The source of the Mekong River is high up in the Tibetan plateau, from there it flows into Yunnan Province, China, where our journey begins. Even though Yunnan occupies less than 4% of China’s land, it is home to over half of its birds and mammals. This is due to Yunnan’s unique position between temperate East Asia and the tropical south. The Mekong River flows from high altitude alpine forests down to low tropical regions dropping an astonishing 4500 metres in elevation as it carves its 1800 kilometre route through China into Laos. It’s this variation in habitats that gives rise to Yunnan’s dazzling array of wildlife.