Received by NSD/FARA Registration Unit 6/22/2021 11:12 PM Wednesday 13 January 2021 ★ FINANCIAL TIMES 9 Page 2 CHINA WATCH ADVERTISEMENT Explorer sheds light on glories of the cave world Uncovering the mystery of what lies below the surface has given a former reporter another domain to discover By YANG FEIYUE Niudong Cave at the junction of Qingzhen city and Zhijin county, Guizhou. hat is underneath our feet can often “The cave was like an alien planet, with its Wj captivate us as much as that which strange and complex geological environment, is in plain sight. This was certainly and I had to feel my way around by climbing and r Wthe case as a love of adventure led crawling,” Mr Zhou recalled. a former news reporter to follow a career of spe­ When he came out, he was covered in mud. lunking — the exploration and study of caves. * * The trip also offered Mr Zhou an opportu­ Zhou Yuanjie has explored more than 40 caves // nity to hone his spelunking skills, such as using in Guizhou province, recording these expeditions >* a number of tools to move around the cave and through more than 40,000 pictures and 1,200 - V taking pictures in the process. minutes of video. “It’s very important to get everything in and out & -v The 33-year-old Guizhou resident’s photos and -J safely” he said, adding that a slip-up might cause videos have brought to light the extraordinary 23 a tool to fall on teammates who may be hundreds beauty hidden underground. of metres below him. Mr Zhou’s passion for the fascinating world of As his skills grew, Mr Zhou joined a China- caves was sparked when, in 2012, as a journal­ France team in 2014 and visited the Miaoting ist of a local newspaper, he covered a team on a Cave, categorised as the biggest of its kind, by search and rescue mission to find someone who volume, in the world. It was jointly detected by had accidentally fallen down a naturally-formed N Chinese and European scientists. Experts theo­ rock shaft in neighbouring Yunnan province. rise that it is capacious enough that a Boeing 747 “It was the first time my eyes were opened to passenger aircraft could fly in it. the dark world under my feet, and I felt all of my “The road to the cave is etched with gullies previous life experiences completely dwarfed,” Mr f of differing heights, which is typical of the karst Zhou said of his awakening. a landform in Guizhou,” Mr Zhou said. They are the The shaft was more than 200 metres (656 feet) first challenge spelunkers have to face. long and, as his helmet’s light reflected off the “The ground is covered with green moss and is geological wonder, it took his breath away. •: very slippery,” he said. ‘You have to be there to see “I felt my sense of time, direction, familiarity ) just how big the cave is.” and comfort all vanish,” he said. m Over the years Mr Zhou has made nine trips In one of those quirks of fate that can change through different entrances to access the Miao­ lives, Mr Zhou, who lives in Guiyang, capital of ting Cave. Guizhou, found out that he lived close to the 'S Desire for more adventurous spelunking drove m search team’s leader. So he began to learn from him to master technical diving and underwater him about this underground world and the skills photography. 22 necessary to navigate it. m He also became a dive master certified by the “I spent practically all of my energy after work world’s leading scuba diver training organisation, * focusing on spelunking,” Mr Zhou said. V the Professional Association of Diving Instruc­ He learned how to use rope to climb cliffs, how tors, whose headquarters is in California. to snorkel and how to paraglide before he joined To date, more than 6,000 caves have been lo­ professional cave exploration teams. cated across Guizhou, and about 2,000 have been But it took him time, literally, to find his feet. In Clockwise from left: Zhou Yuanjie and explored, said Qian Zhi, vice-president of the Gui­ the beginning he had to conquer vertigo and nau­ his teammates explore a tunnel behind zhou Cave Association, which is affiliated to the sea. “First, you need to learn not to be a burden a waterfall at Yangpi Cave, Guiyang city, mountain resources research institute of Guizhou on the team, as well as how to install equipment Guizhou province, in January last year. Academy of Sciences. and where to go in the unknown territory of a Mr Zhou goes cave diving with his teammates About 200 caves in the province have been cave,” Mr Zhou said. in Tangbian village, Qingzhen city, Guizhou, in tapped for various purposes, such as for develop­ “Safety is of the utmost importance, and every November 2019. Mr Zhou photographs a