The Himalayas are the tallest and most majestic mountains on Shijie. It stands on the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, distributed in Tibet and Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan, and its main part is at the junction of China and Nepal. From the Nanga Parbat Peak in the northwest of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the west, to the Nanga Bhava Peak at the sharp bend of the Brahmaputra River in the east, the total length is 2450 kilometers, and the width is 200~350 kilometers.

The peaks of the Himalayas, stunning not only valleys and alpine glaciers, but also terrain deeply cut by erosion, unfathomable river gorges, complex geological formations, show a series of elevation zones with different ecological connections of flora, fauna and climate.

Viewed from the south, the Himalayas resemble a giant crescent, with its main optical axis above the snow line, and the snow fields, alpine glaciers, and avalanches all feed the valley glaciers, which are the source of most Himalayan rivers. However, most of the Himalayas are below the snow line.

The Himalayas can be divided into four parallel longitudinal mountain bands of different widths, each with distinct topographical features and its own geological history. They are named from south to north as the Outer or Sub-Himalayas; small or low Himalayas; Great or high Himalayas; and Tethys or the Tibetan Himalayas.

The Himalayas stretch for more than 2,400 kilometers from east to west, about 200~300 kilometers wide from north to south, and are composed of several roughly parallel mountain ranges, showing an arc that protrudes to the south, and is its main part in China and Nepal. With an average altitude of up to 6,000 meters, it is the most majestic mountain range on Shijie. There are 40 peaks above 7,000 meters above sea level, 10 peaks above 8,000 meters (as of 1997, there are only 14 peaks above 8,000 meters above sea level), and the main peak Mount Everest is 8,848.43 meters above sea level, which is the first peak of Shijie.

The Himalayas are not symmetrical in terms of topography, with gentle northern slopes and steep southern slopes. In the foothills of the northern slope, it is the lake basin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China, with abundant pastures and beautiful pastures on the lakeside, and it is a good pasture. The great rivers flowing to the Indian Ocean almost all originate from the northern slopes, cut through the Great Himalayas, forming a large canyon 3000-4000 meters deep. The rolling peaks of the Himalayas block the moist air currents blowing from the Indian Ocean. As a result, the southern slope of the Himalayas has abundant rainfall and lush vegetation, while the northern slope has less rainfall and sparse vegetation, creating a striking contrast. As the height of the mountains increases, the natural landscape of the alpine area also changes, forming a distinct vertical natural zone.

On the northern slope of the middle Himalayas, there is the most majestic and colorful ice tower forest on the valley glacier. Ice towers range in height from a few meters to more than 30 meters, and their shape resembles hills and pyramids. Some ice towers have dense shallow circular ablation pits on the surface, which are shining brightly, and some ice towers have ice lakes dotted around, which is very wonderful. Some ice towers have rivers inside, and under the long-term action of these ice meltwaters, ice bridges and crystal palace-like ice caves, ice curtains, ice stalactites, icicles and ice shoots are formed.

There are two main factors for the formation of ice towers in the Himalayas: firstly, after the convergence of multiple ice streams, glacial movement causes folds and longitudinal and horizontal fissures in the ice layer, which is a necessary premise; Secondly, in the high mountains at low latitudes, the temperature of the exposed ice surface is increased by extremely strong solar radiation, and the melting intensity of the ice surface is much greater than that of glaciers at middle and high latitudes, and the meltwater between the ice towers has a strong ability to erode and cut down. This is also the reason why other alpine glacial regions on the planet, such as the Alps, Kunlun Mountains, Qilian Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, etc., have not developed such spectacular ice towers.

The Himalayas, as a major climatic dividing line that affects the air and water circulation, have a decisive impact on the meteorological conditions of the Indian subcontinent to the south and the Central Asian highlands to the north. Due to its location and stunning heights, the Great Himalayas block the flow of cold continental air from the north into India during the winter months, while forcing the (rainy) southwest monsoon to donate most of its own water before moving north across the mountains, resulting in huge rainfall (both rain and snow) on the Indian side and dry conditions in Tibet. The average annual rainfall on the southern slope varies from place to place, ranging from 2 metres in Shimla and Mussoori in the Western Himalayas to 4 metres in Darjeeling in the Eastern Himalayas. And in the north of the Greater Himalayas, in Skadhu, Gilgit and Leh in areas such as Jammu and Kashmir in the Indus Valley, there is only 0.1~0.2 meters of rainfall.

The local topography and location determine the weather variability, not only in different parts of the Himalayas, but also in different slopes within the same mountain range.

