Climbing the stairs to the second floor feels like ascending 4,800 meters in elevation, from tropical monsoon rainforest to alpine scree. At the top, a viewing window frames a snowy mountain.

Guo Yingqian, general manager of the Chinese National Geography Camp, describes the station as a kind of micro-museum in nature.

"Traditional stations were places to rest," she explains. "Tourist centers are reception and display buildings for scenic areas. Our nature station resembles a compact, open structure that uses interactive installations and scientific exhibits to interpret the local natural ecology and cultural stories."

The Nyingchi station is designed as an urban installation that systematically interprets the concept of an ecological community encompassing mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands, deserts, and glaciers.

The camp team plans to divide China into roughly 50 unique geographic units based on six natural zones and eight ecosystems, and establish nature stations or centers in each.