cliff ing tourism. team member has to receive rigorous training climbing competition in Zhongshan district, The Shuanghe Cave in Wenquan town of Zunyi and learn to deal with the extreme environment Liupanshui city, Guizhou, in August last year. city and Zhijin Cave in Zhijin county, in Guizhou, and accidents that might occur at any time.” PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY have both evolved into tourism hot spots, creat­ Mr Zhou also picked up knowledge about ing job opportunities and a marked increase in caves, from rock formations to the changeable local income, Mr Qian said. conditions underground, such as temperature cave they enter. No food or batteries can be left Guizhou abounds in karst landforms that take glistening rock deposits giving some caves the maj­ The consistent temperature has also made and humidity levels. behind. Take nothing but memories. the shape of enclosed depressions, sinkholes, as esty of marble skyscrapers. One might also come the caves ideal places for growing things such as “One needs to know the formation process of “It takes a long time for cave sediments to form, well as cave systems and subterranean rivers. across fossils of ancient marine life or murals left mushrooms or storing food and other supplies. what’s inside a cave, and its different characteris­ and I would rather give up a photo if taking it Caves do not have sunlight, and mobile phone by cave dwellers thousands of years ago. “Of course, all those things need to be done tics during dry and rainy seasons.” would undermine the existing cave structure,” Mr signals are nonexistent. It is another world. But na­ In 2013 Mr Zhou embarked on his first official under long-term supervision and analysis,” Moreover, spelunkers also have to protect the Zhou said. ture has done something special down there, with spelunking expedition and made his way to the Mr Qian said. Survival Changed vocation gives children a voice of a species By LI YEVGXUE was finally able to clearly enunciate the word another institute. “We need specialists to work baba, meaning dad, for the first time in his life. with them on their willingness to communicate Zhang Ying, 23, could have been a TV news “That moment inspired us so much that we and interact, then we can offer our training on T && presenter after four years studying broadcast­ felt like we could really help other people, and the speech itself.” By SHEN WENDI ing and hosting talk shows at Shaanxi Univer­ bring hope to their families, so after the sum­ Voice Changer also launched a mini pro­ -Z." : sity of Science and Technology. So could Du Xin- mer practice we decided to start the project,” Ms gramme on WeChat that provides online servic­ A small herd of milu deer — six males and four A fight between two male milu over the right tong, who is one of her senior school classmates. Zhang said. es for families of children with speech disorders. females — paces back and forth uneasily at the to mate, provided to china daily However, instead of becoming talking heads on After graduating in 2018, Ms Du decided to With this, parents can upload their child’s in­ entrance of a shelter in Nanhaizi Milu Park in Da- TV, the pair decided to implement their knowl­ make the project a full-time endeavour, and Ms formation and recordings to the self-testing tool xing district beyond the South Fifth Ring Road edge of public speaking and enunciation to help Zhang followed a year later. and obtain a report. As well as online speech of Beijing. Notably, they have formed wild groups inde­ millions of children with speech disorders. Yan Si, 29, met Ms Du at an entrepreneur therapy, there are online courses for parents, After a few minutes’ hesitation, the leading pendent of the protection of human beings. Graduating from college and receiving her competition in 2019 and she was so moved by including guidance for speech therapy at home. milu, puffing in trepidation, finally steps out and When huge floods in 1998 destroyed the fences national speech therapist certificate in 2019, Ms Ms Du’s programme that she joined the team. Ms Zhang said that even though online leads the rest of the deer along a wire-fenced pas­ in Shishou Nature Reserve, north of the Yangtze Zhang is pursuing a career as a speech therapist. To further develop the programme, the wom­ courses lack some interaction with children, sageway set up by researchers at the Beijing Milu River, more than 30 milu swam across the river. She and Ms Du met in 2016 after being en founded the company and, in August 2019, they enable them to help more children outside Ecological Research Centre that leads to a truck.