The vegetation of the Himalayas can be broadly divided into four zones – tropical, subtropical, temperate and alpine.

Differences in local topography and climate, as well as in light and wind, cause considerable variation in the composition of vegetation within each zone. Tropical evergreen rainforests are confined to the humid hilly terrain of the Eastern Himalayas and Middle Himalayas. Evergreen dipterocarp forests – a group of trees that produce wood and resin – are common; Their xenospecies grow on different soils and on slopes of different steepnesses. Ironwood can be found in permeable soil at a height of 183~732 meters; Bamboo grows on steep hillsides; Oak trees and chestnuts grow on stony soils, covering sand and gravel from the western part of the southern Tibetan region of China to the central part of Nepal at a height of 1097~1737 meters. Alder can be found along steeper hillside waterways. At higher heights, they are replaced by mountain forests, where the typical evergreen tree is a pandanus. In addition to these trees, it is estimated that about 4,000 species of flowering plants grow in the Eastern Himalayas, 20 of which are palms.

With the decrease of westward rainfall and the increase of height, the rainforest was second to the tropical deciduous forest, and the precious timber tree, the sara, became the main tree species. The Twin Trees are located on a plateau at an altitude of 914 meters above sea level and a plateau up to 1,372 meters high. Further west, steppe forests (i.e., forests on vast plains), grasslands, subtropical thorny steppes, and subtropical and semi-desert vegetation emerge in order. Temperate forests stretch from about 1372 to about 3353 meters and include conifers and temperate broad-leaved trees.

The fauna of the Eastern Himalayas originates mainly from South China and Indochina: predominantly those that can be found in tropical forests, followed by those that have adapted to subtropical, montane, and temperate conditions at higher altitudes and drier western regions.

However, the fauna of the Western Himalayas has much in common with the fauna of the Mediterranean, Ethiopia and Turkmenistan. The past presence of some African fauna in this area, such as giraffes and hippos, can be inferred from the fossil remains of sedimentary layers in the Transhimalayan Sivalik Mountains. The fauna at heights above the tree line is almost entirely made up of endemic species adapted to the cold, which evolved from steppe wildlife after the rise of the Himalayas.

Elephants, bison and rhinos are confined to certain areas of the Dalai Lama region in the forested foothills of southern Nepal – wetlands or swamps that have been largely drained. The Indian rhinoceros was once abundant throughout the hilly terrain of the Himalayas, but it was on the verge of extinction; Musk deer and Kashmir deer have also reached extinct levels. Himalayan black bears, clouded leopards, long-tailed langurs (a species of Asian long-tailed monkey), and cats, are part of other permalist animals in the Himalayan forests. Himalayan chamois, such as the Taar sheep, can also be seen.

Higher above the tree line, snow leopards, brown bears, red pandas (i.e. red pandas) and Tibetan yaks can be spotted occasionally. Yaks have been domesticated and used as draft animals in Ladakh. However, the typical habitat above the tree line are many types of insects, spiders and mites, which are the only animal species that can live up to 6,309 meters high.

The Himalayas are also rich in minerals, but development is limited to areas that are more accessible. Jammu and Kashmir is the region with the highest concentration of minerals. Sapphires are found in the Jascal Mountains and sand gold is found in the nearby Indus River beds. There are copper deposits in Baltistan, iron ore is found in the valley of the Kashmir River. Ladakh is rich in borax and sulphur mines. Coal seams were found in Jammu Hill. Bauxite is also found in Jammu and Kashmir. Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim have extensive deposits of coal, mica, gypsum and graphite, as well as iron, copper, lead and zinc ores.

The Himalayas are drained by 19 major rivers, of which the Indus and Brahmaputra are the largest, each with a mountain catchment area of about 259,000 square kilometers. Among the other rivers, 5 belong to the Indus River system – the Jhelum, Jenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej – with a total catchment area of about 132,090 square kilometres; 9 rivers belonging to the Ganges River system - Ganges, Yamuna, Ramganga, Kali (Sarda), Karnali, Laputi, Gendega, Bagmati and Gosi - draining another 217,560 square kilometers of catchment area; Three other rivers belong to the Brahmaputra River system – the Tista, the Raedak River, and the Manas River – draining 183,890 square kilometers of catchment area.

