Nyingchi's pine-fleeced snowcaps are said to resemble the Swiss Alps. [Photo provided by Erik Nilsson/China Daily]

Many travelers flock to the Water Terrace scenic area by the Negega Bridge in Manling's Paizhen town to experience the river's thunderous rapids while quietly sipping tea.

Much of yawning chasm is encrusted by glaciers, lacerated by torrential rivers and traced by jutting precipices that frequently shake off their stony hides, detonating avalanches of rock, slush and muck.

Swathes of the ravine are so treacherous that sections of it linger among Earth's last unexplored locales. But this unknown is exactly what lures researchers eager to unlock this geological treasure trove's final mysteries.