Wild China
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| Wild China | |
 Series title card |
|
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV) |
|---|---|
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Episode duration | 60 minutes |
| Creator(s) | BBC Natural History Unit, CCTV |
| Producer(s) | Phil Chapman, Gao Xiaoping, Gavin Maxwell, Kathryn Jeffs, Charlotte Scott, George Chan |
| Executive producer(s) | Brian Leith |
| Narrated by | Bernard Hill |
| Music by | Barnaby Taylor |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| First shown on | BBC Two |
| Original run | 11 May– 15 June 2008 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
Wild China is a six-part nature documentary series co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and China Central Television (CCTV) and filmed in high definition. It was screened in the UK on BBC Two beginning on 11 May 2008.[1].
The series is the culmination of the Natural History Unit's "Continents" strand and was preceded by Wild Caribbean in 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Production
The production team were granted unprecedented access to remote parts of China including the ancient Han kingdom, the Tibetan plateau, the Mongol steppes and the Uygur desert, enabling them to film and document the country's diverse wildlife and wild landscapes more comprehensively than ever before. The series also marks the first time that CCTV has collaborated with a foreign company.[2]
The musical score to accompany the series has been composed by Barnaby Taylor and is performed by Cheng Yu and the UK Chinese Ensemble.[3]
[edit] Episodes
"We want the Chinese to feel proud of their countryside and wildlife, to care about it and to seek to ensure its survival. We also hope to redress the negative view of China's environment propagated in western media."
– Series Producer Phil Chapman, writing in BBC Wildlife magazine
[edit] 1. Heart of the Dragon
Broadcast 11 May 2008, the first programme in the series concentrates on South China, where the climate and terrain is ideal for rice cultivation. The terraced paddy fields of Yuanyang County plunge 2000 metres down steep hillsides to the Red River valley, and are some of the oldest man-made structures in China. In a Miao household in Guizhou province, the arrival of red-rumped swallows signals the time for planting. Other creatures which benefit from the rice monoculture include little egrets and Chinese pond herons. Of the hundreds of caves beneath the limestone hills of the karst region, few have been explored. At Zhongdong, an entire community, including a school, lives in the shelter of a cave. Francois langur, a rare primate, use their rock-climbing skills to enter caves at night for protection. Other cave dwellers include swifts and Rickett’s mouse eared bats, filmed for the first time catching fish in the dark. Freshwater creatures are an important resource for the people of South China. The Li River cormorant fishermen now only practice their art for tourists, but at Caohai Lake, dragonfly nymphs are a unique and valuable harvest. Some delicacies, such as freshwater turtles, are vanishingly rare. Chinese alligators only survive in Anhui province thanks to dedicated conservation efforts. A troop of Huangshan macaques is shown retreating to the safety of the treetops when a venomous Chinese moccasin is spotted. After the autumn rice harvest, migratory birds including tundra swans and Siberian cranes gather at Poyang Lake.[4]
[edit] 2. Shangri-La
Broadcast 18 May 2008, this episode profiles the rich biodiversity of south-western Yunnan province. Forming the eastern boundary of the Himalaya, the Hengduan Mountains have buckled into a series of parallel ridges running north-south. The Nujiang River is one of a succession of deep gorges that carve their way through the mountains. In summer, monsoon rainclouds from the Indian Ocean are funnelled up the valleys, creating a unique climate in which species from the tropics can flourish at a more northerly latitude. Yunnan’s 18,000 plant species, of which 3,000 are found nowhere else, attracted Western botanists and explorers such as Joseph Rock. In the snowbound forests surrounding the pilgrimage site of Kawakarpo (6740m), rare Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys are filmed feeding on lichen. In the Gaoligong Mountains, tropical and alpine plants grow side by side. Birdlife filmed here includes endemic sunbirds feeding on epiphytes and the courtship display of a Temminck's tragopan. The fruiting trees attract bear macaques and black giant squirrels, whilst China’s 250 remaining wild Asian elephants forage below. A bamboo bat colony is filmed at their roost inside a single stem; each bat is the size of a bumblebee. A giant elephant yam flower is pollinated by carrion beetles at night. Black crested gibbons are filmed in the forests of Wuliangshan. The people of Yunnan include the Dai, Hani and Jino tribes, each of whom regard the forests as sacred and harvest them sustainably, but modern times are bringing new threats such as rubber plantations and tourism.[5]
[edit] 3. Tibet
One of China's most important wildlife reserves, the Chang Tang, features extensively in the third episode. Comprising 334,000km² of the north-western highlands of Tibet, it is the world's second largest protected area. Animals filmed in the reserve include Tibetan wild ass, pika, wild yak and herds of chiru (Tibetan antelope). The shifting sands of the Taklamakan desert are also featured.
