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In 1911, Francis Kingdon Ward (1885–1958) set off on his first solo expedition and collected hundreds of plant species, many previously unknown. From Burma, he headed into the Hengduan Mountains of north-western Yunnan province, exploring along the Mekong, Yangtze and Salween rivers in the region between eastern Tibet and western Sichuan. In 2003, this area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the world's most biodiverse temperate zones, its extraordinary topography arises from its position at the collision point of tectonic plates. This fascinating book, first published in 1913, was one of the most popular by a prolific author. It is generously illustrated with Kingdon Ward's own photographs and maps from the trip. The blue poppy of the title is Meconopsis speciosa, which Kingdon Ward described as the 'Cambridge blue poppy'; rather than the famous 'Tibetan blue poppy' (Meconopsis betonicifolia) that he later brought to England.
1. The call of the red gods; 2. On the plateau of Yunnan; 3. On the Li-ti-p'ing; 4. Up the Mkeong valley; 5. A-tun-tsi; 6. A journey to the Salween; 7. Through the Lutzu country to Men-kong; 8. Doker-la – the sacred mountain; 9. On the road to Batang – the last town in China; 10. Across the China–Tibet border; 11. The wonderful Mekong; 12. Mountain and monastery; 13. Over the Run-tsi-la; 14. A winter journey amongst the Lutzu; 15. Through the land of the cross-bow; 16. The revolutionist occupation of La-chi-mi; 17. the last of the Mekong; 18. Back to Burma; 19. The land of deep corrosions; Appendices; Index.
Overview
In 1911, Francis Kingdon Ward (1885–1958) set off on his first solo expedition and collected hundreds of plant species, many previously unknown. From Burma, he headed into the Hengduan Mountains of north-western Yunnan province, exploring along the Mekong, Yangtze and Salween rivers in the region between eastern Tibet and western Sichuan. In 2003, this area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the world's most biodiverse temperate zones, its extraordinary topography arises from its position at the ...