The Brahmaputra River is like a silver dragon, originating from the icy mountains on the northern slope of the middle section of the Himalayas at an altitude of more than 5,300 meters, flowing from west to east in the southern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of Shijie". It has a total length of more than 2,057 kilometers in the territory of Huaxia and ranks fifth among the celebrities and rivers in Huaxia; The basin covers an area of 240,480 square kilometers, ranking sixth in China, and the annual runoff of the country is 140 billion cubic meters, second to the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, ranking third in China. The natural hydropower reserves reached 79.116 million kilowatts, second only to the Yangtze River and the second largest in China. The riverbed is generally above 3,000 meters above sea level, making it the highest river on Shijie.

The population living in the Himalayas is mainly Caucasians, Tibeto-Burman groups and Dravidian groups. The first two groups have very corresponding communities in the Himalayas, although they are mixed in different proportions in different regions. Their distribution is the result of a long history of infiltration by Europa groups from the west of the Pamirs, from Indians from the south, and from the east and north. In Nepal, which accounts for one-third of the central Himalayas, these groups are intertwined and mixed.

The infiltration of the lower Himalayas contributed to the activity of migrants entering and passing through the channels of the river plains of South Asia. In general, the Great Himalayas and Tethys Himalayas are inhabited by Tibetans and other Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups (Mongolians), while the Lesser Himalayas are home to tall, fair-skinned Indo-Europeans. In the Trans-Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indo-European society was known as the Dogra dynasty.

The Gadi and Gugali peoples, who live in the Lesser Himalayas, also belong to the group of Europeans. The Gadi are essentially a mountain people; They have large flocks of sheep and goats, and only in the winter do they leave their homes in the snowy regions of the Trans-Himalayas to descend to the mountains, and in June they return to the highest pastures. The Gugali were a nomadic people living on sheep, flocks of goats, and a few cattle, and they sought pasture for their cattle and sheep at various altitudes.

The economic situation of the Himalayas is commensurate with the limited resources available in this vast and diverse area of various geological zones. The main economic activity is animal husbandry, but the use and trade of wildlife is also important. The Himalayas are rich in economic resources, including fertile arable land, vast grasslands and forests, minerals that can be mined, and easily harnessed water power.

The most productive arable land in the Western Himalayas is the Kashmir Valley, the Gangra Valley, the Sutlej River Basin, and the plateaus flanking the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in Uttarakhand; These areas produce rice, maize, wheat and millet. In Nepal's Middle Himalayas, two-thirds of the arable land is in the foothills and adjacent plains; Most of the country's rice is produced here. Crops such as maize, wheat, potatoes and sugar cane are also grown in large quantities in the region.

Among the widespread Tibetan folk tales in the Himalayas, there is such a legend about the Himalayas.

Once upon a time, it was an endless sea, with waves crashing against the shores of pines, hemlocks and palms. Above the forest, the mountains are stacked and green, and the clouds and mist are shrouded; The forest is overgrown with all kinds of exotic flowers and plants, herds of spotted deer and antelopes are running, and herds of rhinoceros, with waddling steps, leisurely drinking water by the lake; Cuckoos, thrushes, and larks, jumping up and down in the treetops, singing merrily songs; The rabbit runs carefree on the tender green and lush grass. One day, a huge five-headed poisonous dragon suddenly came to the sea, and made a mess of the forest, stirring up thousands of waves, destroying flowers and trees. The birds and animals living here all have a premonition that disaster is coming.

They jump to the east, and the forests fall and the meadows flood to the east; They flocked to the west again, and the west was also a wild wave, so that no one could breathe, just when the birds and beasts were cornered, suddenly, five colorful clouds floated over the sea, and became the five wise sky mothers, they came to the sea, exerted boundless mana, and subdued the five poisonous dragons.

The demons have been conquered, the sea is calm, and the deer, antelope, monkeys, rabbits, and birds that live here worship the fairies and thank them for saving their lives. The empty people wanted to say goodbye and return to Heaven, but the sentient beings begged bitterly, asking them to stay here for the benefit of sentient beings. So the five fairies showed compassion and agreed to stay and share the peaceful day with all sentient beings.

The five fairies drank the water of the sea, and the east became a dense forest, a thousand acres of fertile fields to the west, a garden full of flowers and plants to the south, and an endless pasture to the north. The five fairies have become the five main peaks of the Himalayas, namely: Xiangshou Fairy Peak, Cuiyan Fairy Peak, Zhenhui Fairy Peak, Guanyong Fairy Peak, and Shiren Fairy Peak, standing on the edge of the southwest, guarding this happy paradise; The Cuiyan Fairy Peak is Everest, she is the highest peak of Shijie today, and the local people affectionately call it "Goddess Peak".

One day in Zuihou in October, a group of handsome and handsome young people came to Zhangmu Town, overlooking the Goddess Peak!