[edit] 4. Beyond the Great Wall
China's northern interior comprises millions of square kilometres of high altitude plains and uninhabited desert, stretching all the way from Inner Mongolia to western Kazakhstan.
[edit] 5. Land of the Panda
The fifth instalment, broadcast 8 June 2008, features central China, home to the Han Chinese. They are the largest ethnic group on Earth, and their language Mandarin the most widely spoken. The programme looks at how the relationship between people and wildlife has changed over time. Ancient Chinese beliefs placed great importance in the harmonious co-existence of man and nature. At the beginning of China’s period of rapid economic growth, this ideal was largely forgotten. A number of political references contrast the more enlightened environmental policies of the current government with those under Chairman Mao, which led to widespread degradation. The Chinese alligator and crested ibis are two species saved from extinction by direct intervention. Other animals have benefited from ancient spiritual beliefs and customs which live on, promoting respect and reverence for wildlife: the yellow weasels and Mandarin ducks of Beijing are two such creatures. However, wildlife is still threatened by illegal poaching for food and traditional medicine. West of Beijing lie the fertile lands of the North China Plain and the Loess plateau, source of the Yellow River. Increased demand for water has changed the river’s flow, and soil erosion causes dust storms which reach the capital. Further west, the Qinling Mountains are a refuge for some of China’s rarest species including the takin, golden snub-nosed monkey and giant panda. Giant panda courtship and mating is shown, filmed for the first time in the wild. In the colourful lakes of Jiuzhaigou, unique fish swim amongst forests preserved underwater.[6]
[edit] 6. Tides of Change
China's 14,500km long coastline supports a population of 600 million people, but even here there is still room for nature. Stretching from frozen Dalian in the north to the tropics of Hainan, it is home to a great variety of wildlife, including migratory wading birds and the coral reefs of the South China Sea.
[edit] Merchandise
A DVD and book have been released to accompany the TV series:
- A Region 2, 2-disc DVD set (BBCDVD2146) featuring all six full-length episodes was released on 9 June 2008.[7]
- The accompanying paperback book, Wild China: The Hidden Wonders of the World's Most Enigmatic Land by series producer Phil Chapman, was published by BBC Books on 8 May 2008 (ISBN 1-846-07233-6).[8]
A forthcoming blu-ray release (BBCBD0025), due on 15 September 2008, will present the series in full high-definition format.[9]
[edit] References
- ^ Wild China: Coming Soon. NatureWatch blog. Retrieved on 2008-04-19.
- ^ "BBC Worldwide unveils Wild China", BBC Press Office, October 12, 2006.
- ^ Cheng Yu and the UK Chinese Ensemble. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ "Heart of the Dragon". Produced and directed by Phil Chapman. Wild China. BBC. BBC Two. 2008-05-11.
- ^ "Shangri-La". Produced and directed by Kathryn Jeffs. Wild China. BBC. BBC Two. 2008-05-18.
- ^ "Land of the Panda". Produced and directed by Gavin Maxwell. Wild China. BBC. BBC Two. 2008-06-08.
- ^ Wild China DVD. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
- ^ Wild China book. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
- ^ Wild China Blu-ray. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-06-13.
