 00:40:16,247 --> 00:40:19,682 Red-tailed gerbils are hardy desert creatures, 341 00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:23,486 but those in Turpan have never had it so good. 342 00:40:32,163 --> 00:40:36,699 Once the grapes have been picked, some are sold in the market. 343 00:40:36,767 --> 00:40:40,270 But most are hung up to dry in special drying houses. 344 00:40:52,216 --> 00:40:56,152 This place is far too tempting for any rodent to resist. 345 00:41:02,393 --> 00:41:05,261 Red-tailed gerbils are excellent climbers. 346 00:41:05,996 --> 00:41:09,566 But why bother when there's plenty of bounty lying around 347 00:41:09,633 --> 00:41:12,335 on the ground, unguarded? 348 00:41:19,944 --> 00:41:23,980 Rather than suffering the extreme environment in which they live, 349 00:41:24,048 --> 00:41:27,450 the wildlife and people of Turpan have found 350 00:41:27,518 --> 00:41:31,087 innovative ways to cope with conditions beyond the Wall. 351 00:41:34,024 --> 00:41:37,827 But not all desert communities were as resourceful as Turpan. 352 00:41:41,098 --> 00:41:43,867 Between here and China's western borders, 353 00:41:43,934 --> 00:41:46,803 lie the ruins of many great cities. 354 00:41:51,675 --> 00:41:55,545 In their day they were vibrant, thriving places. 355 00:42:00,684 --> 00:42:04,320 But in the 5th century, the Silk Road's fortunes 356 00:42:04,388 --> 00:42:06,623 took a turn for the worse. 357 00:42:07,992 --> 00:42:11,127 Once again a princess was involved. 358 00:42:11,829 --> 00:42:15,431 She smuggled silkworm eggs out of China. 359 00:42:16,867 --> 00:42:20,336 The secret of silk was a secret no more. 360 00:42:21,372 --> 00:42:26,242 And China's stranglehold on this lucrative trade was over. 361 00:42:29,013 --> 00:42:34,183 Even when Marco Polo passed along the Silk Road in the 13th century, 362 00:42:34,251 --> 00:42:38,788 many of these cities had been dead for over 500 years. 363 00:42:43,394 --> 00:42:47,430 But the Silk Road's most famous city managed to survive. 364 00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:53,202 Where the desert ends beneath vast mountain ranges, 365 00:42:53,270 --> 00:42:57,774 China's westernmost point is only a stone's throw from the borders of 366 00:42:57,841 --> 00:43:00,410 five Central Asian countries. 367 00:43:01,645 --> 00:43:05,548 This is Kashgar, where east meets west. 368 00:43:11,388 --> 00:43:15,658 The silk that travelled along the Silk Road ended up here 369 00:43:15,726 --> 00:43:18,094 where it's still traded today. 370 00:43:33,811 --> 00:43:37,714 Kashgar is famous for selling everything under the sun. 371 00:43:40,517 --> 00:43:45,455 The local Sunday market is one of Asia's largest and most exuberant gatherings. 372 00:44:01,071 --> 00:44:02,839 But looking around the market, 373 00:44:02,906 --> 00:44:06,175 it's hard to believe you're actually in China. 374 00:44:06,243 --> 00:44:09,946 Kashgar is a melting pot of non-Chinese ethnic people. 375 00:44:10,748 --> 00:44:16,719 Uyghurs, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, and many others. 376 00:44:19,023 --> 00:44:25,395 Here, our journey heads northwards into one of China's wildest places. 377 00:44:28,065 --> 00:44:34,003 Leaving Kashgar and the Silk Road behind we travel into the Tian Shan, 378 00:44:34,805 --> 00:44:37,240 or Heavenly Mountains. 379 00:44:38,575 --> 00:44:41,611 This great mountain range defines the border between 380 00:44:41,679 --> 00:44:44,213 China's most north-western province 381 00:44:44,281 --> 00:44:48,084 and neighbouring Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. 382 00:44:49,286 --> 00:44:53,122 Its majestic peaks are nearly as high as the Himalayas 383 00:44:53,190 --> 00:44:55,958 forming a natural great wall. 384 00:45:03,367 --> 00:45:06,436 For much of the year it's bound up in ice. 385 00:45:06,503 --> 00:45:10,540 But the glacial meltwater allows evergreen forests to grow. 386 00:45:11,241 --> 00:45:14,210 A far cry from the deserts south of here. 387 00:45:19,883 --> 00:45:22,351 These mountains are the gateway to some of China's 388 00:45:22,419 --> 00:45:25,588 most surprising people and places. 389 00:45:31,662 --> 00:45:34,230 In the upland valleys, a family of Kazakhs 390 00:45:34,298 --> 00:45:36,966 has been grazing their livestock all summer 391 00:45:37,034 --> 00:45:39,368 on the lush alpine meadows. 392 00:45:43,807 --> 00:45:46,509 It's autumn, in a few weeks' time 393 00:45:46,577 --> 00:45:49,779 winter snows will seal the mountain passes. 