CGTN Documentary

China’s space program has entered a new stage of deep space exploration, Chinese engineers have overcome the technical challenges by using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel to power rocket engines. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

Both Venice and Dunhuang are places that had forged their own way in the world. The extent to which they have been successful in that mission is evidenced by the material goods, ideas and culture that connect them to places all around the globe. In this episode, murals, ancient Dunhuang scripts and oil paintings in museums throughout the world are examined to trace the evolution of these two citie...

Dunhuang is a place ruled by extremes. Extreme dryness and cold account for the pristine preservation of the glories of Tang Dynasty Dunhuang in the the world-famous Mogao grottoes. Venice is a city where moisture poses a constant threat to the survival of one of the glories of world civilization. This episode tells the story of the lengths both cities have gone to keep their cultural gems protect...

While everyone knows that Venice almost literally rose from the sea, fewer perhaps are aware that Dunhuang grew out of a different kind of sea - a sea of sand! But while it was camel caravans that ferried Dunhuang’s wealth and drove its rise to prosperity in the Tang Dynasty, in Venice’s case it was sail-power that saw it rise as a power in the medieval Mediterranean. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qi...

Dunhuang and Venice - very different places, thousands of miles apart! Yet there’s a bond that links them: both bear witness to the glorious history of the land that gave them birth. Join us as we piece together a jigsaw composed of art, literature, architecture, trade and history in a quest to discover how these miracles of sand and sea came to be! Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: L...

Over the course of 600 years, generation after generation of craftsmen have worked tirelessly to preserve the unique heritage of the Forbidden City. Whenever they find a problem, no matter how small, it’s made good as quickly as possible. Thanks to all the timely attention to detail, the palace remains as solid and beautiful as ever. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Edit...

In 2018, Yangxin Dian, or the Hall of Mental Cultivation, underwent a grand restoration, with experts from the Department of Construction Management at the Palace Museum working day and night to renew this historic part of the complex - a project full of challenges but endlessly engaging and full of surprises. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor...

To mark the 600th birthday of the Forbidden City in 2020, the Palace Museum staged a grand exhibition in three halls above the Meridian Gate, the main entrance to the Forbidden City. Featuring over 450 cultural relics and historical photos, the exhibition showcased the Palace’s layout, architecture and court-life. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Superv...

On the frigid Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, patrol rangers dedicate to protect wild animals and their habitats. Meanwhile, in the dense jungle of Yunnan, a professor has launched an initiative to protect China’s indigenous plants. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

In this episode, we get a glimpse of the spirit of daring that is driving forward China’s entrepreneurs and captains of industry to ever-greater success. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

In 2014, some schools in the United Kingdom experimented with Shanghai’s innovative mathematics teaching methodology, bringing the education with Chinese characteristics to the West. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

For 10 years now, many college students, determined to do their bit for rural rejuvenation, have been giving the Chinese countryside a makeover. Episode 2 focuses on their efforts and the changes they’ve brought to their hometown. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

In this episode, the intrepid engineers traveled thousands of miles across the Indian ocean to the Maldives with the story of Made-in-China. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

Whether celebrated on the coast of the South China Sea or in the vast expanses of the country’s north, the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner, no matter how it varies from place to place, has the same joyous sense of occasion. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

Amid the warmth of New Year celebrations, people in China feel a sense of togetherness, and affinity to their local customs and the dishes they will eat. Looking forward, together, to the fresh start that the New Year will bring, the affection they feel for their native place is plain to see. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

At Chinese New Year, dinner tables across the nation are filled with special dishes and delicacies, from land and from sea, that are often unique to their region. In this sense, the New Year’s Eve family dinner is an occasion when the bounty of the year, with all of its gifts of the changing seasons, is brought together in a single place. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief...

Wherever you go in China during the Lunar New Year, whether north or south, east or west, city or countryside, the site of a family gathered for a delicious reunion dinner is universal. It is during this ritual that close relatives, who may not have seen each other for months, share their experiences of the year gone by and look forward to the one to come. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Prod...

Whatever form it takes, no matter how it tastes or how it’s cooked, rice reflects the cultures and destinies of the peoples it sustains and nurtured. In this episode, we look at how rice spread across Eurasia and came to be cultivated in Europe and how the unstinting efforts of Chinese scientists are improving rice output and optimizing the crop's value. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Produc...

In this episode, we take a look at how rice became the linchpin of an economy that determined the rise and fall of dynasties and which had been inextricably linked to the fate of the Chinese people ever since. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

In this episode, we take a look at how rice became the linchpin of an economy that determined the rise and fall of dynasties and which had been inextricably linked to the fate of the Chinese people ever since. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

As Chinese civilization spread, many ancient Chinese began to dream of distant vistas. Braving the raging seas, they brought not only new ideas to the lands they visited, but also rice seeds. In this episode, we trace the journey of rice across the ocean to Japan and show how it spawned a new way of life and culture. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Sup...

As a crop, rice was originally cultivated in the southern part of China. So how did it make its way to the northern reaches of the country? In this episode, we find that the tale of its spread across China almost amounts to a history of an entire civilization! Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

Rice is a worldwide foodstuff that has played a fundamental role in shaping human civilization. In this episode, we trace the journey of rice to China's Yangtze River region and further south, the heartlands of prehistoric rice cultivation, to reveal the epic human story behind this seemingly simple grain. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wa...

British porcelain designer Guy Thompson is working on a hexagon lampshade in Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain capital. For him, making the lampshade is not just a challenge. It’s part of a life-changing decision. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou

Jehanne de Biolley is an accessory designer from Belgium. Jehanne is working on pieces for the new season. She got inspired by an art form from the mountains in southwest China’s Guizhou Province - Miao embroidery. Editor: Luo Wen Operation: Qiu Ruiqi Producer: Li Xin Chief Editor: Zhang Wan Supervisor: Wang Feizhou