Docus tell story of China from different angles

Shanghai Media Group (SMG) will launch a regular weekly time slot on Dragon TV for high-quality homegrown documentaries starting January 4 – a collaboration between the group's Dragon TV and Documentary Center.

A group of Chinese documentaries will be aired on Tuesdays at 10pm that tell Chinese stories from various perspectives.

Most of the documentaries are planned and produced by the Documentary Center. They focus on China's approaches to improving people's lives, as well as Chinese culture, aesthetics and wisdom.

Throughout the year, the documentaries will be shown in four chapters – Heaven and Earth, Human World, Origin and Insight Into Today.

Heaven and Earth will exhibit a series of nature and geography documentaries to demonstrate the diversity of China's physical and cultural geography.

Vast landscapes and rich natural resources will be displayed in productions like "The Taihu Lake," "Tibet: The Road of Nature," "Our Beautiful Prairie" and "Our National Park: Wuyishan Mountains."

Human World examines ordinary people's lives with touching stories. The eight-episode documentary series "Frontline," a joint effort between SMG and the Shanghai Fire and Rescue Brigade, follows the hazardous work of the city's firefighters. "Aspiring Jobs in China" records how ordinary Chinese people pursue their dreams through entrepreneurship in the digital era.

Origin chronicles the development of Chinese civilization in several history and archeology documentaries, such as "Traditional Villages in Southern Yangtze River" and "What Makes China." Additionally, the third season of "Faith Makes Great" will be part of this chapter, with stories about the devotion and spirit of Communist Party of China members.

Insight Into Today comprises a series of documentaries that demonstrate the prosperity and national rejuvenation of Chinese people under the leadership of the Party.

The second season of the five-episode documentary series "China on the Move" is an international collaboration between SMG and Discovery, with an aim to offer a panoramic, multi-dimensional view of China to the world.

It revolves around China's economic, scientific and ecological achievements and the improvement of people's livelihoods. The six-episode series "Homes Between Mountains and Waters" is centered on China's rural vitalization strategy.

According to Song Jiongming, president of SMG, generations of documentary filmmakers in Shanghai have made great strides to develop Shanghai-produced documentaries into an eye-catching cultural brand of the city.

China's first televised documentary program "Documentary Edit-room" was launched in Shanghai in 1993. SMG'S Docu TV is also China's first professional documentary channel.

"Our documentary productions will continue to take root in people's life," said Song. "Meanwhile, we will enhance our cooperation and exchanges with documentary producers home and abroad to present more outstanding works."