394 00:45:49,847 --> 00:45:52,381 So the Kazakhs have decided to break camp, 395 00:45:52,449 --> 00:45:54,984 and move while they still can. 396 00:46:15,105 --> 00:46:18,307 Turning their backs on the mountain pastures, 397 00:46:18,375 --> 00:46:20,643 they have many long weeks of travel ahead of them 398 00:46:20,711 --> 00:46:22,945 along well-worn trails. 399 00:46:47,738 --> 00:46:50,206 Their destination could hardly be more different 400 00:46:50,274 --> 00:46:53,109 from the Heavenly Mountains' lush pastures. 401 00:46:55,879 --> 00:47:00,883 These paths head into one of China's wildest and least known places. 402 00:47:13,764 --> 00:47:16,432 This is the Junggar Basin. 403 00:47:16,500 --> 00:47:18,267 An arid land that lies 404 00:47:18,335 --> 00:47:21,571 at the westernmost edge of the great Gobi Desert. 405 00:47:25,309 --> 00:47:28,177 The most northerly desert in the world. 406 00:47:36,820 --> 00:47:39,822 The Junggar is a place of surprises. 407 00:47:40,757 --> 00:47:44,393 This bizarre landscape is called the Five Coloured Hills. 408 00:47:45,195 --> 00:47:47,864 And though very little lives here now, 409 00:47:47,931 --> 00:47:52,435 the ancestors of Tyrannosaurus Rex once roamed these hills, 410 00:47:53,003 --> 00:47:56,839 their fossils only discovered in 2006. 411 00:48:10,420 --> 00:48:13,556 But the Junggar is not entirely lifeless. 412 00:48:17,394 --> 00:48:20,363 In the darkness, a little Roborovski's Hamster 413 00:48:20,430 --> 00:48:22,632 emerges to search for food. 414 00:48:29,072 --> 00:48:34,043 They're the world's smallest hamsters, the size of a Ping-Pong ball. 415 00:48:34,912 --> 00:48:37,847 And they live in family groups of around 10. 416 00:48:40,350 --> 00:48:45,554 Unlike the Kazakhs, hamsters can't migrate to avoid the severity of winter. 417 00:48:47,157 --> 00:48:51,127 They have to prepare for difficult times by storing up provisions 418 00:48:51,194 --> 00:48:53,796 to spend the season underground. 419 00:48:58,835 --> 00:49:01,103 Anyone who has kept a pet hamster 420 00:49:01,171 --> 00:49:04,473 knows what an energetic little creature it can be. 421 00:49:10,447 --> 00:49:13,649 In a single night, a hamster may cover the equivalent 422 00:49:13,717 --> 00:49:15,885 of four human marathons. 423 00:49:19,923 --> 00:49:23,059 But foraging far and wide creates a problem. 424 00:49:23,126 --> 00:49:26,062 How to carry the harvest back to its nest. 425 00:49:27,364 --> 00:49:31,434 Here the hamster's famous flexible cheek pouches come into play. 426 00:49:32,269 --> 00:49:36,372 They can be stuffed full of seeds for carrying back to the burrow. 427 00:49:41,745 --> 00:49:46,282 Underground, the family has special food chambers to store the bounty. 428 00:49:50,887 --> 00:49:55,091 This supply will have to last them through the lean and cold times ahead. 429 00:49:56,393 --> 00:49:58,494 Winter is on its way. 430 00:50:10,273 --> 00:50:13,843 Within a few short weeks, the Five Coloured Hills 431 00:50:13,910 --> 00:50:19,548 are blanketed in snow, driven by icy winds from Siberia. 432 00:50:25,155 --> 00:50:28,357 Despite being at the same latitude as Venice, 433 00:50:28,425 --> 00:50:32,361 Asia's northern deserts have no nearby sea to warm them 434 00:50:32,429 --> 00:50:35,231 and so suffer bitterly cold winters. 435 00:50:38,035 --> 00:50:40,002 When it melts next spring, 436 00:50:40,070 --> 00:50:42,405 the snow will provide moisture for grasses 437 00:50:42,472 --> 00:50:44,607 and other plants to grow. 438 00:50:49,079 --> 00:50:52,882 Like almost everywhere beyond the Wall, the harsh conditions 439 00:50:52,949 --> 00:50:57,420 force people and wildlife to keep moving to find enough to survive. 440 00:51:01,558 --> 00:51:04,794 The Kazakhs have arrived from the Tian Shan mountains 441 00:51:04,895 --> 00:51:08,831 to graze their animals on the meagre pickings in the Junggar. 442 00:51:10,267 --> 00:51:13,969 But the Kazakhs don't have this place all to themselves. 443 00:51:15,972 --> 00:51:20,843 Their winter migration routes take them past a fenced enclosure in the desert. 444 00:51:23,180 --> 00:51:25,247 The horses on this side of the fence 445 00:51:25,315 --> 00:51:29,952 aren't domestic animals like those belonging to the Mongolians and Kazakhs. 446 00:51:32,222 --> 00:51:36,425 These are the last wild horses on earth. 447 00:51:39,096 --> 00:51:42,298 Millions of them once ranged all the way to Europe. 