纪录片《美丽中国》 第51期 风雪塞外（11）（在线收听）

This is Turpan Oasis

吐鲁番绿洲

And it's famous in China for an unexpected product

它以品质出众的特产而驰名中国

grapes

这就是葡萄

But how on Earth can a water-hungry crop grow in such abundance

为何如此需水的植物却能在沙漠中

in a desert？

获得丰收

The secret lies below ground

秘密就在地下

A subterranean network of canals known as karez

一种被称为坎儿井的地下水渠网

is used to channel water around Turpan streets

引导着水源在吐鲁番街道之间流动

and into raving yards

并将之引入美丽的庭院当中

But where does the water come from?

但水从何而来

The clue lies on the desert floor

线索就掩埋在荒漠之中

in these lines of holes which mark the course of the subterranean water ways

在这些标志着地下水路的洞穴所连成的线上

Over 2 millennia ago

两千多年前

local people carved more than 3000km of

当地人挖掘了长达3000多千米的

these canals beneath the desert

地下水渠

diverting water from the distant mountains

将水从远处的山上引来

Channeling the flow underground

在地下引水

means that less water is lost to evaporation in the desert heat

可以减少水在沙漠酷热下的蒸发量