In more than 100 countries around the world, people are planting a kind of miraculous grass that can be used to grow mushrooms, feed animals, and much more.

China’s mountainous terrain makes cross-country travel quite the challenge. But the nation’s extensive tunneling system and technology has made rapid progress connecting hard-to-reach parts of the country, with its total tunnel mileage ranking first in the world.

The Asian Crested ibis is one of the world’s most rare birds. And if it were not for a small group of conservationists in China’s remote and idyllic Qinling mountains, they may have completely vanished from the earth. Nature Contributor, Kyle Obermann, shares the story.