Sun Honglie (Part II) conducted a survey on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Interviewee provided photo.
■ Reporter Han Yangmei
From the great bend of the Yarlung Zangbo River to Motuo, it's 260 kilometers with an altitude drop of over 3,000 meters. This is located in the southeastern part of the Himalayas. In 1974, Sun Honglie led a team to camp under the stars, trekking for three days to conduct a comprehensive survey here.
In 2015, at the age of 83, Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Sun Honglie returned to the southeastern Tibet for another survey, specifically traveling by car along the already built Motuo highway. In 40 years, the world outside the window had changed, but his affection for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau remained unchanged.
In the 1970s, Chinese scientists conducted the first large-scale comprehensive scientific survey of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, conducting a comprehensive investigation of its natural environment and obtaining a large amount of first-hand data, filling in the gaps in some areas and disciplines of research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
At that time, Sun Honglie firmly believed that "the blanks in the scientific exploration of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau must be filled by Chinese people," leading the team to embark on the scientific expedition, covering the entire Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In his later years, he returned to the spiritual "hometown," feeling the call of the snowy plateau, his gaze still firm and passionate.
"The blanks in the scientific exploration of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau must be filled by Chinese people."
Sun Honglie, now 92 years old, still vividly remembers his experiences in surveying the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
In 1961, a young Sun Honglie was first sent by the Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to survey Tibet, thus beginning his connection with the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
"What kind of soil does Tibet have?"
"The coarse one is called Sagha soil, and the fine one is called Baga soil."
This was the understanding of most people about Tibetan soil at that time. "Before the survey, there was almost no natural data available about the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," Sun Honglie recalled in an interview with the Chinese Science Bulletin.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the roof of the world. The uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has nurtured many great rivers, forming a natural barrier for China's ecological security. Before the expedition, Sun Honglie consulted all available materials and found that before the founding of New China, scholars from countries such as Britain, Sweden, Russia, and France had conducted surveys in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, while Chinese scholars who entered Tibet were few.
"I felt very heavy-hearted. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is Chinese territory, yet there were few Chinese scientists working there," Sun Honglie said. At that time, he was determined to produce academic achievements by Chinese scientists themselves.
In 1972, following Premier Zhou Enlai's instructions, the "Chinese Academy of Sciences Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Comprehensive Scientific Survey Team" was established, and scientific surveys began in 1973. This was the first comprehensive and systematic scientific survey of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in human history. "My goal was very clear: there should be a comprehensive scan of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, followed by theoretical exploration," Sun Honglie said.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau survey organized 35 professional teams, including experts and scholars in disciplines such as climate, soil, landforms, plants, and animals, with a team size of over 400 people. They combed through the geographical environment of Tibet "like combing hair."
"The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is so captivating."
Although the equipment was rudimentary and the conditions were extremely harsh during the first Qinghai-Tibet Plateau survey, Sun Honglie fell completely in love with this land during the expedition.
In 1976, the last year of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau survey, the survey team was divided into four groups. Sun Honglie led one of the teams to the highest altitude area of Ali in Tibet.
Due to the large number of personnel, it was very difficult to get vehicles. The survey team provided Sun Honglie with a jeep, but he resolutely refused any "special treatment" and used the vehicle to scout ahead to serve the entire team. "Scouting ahead" mainly involved finding places to sleep, usually at transport or military stations, where there were large bunk beds that could accommodate over 20 people, all squeezing into their sleeping bags for the night.
The campsite was usually located at an altitude of over 5,000 meters, and team members often suffered from headaches at night, making it difficult to sleep. The survey began early in the morning, and after waking up, the team members would use sticks or stones to break holes in the ice and scoop out water for use.
When the team had to climb to an altitude of over 6,000 meters, breakfast had to be simple, and for lunch, they would eat compressed biscuits bought from the army.
"The compressed biscuits were the size of mahjong tiles, and you could only take a small bite each time, eating it with water. The hot water we carried was limited, and it would cool down by the time we got to the mountain. It took two or three times to finish one piece of biscuit," Sun Honglie said. Sometimes, when they passed by Tibetan tents, they would be warmly welcomed by the Tibetans, eating tsampa and drinking butter tea.
It was only in the evening that everyone could have a "proper meal." The survey team members took turns cooking, with each person cooking for a day, and the driver was exempted from cooking to ensure energy. Everyone showed their culinary skills, offering a variety of northern and southern flavors. Sometimes they could even improve their meals by making dumplings, pulling some green onions from the wild, using canned meat as filling, creating a unique flavor.
"The conditions were indeed harsh, but everyone was full of enthusiasm because the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is so captivating." In his recollection, Sun Honglie mentioned "joy" and "attraction" many times. On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Sun Honglie was not only passionate about his own profession—soil geography but also eager to learn about knowledge in other disciplines.
Sun Honglie and botanist, Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Wu Zhengyi, who led the vegetation group, spent a long time together during the survey, learning from each other. Whenever they arrived at a place to investigate the soil, Sun Honglie would dig trenches to observe the soil profile, while Wu Zhengyi would record nearby plants. This was a good opportunity for Sun Honglie to learn the names of plants.
"Mr. Wu said that when learning plant names, we shouldn't just say the Chinese names but also remember the Latin names, which are universally recognized." Sun Honglie said that the joy of seeking knowledge and exchanging ideas gave him the strength to strive for learning.
"The more arduous it is, the more I want to go."
From 1977 to 1979, the survey team summarized three years of concentrated efforts. Sun Hong The first scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau resulted in 35 volumes and 43 monographs, forming the foundational data for Tibet's natural conditions and resources.
Sun Honglie aimed to showcase this achievement to the world. In 1979, at the beginning of China's reform and opening up, with joint efforts, an international academic conference on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was held in Beijing, attracting over 700 renowned international experts in the field.
Sun Honglie remarked, "With the reform and opening up, the scientific results of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau expedition were among the first to be introduced internationally, setting an example for the Chinese Academy of Sciences." Later, while working at the Chinese Academy of Sciences headquarters, Sun couldn't undertake field expeditions for long periods but never ceased his research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, seizing every opportunity to visit.
"The more challenging, the more I want to go." To this day, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau still captivates Sun Honglie's heart. In 2017, the second scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau commenced. Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the second expedition, Yao Tandong, received the "baton" from Sun Honglie. "The first expedition filled gaps, while the second requires deeper theoretical research," Sun remarked, hoping they would achieve even more.
Today, the second Qinghai-Tibet Plateau scientific expedition has yielded fruitful results, with many international conferences on the plateau spearheaded by Chinese scientists. Sun Honglie is pleased to see the younger generation actively engaged in research on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, realizing the saying "lead by example."
Sun Honglie believes that the scientific, dedicated, and united spirit of the older generation of researchers in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau studies will be carried forward, leading to even greater achievements in research on the plateau.
