The peak of natural beauty is the height of ambition
自然美景的巅峰上是凌云壮志
For as long as I can remember, I have had a fascination with climbing mountains. Coming from Wales, home to (in my perhaps biased opinion) some of the most beautiful mountains and natural scenes in the world, I have been lucky enough to be able to feed this love of scaling lofty peaks as much as my heart desired. Though I can't pinpoint exactly where this fascination comes from, the reason may be as simple as the answer mountaineer George Mallory gave to the question why climb Qomolangma — known in the West as Mount Everest. His reply was, "Because it's there."
从记事起，我就对爬山着迷。或许我带有滤镜，我的家乡威尔士拥有世界上最美丽的山脉和自然风光，我很幸运能够尽情满足自己对攀登高峰的热爱。虽然我无法确切指出这种迷恋来自何处，但原因可能和登山家乔治·马洛里对为何要攀登珠穆朗玛峰（西方称为埃佛勒斯峰）的回答一样简单：“因为它就在那里。”
Luckily , Beijing has also proven to be a fertile ground for this hobby, with the Great Wall snaking its way through the imposing mountain ranges to the north of the city. But when it comes to mountains in China, there has only been one image that springs to mind — an iconic view, so much so that it features as an image on the 20 yuan note — these are the karst mountains of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, part of the South China Karst, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
幸运的是，北京也是爬山圣地，长城蜿蜒穿过城市北部雄伟的山脉。但说到中国的山脉，我脑海中只浮现出一个标志性景观，它甚至出现在20元人民币上——广西壮族自治区的喀斯特山脉，它是中国南方喀斯特的一部分，2007年被列为联合国教科文组织世界遗产。
After many years of living in China, I finally got the chance to visit these natural wonders while on a trip to Xingping ancient town. There is a lot that could be said about the area in general, from the renowned cormorant fisherman posing for photos on the banks of the Lijiang River as countless tourists float by on bamboo rafts to the many ancient towns and villages dotted throughout the region such as Yangshuo and Xingping offering enough unique local history and culture to warrant the trip alone.
在中国生活多年后，我终于有机会在兴坪古镇之旅中参观这些自然奇观。这个地区的景观可圈可点：漓江上带着鸬鹚捕鱼的渔翁成为“模特”，背景是无数游客乘坐竹筏漂流而过；像阳朔和兴坪的古镇和村庄遍布整个地区，饱含当地独特历史和文化，让游客不虚此行。
But the real stars of the show, and the main reason I visited the area, were undoubtedly the frankly staggering amount of karst mountains, their millennia-long formation arising from soluble rocks that were broken down over time by certain acids, forming sinkholes and caverns, such as the Reed Flute Cave in Guilin, and eventually eroding into the topography that is visible throughout the region today.
但真正的亮点以及我到访此地的主要原因，无疑是数量惊人的喀斯特山脉。它们形成于数千年前，由可溶性岩石常年被酸分解成为落水洞和洞穴，比如桂林的芦笛岩，最终侵蚀成为现在整个地区随处可见的地形。
I thought I knew what to expect upon arrival but photos and banknotes do not do these natural wonders justice. No matter where you go or where you look, these jagged green-topped monoliths pierce the skyline in all directions as far as the eye can see.
我以为可以预见到实地景观的样子，但照片和钞票无法完美呈现这些自然奇观。无论从何地、何种角度，目光所及之处，这些锯齿状的绿色巨石从四面八方刺穿天际线。
The abundant beauty and awe-inspiring views of the region even the stifling heat and humidity that usually keep me hidden away indoors under an air conditioner.
看到这里丰富的美景和令人惊叹的景色，我甚至忘却了让我躲在空调房里的闷热和潮湿。
Whether hiking, relaxing on a boat cruise down the river or simply enjoying the local area, the combination of karst mountains, ancient towns, meandering rivers and lush vegetation creates one of the most captivating natural landscapes I have had the privilege of witnessing and will be one I surely return to in the future.
无论是徒步旅行、乘船游河或只是简单地享受当地风光，喀斯特山脉、古老的城镇、蜿蜒的河流和茂密的植被相结合，创造了我有幸目睹的最迷人的自然景观之一，我将来一定会再次回到这里。
