Doc series chronicles city's development

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, “Grand Shanghai,” an eight-part documentary series, will be aired on Dragon TV starting on Monday.

The series traces the historical development and achievements of Shanghai since its port opened in 1843.

According to director Xu Guanqun, the filmmakers studied historical materials to document how Shanghai developed into a metropolis with generations of people’s efforts.

It took around three years to produce the documentary. The crew visited approximately 100 historical sites in the city, as well as libraries and archives in Europe and the United States.

They also interviewed more than 150 experts and scholars in over 20 cities such as Beijing, Nanjing and Guangzhou.

The series was edited and produced from about 1,000 hours of original visual material. Remarkable historical events are featured in the documentary, including the founding of New Youth magazine, the development and opening-up of Pudong, establishment of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the host of the China International Import Expo.

In addition to Dragon TV, the series will also be aired on Shanghai Media Group's documentary channel from Monday to September 30, as well as on major video websites.