In the 13th Century, Genghis Khan embarked on a mission to take over Eurasia, swiftly conquering countries and drawing them into his expanding Mongol Empire.

在十三世紀，成吉思汗展現統治歐亞大陸的野心，他迅速地征服各個國家，並將它們納入擴張中的蒙古帝國版圖。

With his vast armies he became almost unstoppable.

他和他所率領的百萬雄兵幾乎是所向無敵。

But, legend has it that there was one obstacle that even the impressive Khan couldn't overcome.

但據說讓人敬畏的成吉思汗，也遇到了一個無法克服的障礙。

A towering wall of ice, grown by locals across a mountain pass to stop the Khan's armies from invading their territory.

一道由當地人沿著山路所建的高聳冰牆，阻止了成吉思汗軍隊的入侵。

No one knows how historically accurate that particular story is, but remarkably, it draws on fact.

沒有人知道這段歷史故事的正確性，但值得注意的是， 它借鑑了一個事實。

For centuries, in the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges, people have been growing glaciers and using these homemade bodies of ice as sources of drinking water and irrigation for their crops.

數世紀以來，在喀拉崑崙山脈及喜馬拉雅山脈區域，居民都會培育冰河， 並用這些自製的冰塊當作飲用水及灌溉作物的來源。

But before we get to that fascinating phenomenon, it's important to understand the difference between glaciers that grow in the wild, and those that humans create.

但在我們聊聊這個很炫的現象之前，很重要的一點是要了解自然生成的冰河與人造的冰河有何不同。

In the wild, glaciers require three conditions to grow.

大自然所孕育的冰河， 需具備三個條件。

Snowfall, cold temperatures, and time.

下雪、低溫以及時間。

First, a great deal of snow falls and accumulates.

首先，要有大量的降雪以及積雪。

Cold temperatures then ensure that the stacked up snow persists throughout the winter, spring, summer, and fall.

接著，低溫可以確保堆積起來的雪能挺過冬天、春天、夏天及秋天。

Over the following years, decades, and centuries, the pressure of the accumulated snow transforms layers into highly compacted glacial ice.

在後續的數年、數十年、數世紀，積雪的壓力將堆積成層的雪轉變成密實的冰河。

Artificially growing a glacier, however, is completely different.

然而，人工製造的冰河完全是另一回事。

At the confluence of three great mountain ranges, the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush, some local cultures have believed for centuries that glaciers are alive.

在三座巨大山脈的匯流處，即喜馬拉雅、喀拉崑崙 及興都庫什三座山脈，有些當地文化數世紀以來都相信冰河是活的。

And what's more, that certain glaciers can have different genders, including male and female.

不只如此，某些冰河還有不同的性別，包括雄性和雌性。

Local Glacier Growers "breed" new glaciers by grafting together—or marrying—fragments of ice from male and female glaciers.

培育冰河的當地人會為新的冰河做「育種」，把雄性和雌性冰河的部分嫁接在一起——或說讓它們結婚，

Then covering them with charcoal, wheat husks, cloths, or willow branches so they can reproduce.

接著用木炭、小麥外殼、布或柳樹樹枝將它們蓋起來，讓它們可以繁殖。

Under their protective coverings, these glacierets transform into fully active glaciers that grow each year with additional snowfall.

在覆蓋物的保護之下，這些冰河會轉變成完全活躍的冰河，並每年都會隨著額外的降雪而成長。

Those then serve as lasting reserves of water that farmers can use to irrigate their crops.

那些冰河就會變成永續的儲備水源，讓農夫可以用來灌溉他們的作物。

These practices have spread to other cultures, where people are creating their own versions of glaciers and applying them to solve serious modern challenges around water supplies.

這些做法已傳播給其他的文化，其他文化又創造出自己獨特的冰河版本，運用它們來解決現代供水的難題。

Take Ladakh, a high-altitude desert region in northern India.

