Knowing the Sky and Self: A Journal of Crossing the Grand Canyon's Water Vapor Passage

Author: Gao Dongyi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-05-01
Features: Exploration has two types, one for scientific purposes, and the other for curiosity. They are quite different. The China Society for Scientific Exploration has always advocated scientific exploration, which aims at scientific research and is guided by scientific thinking and methods. The trekking across the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon is a case of scientific exploration. In 1998, the first successful human trekking across the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon was achieved safely, fulfilling the long-cherished dream of Chinese scientists and becoming a pride of the Chinese nation. At the end of the 20th century, this significant scientific exploration was ranked second in the Top Ten Science and Technology Progress News of 1998 by the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, a well-deserved honor. The successful and safe realization of the scientific exploration and survey of trekking across the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon is the result of years of research by Chinese scientists on the canyon, gradually deepening their understanding of the natural laws of the canyon and, in the process, recognizing and perfecting themselves. From the perspective of epistemology, it is a virtuous cycle of "knowing oneself and knowing the other" between science and nature, and a fruit of mutual understanding and reliance between humans and nature. The scientists' trekking across the canyon, their firsthand accounts, and vividly recreate the arduous journey, profoundly revealing the ups and downs, joys and sorrows of scientific exploration. From the author's diary, we can not only feel the hardships of exploration but also enjoy the pleasures of nature; we can be moved by the inspiring stories of the explorers and touched by their deep friendships; we can learn the basic knowledge of field exploration and survey, and understand the immense magic of the canyon's moisture channel in both nature and human activities.