448 00:51:42,365 --> 00:51:45,367 But now they barely number in the hundreds. 449 00:51:47,170 --> 00:51:50,473 For part of the winter the wild horses are quarantined 450 00:51:50,540 --> 00:51:53,642 to stop them mating with the Kazakhs' horses. 451 00:51:56,913 --> 00:52:01,684 That way the gene pool of the rare wild animals can be kept pure. 452 00:52:06,256 --> 00:52:08,791 There is a bigger problem, however. 453 00:52:09,659 --> 00:52:14,096 The livestock and the wild horses compete for the same food. 454 00:52:16,833 --> 00:52:21,904 Many Kazakh families and their flocks will pass through here over the winter. 455 00:52:29,713 --> 00:52:33,549 By the time the wild horses can be released from the pen, 456 00:52:33,617 --> 00:52:36,752 much of the best forage will be gone. 457 00:52:40,323 --> 00:52:43,859 When there's so little to go round in the first place, 458 00:52:43,927 --> 00:52:47,563 it doesn't take much for the situation to turn critical. 459 00:52:49,933 --> 00:52:52,835 Even in the least inhabited parts of China, 460 00:52:52,903 --> 00:52:57,306 wildlife and people come into conflict in the struggle to survive. 461 00:53:05,182 --> 00:53:09,084 Yet in this barren landscape, a remarkable association between 462 00:53:09,152 --> 00:53:10,986 people and wildlife persists. 463 00:53:12,556 --> 00:53:16,692 A tradition harking back almost 6,000 years. 464 00:53:20,664 --> 00:53:25,201 Eighty-two-year-old Ziya carries on a tradition that has made the Kazakhs 465 00:53:25,268 --> 00:53:27,503 famous throughout China. 466 00:53:30,106 --> 00:53:34,977 Every winter for most of his life, Ziya has gone hunting 467 00:53:35,045 --> 00:53:37,246 with a golden eagle. 468 00:53:49,559 --> 00:53:52,161 This eagle is around five years old. 469 00:53:52,996 --> 00:53:57,800 It was taken from the wild as a chick and raised by Ziya 470 00:53:57,867 --> 00:54:01,070 who trained it to return to him after each flight. 471 00:54:02,239 --> 00:54:06,742 He will keep this bird for a total of 10 seasons before setting it free. 472 00:54:12,048 --> 00:54:15,684 Foxes were once the favourite quarry for eagle hunters. 473 00:54:16,519 --> 00:54:19,755 These days they almost never catch anything. 474 00:54:20,557 --> 00:54:22,291 As in many parts of China, 475 00:54:22,359 --> 00:54:25,728 wildlife is far scarcer here than it used to be. 476 00:54:34,938 --> 00:54:37,806 When Ziya finally releases this eagle, 477 00:54:38,675 --> 00:54:41,644 it will be the end of his hunting days. 478 00:54:57,227 --> 00:55:00,195 Many of the younger generation of China's nomads 479 00:55:00,263 --> 00:55:04,400 are moving to modern cities and leaving their traditions behind, 480 00:55:04,467 --> 00:55:08,337 their lives no longer ruled by the changing of the seasons. 481 00:55:18,848 --> 00:55:21,784 Back in the northeast, in mid-winter, 482 00:55:21,851 --> 00:55:24,720 the Great Wall still dominates the landscape. 483 00:55:25,922 --> 00:55:29,124 Originally built to keep out dangerous warriors, 484 00:55:29,192 --> 00:55:32,494 today it is little more than a curiosity. 485 00:55:34,331 --> 00:55:37,800 The Han Chinese, whose ancestors built the wall, 486 00:55:37,867 --> 00:55:42,237 now live in great cities like Harbin, far to the north. 487 00:55:46,142 --> 00:55:51,947 Each year, the artists of Harbin get ready for a special winter celebration. 488 00:55:55,885 --> 00:56:00,756 Giant blocks of ice from nearby rivers undergo a magical transformation. 489 00:56:04,494 --> 00:56:07,730 Tourists flock to Harbin from all over China 490 00:56:07,797 --> 00:56:10,566 to see the spectacular carvings, 491 00:56:10,633 --> 00:56:14,169 and the ice city that has sprung up all around. 492 00:56:36,426 --> 00:56:41,797 It takes 10,000 people 18 days to construct this icy wonderland. 493 00:56:51,608 --> 00:56:54,009 It's impressive enough by day. 494 00:57:01,484 --> 00:57:06,321 But the magic of this place only becomes apparent once the sun goes down. 495 00:57:41,324 --> 00:57:47,262 Northern China can be a harsh place, but also a place of great beauty. 496 00:57:52,335 --> 00:57:56,238 The Harbin Ice Festival shows how attitudes have changed 497 00:57:56,306 --> 00:57:58,707 since the Great Wall was built. 498 00:58:02,312 --> 00:58:07,216 No longer are the extremes of life beyond the Wall merely to be feared. 499 00:58:09,919 --> 00:58:14,056 Now it is possible to celebrate them, too.