以拉達克為例，它位在北印度海拔極高的沙漠區。

It sits in the rain shadow of the Himalayas and receives on average fewer than ten centimeters of rain per year.

它的位置剛好在喜馬拉雅山的雨蔭中，每年的平均降雨量還不到十公分。

As local glaciers shrink because of climate change, regional water scarcity is increasing.

氣候變遷造成當地的冰河縮小，地區性的缺水越來越頻繁。

And so, local people have started growing their own glaciers as insurance against this uncertainty.

所以，當地的人開始培育他們自己的冰河，為不確定性的供水採取保險措施。

These glaciers come in two types: horizontal, and vertical.

這些冰河可以分為兩類：水平的和垂直的。

Horizontal glaciers are formed when farmers redirect glacier meltwater into channels and pipes.

平冰河的形成方式，是由農夫將冰河融水重新導入水道和管線中。

Then carefully siphon it off into a series of basins made from stones and earth.

接著小心地將它們虹吸至一連串用石頭和泥土製成的池中。

Villagers minutely control the release of water into these reservoirs, waiting for each new layer to freeze before filling the basin with another wave.

村民時時刻刻在控制水流入這些貯水池的流量，等新的一層冰結起來之後，又會有新一波的水會注滿水池。

In early spring, these frozen pools begin to melt, supplying villagers with irrigation for their fields.

在早春時，這些結冰的池子會開始融化，供應村民田地所需要的灌溉用水。

Local people make vertical glaciers using the meltwater from already-existing glaciers high above their villages.

當地人製造垂直冰河用的是融水，融水來自村落上頭的既有冰河。

The meltwater enters channels that run downhill, flowing until it reaches a crop site where it bursts forth from a pipe pointing straight into the air.

融水進入水道後流下山，一直到達作物種植地，水會在種植地中從水管向空中噴出。

When winter temperatures dip, this water freezes as it arcs out of the pipe, ultimately forming a 50 meter ice sculpture called a stupa, shaped like an upside-down ice cream cone.

當冬天的溫度下降時，這些從水管以弧形噴出的水會結冰，最終形成五十公尺的冰雕塔，形狀就像倒過來的冰淇淋甜筒。

This inverted form minimizes the amount of surface area it exposes to the sun in the spring and summer.

這種上下顛倒的形狀， 讓它在春天和夏天時受到日曬的表面積達到最小。

That ensures that the mini-glacier melts slowly and provides a reliable supply of water to feed the farmers' crops.

這樣就能確保這條迷你冰河會慢慢融化，並提供可靠的水源給農夫的作物。

These methods may be ancient, but they're becoming more relevant as climate change takes its toll on our planet.

這些方法可能很古老，但隨著氣候變遷在地球上肆虐，這些方法也變得越來越重要。

In fact, people are now growing their own glaciers in many regions beyond Ladakh.

事實上，在拉達克以外的許多地方都有人們開始培育自己的冰河。

Swiss people, utilizing modern glacier growing technology, created their first stupa in 2016 in the Swiss Alps.

瑞士人利用現代的冰河製造技術，於 2016 年在瑞士阿爾卑斯山脈創造出他們的第一座冰塔。

There are plans for over 100 more in villages in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

另外還計畫要在巴基斯坦、哈薩克及吉爾吉斯坦共和國的村落中製造超過一百座冰塔。

Perhaps one day we'll be able to harness our homegrown glaciers well enough to build whole walls of ice.

也許有天我們能善用自家培育的冰河來建立一座冰牆。

This time not for keeping people out, but to enable life in some of the planet's harshest landscapes.

只是這次不是用來阻擋敵人，而是讓生命能夠繼續生存在地球上最嚴酷的地景上。

As Nikola Tesla said, the progressive development of man is vitally dependent on invention.

尼古拉．特斯拉曾說：「人類逐漸的發展與發明脫不了關係。」

Check out this playlist to see some of the ingenious inventions, giving us hope for a brighter future.

看看這個播放清單裡超天才的發明如何帶給我們更舒適的未來。