CGTN Documentary

Christoph John is a German designer who has embraced local culture since moving with his family to Qingshan, a small mountain village in China’s coastal province of Zhejiang. In collaboration with Tianjin native Zhang Lei, with whom he studied in Europe, he reinvented traditional oil-paper umbrellas, integrating them into contemporary design and daily life. Other creative efforts from the duo have...

In 1962 the Chinese government established a mechanized forest farm to transform the barren land of Saihanba, with great success. Since then, successive generations have carried that legacy forward, guarding the precious woodland under their charge with pride and diligence. Now, in the new era of development, a new generation of foresters have focused their attention on forest management, ecologic...

Over the span of six decades, three generations of forestry workers in Saihanba have cultivated more than 200 square kilometers of forest made up of over 300 million thriving trees. Continuing in their footsteps, a new generation of workers have also answered the call, assuming vital roles such as fire prevention and pest control. Empowered by cutting-edge technology, they are fully committed to s...

2023 marks the 61th anniversary of Saihanba National Forest Park, where expansive woods drape the mountains of northern China in a luxurious cloak of vibrant green. Few people who visit it, however, know that half a century ago they would have been presented, instead, with barren wasteland. The pioneers who restored it were 127 young graduates and 242 forestry workers who, in just a few decades, a...

The adventure continues. In Jilin Province, China, French snowboard Olympian Thomas Mermillod-Blondin is having the time of his life in Jilin city - learning to drive a horse-drawn sleigh on Wusong Island before hotfooting it to stay with a Manchu family in the ancient village of Hantun. Meanwhile, over in Savoie, Wang Lei is getting to grips with dog sledding and trying his hand at something he’s...

Three intrepid men and an epic winter expedition - one that will take them from the mysterious Changbai Mountains in northeast China to the mighty Alps! In this episode, Chinese national snowboarding team coach Nino de Silvestri travels to Jilin in northeast China’s Jilin Province to pit himself against the winter snow drifts and get a glimpse of the bountiful natural resources of the Changbai Mou...

As an ancient city with a history of over 800 years, Beijing still retains remarkable vigor, the secret of which is the harmonious integration that has taken place along its Central Axis. In episode 3, a foreign architect who participated in the Beijing Olympics and acted as an adviser on Beijing’s urban planning projects shares, from his own experience and understanding of the city, how the Centr...

What does Beijing’s Central Axis really mean to the city and its people? This is a question that has intrigued sound designer Huang Ruogu for years. One day she hit on the idea of recording the various sounds to be found along the axis for an immersive sound experience project, and her Walk Along the Central Axis came into being. Her aim in putting them together has been to rediscover the history,...

Throughout history, humans have built cities and given each of them a unique character. In this regard, nothing distinguishes Beijing more than its north-south Central Axis. Extending for 7.8 kilometers, the axis bisects the city and defines its layout. In episode one, foreign architects, urban planners, visual artists and sinologists share their interpretation of this meridian, along which the ca...

Transformation side by side with unchanging values and traditions - that’s how the people of Xinjiang view their traditional culture! So, in Episode 3, we get a close-up of two time-honored and timeless traditions that are still going strong in Xinjiang: the art of falconry and fur skiing. For many Xinjiang locals, falconry is seen as a way of reaching up into the skies and heavens, while fur skii...

Xinjiang, home to 47 ethnic groups, is famed far and wide for its diversity. Kind, passionate, and closely connected to each other, the inhabitants of this place are to work hand in hand to shape Xinjiang’s future as a land full of color and vigor! In episode 2, we listen to ancient Kirghiz songs performed on an instrument known as the Kumuz, go to Kashgar to witness age-old traditions of craftsma...

Xinjiang’s amazing terrain is woven around three mountain ranges and cradles two great basins encompassing the second largest desert in the whole of Asia. Thanks to this diversified landscape it’s a place of endless possibilities waiting to reveal themselves, so no wonder so many are fascinated and bewitched by Xinjiang’s unique character. In episode one, four people from four different ethnic gro...

In 1823, a young man named Lei Lyutai from Pingyao, Shanxi Province, invented a transaction method whereby rather than transporting actual silver - with all the risks that entailed - a single promissory note was used instead. What he didn’t expect was that this ingenious idea would transform ancient China’s system of finance. So it was that new economic vistas were opened up - all thanks to a pape...

Beijing’s north-south Central Axis extends for 7.8 kilometers, bisecting the city and defining its character. The buildings and urban sprawl along it are arranged purposefully to express the Chinese ideal of national order. Now, we’re given some new perspectives – this time through the eyes of outsiders. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu...

In 1962, 127 agricultural and forestry graduates were sent to Saihanba, together with the 242 foresters already there, to complete an almost impossible task: to establish a large-scale mechanized forest farm in the desert. After years of trial and error, they eventually covered the once barren land in hundreds of square kilometers of forest in just a few decades. Thanks to their heroic efforts, th...

In 2012, “Piao”, a chair constructed out of paper, won the top prize at the Salone Satellite of Milan Furniture Fair. The designers of the artwork, German designer Chistoph John and his Chinese partners, took the crafting technique from one of China’s intangible cultural heritages—the Yuhang oil-paper umbrella—and created this award-winning piece of art. From a regular oil-paper umbrella to a chai...

A New Land-Sea Corridor has revitalized the former revolutionary base of Zunyi, in southwest China, by breaking its isolation from the world. Since opening to traffic, the rail, road and waterway network has boosted the export efficiency of a local steel cable manufacturer and the development of the Zunyi Free Trade Zone. With freight passing smoothly through the city’s Gelaoba station, the city h...

Using special brushes, the artists of the Yunnan School of Inner Painting vividly depict the beauty of their province on the inside of bottles. Their art merges local elements and diverse ethnic cultures to showcase its charm in three dimensions. Let’s follow our Bangladeshi guest to the ancient town of Guandu to experience this captivating intangible cultural heritage. Editor: Luo Wen Operation:...

Characterized by signature Kung Fu dishes, Huaiyang culinary tradition transforms ordinary ingredients into edible art through exceptional knife skills and cooking techniques, standing as a timeless emblem of Chinese gastronomy. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu Changying

Shi Jinmo was well known for his skill as a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, but it is perhaps for his innovations in the field that he would be most remembered. In addition to introducing inpatient care, he experimented with merging Western pharmaceutical techniques with Chinese herbal remedies; endeavors that solidified his reputation as a visionary pioneer. Editor: Luo Wen Operatio...

The gray heron is a veritable master of fishing. And now, thanks for the infrared cameras of Jiangxi’s Poyang Lake National Nature Reserve, we can see exactly what makes them the expert hunters that they are! Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu Changying

There’s perhaps no better place on earth for the Tibetan macaque than the Xianxialing Provincial Nature Reserve. Just what a paradise it is for these monkeys is revealed by the secret eyes installed in this natural wonderland! Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu Changying

Golden snub-nosed monkeys migrate according to pre-established routes, moving deftly from tree to tree. What better place than Shennongjia National Nature Reserve to get a closer look at this ingenious animal! Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu Changying

Sclater’s monal is one of the world’s only three monal species. With a total population of less than 10,000 individuals, Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve in Yunnan is one of the few places where these birds can be seen in all their glory. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu Changying

Xinjiang Altun Mountains National Nature Reserve in China’s far west, a landscape of lakes wilderness that’s a paradise for wild yaks. Nothing is more magnificent than the sight of herds of them in the region’s sandy mountains! Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Liu Changying