中国的《侏罗纪公园》[1]_其他_趣味英语-查字典英语网

中国的《侏罗纪公园》[1]

Not only are mountain rocks crimson but also the soil exudes a rich vermilion.

When it rains, the river changes to a muddy reddish color with almost tragic overtones.

But vegetation in this area is so verdant it takes time and effort to locate bare rocks with no shrubbery.

Near the Five-Pillar Peak, there is a gorge that resembles a cistern and the top edge is a striking circumference of danxia stones. Zhang Yimou, the filmmaker famed for using - or overusing - bright colors, would love it.

To prove that dinosaurs once roamed here, there are 40,000 alsophila trees in Jinshagou, one of the scenic parks in the area. Alsophila is a kind of fern.

But unlike the other two-dozen fern species found here, it is much taller, about 5 to 6 m - the highest reaching 9 m - and 20 to 25 cm in diameter. Some are pairs that grow together.

This oldest and rarest fern variety dates back some 200 million years.

"Dinosaurs used to eat the little things on these trees," explains Zeng Qiang, a local official. Some 100 km from here, in Zigong of Sichuan province, fossils of every dinosaur species have been discovered and displayed in a museum.

But human beings are not dinosaurs and have found little practical use for this fern tree. Some ferns are made into appetizers, but alsophila is not edible. In addition, the tree trunk has a lot of starch-like substance, which rules out the possibility of being turned into material for furniture.