With photographs by Nigel Hicks China is a country of incredible diversity. Its widely varied habitats support a wealth of animals, birds, and plants that make this country biologically one of the richest on our planet. Illustrated with over 400 superb color photographs , Wild China surveys these treasures. It explores reserves where the elusive Giant Panda is now protected, alpine meadows that are a botanist's wonderland of floral species, wetlands that are home to a million birds, turtle islands, and tigers' stalking grounds.Following a scene-setting introduction, chapters focus on each of the country's major ecological regions in turn, from the peaks of Qomolangma (Mount Everest) to the world's second-lowest point in the Turpan Basin, from tropical rain forests in the south to the permafrost of Manchuria and the cold dry desert of the northwest, from vast grasslands and alpine meadows to the teeming yellow waters of the Yangtze River. A human population of over one billion people has put enormous pressure on this natural wealth. The need for economic development is balanced, however, by the Chinese people's long-standing love and appreciation of natural beauty. China has already established over 500 nature reserves, including some of the largest in the world, and these are highlighted in Wild China.