This is China Series
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Rhythm of Chongqing. From tiny village to metropolis: China’s hidden mega-city
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Pandaland. Helping giant panda cubs return to the wild
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The Secrets of Wudang Wushu. Chinese Monks Perfect a Chinese Martial Art
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Shenzhen: City of the Future. The high-tech life of China’s Silicon Valley
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The Poetry of Chinese Carving. Turning bamboo and brick into works of art
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The Beijing Opera. Reality and Eternity. The deep symbolism hidden on the Chinese stage
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This is China: Yangshan City Port. The world’s biggest container port opens new Silk Road for shipping
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This is China: Chinese Speed. China's high speed rail breakthrough
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China on a Plate. From scorpion kebabs to Peking duck, we try authentic Chinese food for you
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In a Siberian Tiger's Footsteps. How Siberian tiger was brought back from brink of extinction by Russia and China
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Zhangjiajie Park: Head In The Clouds Or The Sky At Your Feet. Bai people’s timeless rural idyll in the dreamy landscapes that inspired the Avatar movie
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Etiquette Of Giving. The good Chinese gift-giving guide, from dragons to coffins
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The Secrets of Tibetan Architecture . An architect's quest to preserve Tibet’s architectural heritage
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Following The Great Tea Road. Exploring tea, an ancient drink and a pillar of Chinese culture
Zhangjiajie Park: Head In The Clouds Or The Sky At Your Feet. Bai people’s timeless rural idyll in the dreamy landscapes that inspired the Avatar movie
You may not know Zhangjiajie National Forest Park by name, but its dream-like mountainous landscapes where stone pillars emerge from the mist will be strangely familiar. The national park lies in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area of Hunan, one of South-West China’s inland provinces and serves as the model for the fairytale image we have of Chinese nature at its most serene. Its field of pillars inspired the underwater world of Pandora that director James Cameron created in the Avatar movie. One sandstone pillar that towers at 1,080 meters has now been officially renamed the Avatar Hallelujah Mountain.
Drawn by its peacefulness and beauty, tourists flock to explore Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. They can hitch an easy ride to the top on the Hundred Dragons Elevator, the highest outdoor lift in the world. Visitors can also brave their fear of heights by walking the length of the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, that juts out from the rock over a sheer 300-metre drop.
For those who live in Zhangjiajie, communion with nature is a way of life. Li Junsheng’s sandstone and gravel paintings have made the landscapes world-famous. He has also founded the local school of sandstone painting, Junsheng Art Academy. Whatever the weather, the artist scrambles in the river beds of the park in search of the natural materials he will grind into colours for the works of art he creates in his studio.
The area is also home to the Bai people, a small ethnic group that has perpetuated its rural traditions there from time immemorial. The Bai interact with nature on a daily basis, by fishing for carps with their bare hands, tending ancient tree specimens or celebrating the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival in brightly embroidered national dress. In Episode 3 of the This is China series, season 2, RTD meets some of Zhangjiajie’s happiest inhabitants, to learn the secret of simple living.
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26:4399604 January 2021 20:00
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25:2692921 September 2015 00:00
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27:282085724 July 2017 00:00
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27:30203421 April 2020 18:13
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48:59545627 October 2014 00:00
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65:57307524 September 2018 00:00
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26:241393014 October 2015 00:00
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49:4685811 January 2023 12:00