Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
apace in many regions and vast areas are under cultivation with monocultures
such as rice.
Apart from rice, the plant probably most often associated with China and
Chinese culture is bamboo, of which China boasts some 300 species. Bamboo
grows in many parts of China, but bamboo forests were once so extensive that
they enabled the evolution of the giant panda, which eats virtually nothing
else, and a suite of small mammals, birds and insects that live in bamboo
thickets.
Deciduous forests cover mid-altitudes in the mountains, and are character-
ised by oaks, hemlocks and aspens, with a leafy understorey that springs to
life after the winter snows have melted. Among the more famous blooms of the
understorey are rhododendrons and azaleas, and many species of each grow
naturally in China's mountain ranges. At the very highest elevations, the alpine
meadows grazed by yaks are often dotted with showy and colourful blooms.
