The forces that have powered China's rise are rarely explored, while the lives of Chinese people barely get a mention. Beyond the headlines what do we really know about China and its 1.4 billion citizens?
Social & External
The people behind it
Hamish Macdonald
Self - Presenter
In a unique experiment, five teachers from China take over the education of fifty teenagers in a Hampshire school to see whether the high-ranking Chinese education system can teach us a lesson.
Billie JD Porter finds out what it’s really like to grow up in China, the country with the highest population on the planet.
Communism spread to all of the continents of the word, lasting through four generations and over seven decades. Hundreds of millions of men and women were affected by this political system, one of the most unjust and bloodiest in history. Using newly discovered propaganda films and archival photos, these four episodes explore the mysteries of this totalitarian political machine that lured its share of important followers into the fold. Known as the red church, communism seduced its ardent followers like some earthly religion.
From its highest mountains and plateaus, to its thickest jungles and bamboo forests, CHINAS HIDDEN KINGDOMS will reveal the wild side to China that few knew existed.
How did an Indian Buddhist shrine influence a Japanese pagoda? How are Italian pigs and cowry shells related to porcelain? Why did the ferocious warriors of Mongolia wear silk underwear? And how did wood block printing bring about a revolution in Japan and in European culture? These intriguing questions are investigated in Artifacts, a series that explores the origins and hidden connections among the art and artifacts of the great cultures and belief systems across Asia - on a journey through time and across continents from India to Thailand, China and Japan - to understand the impact of calligraphy, porcelain, architecture, metallurgy, wood block printing and silk on Asian history and on the history of the world in general.
A six-part series in which photographer Ruben Terlou travels from Shanghai, the most westernized part of China, to the much more traditional Tibetan city of Shangri-La. Through the stories of people he meets along the 6,300-kilometre river, Ruben discovers the real China, forty years after Mao’s death.
Andrew Graham-Dixon undertakes an epic journey to uncover the art of China.
Reggie discovers contemporary China, diving deep into four megacities in search of the new generations transforming their future.
Nigel heads to China to learn about giant pandas for his latest adventure. He visits the beautiful reserves the pandas inhabit, before heading into the wild to achieve his ambition of being the first presenter to be filmed with a giant panda in its native habitat. He is also astonished to witness a brown panda cub, one of only five known to science. Along his journey Nigel meets the other amazing creatures that live in the bamboo forest, including naughty macaques, golden snub-nosed monkeys and fluffy bamboo rats. He also feeds adorable red pandas, distant relatives of the giant panda.
The adventures of Irish-American writer and comedian Des Bishop as he moves to China for a year in order to learn Mandarin and eventually attempt to perform a one-man stand up comedy show for a Chinese audience.
Experience one of the most fascinating phenomena of our times - the rapid evolution of the world's most populous nation from a secluded land of mystery to an economic powerhouse welcoming the modern world. In this compelling four-part series, China Rises takes you inside this dynamic country - from jeep joyriding in the Gobi Desert to a factory floor in Zhejiang Province, from walking the red carpet at the Shanghai Film Festival to staging a pop concert at the Great Wall, from police rescuing abducted women to experts training astronauts, from celebrating Chinese Central Television's new state-of-the-art headquarters to transforming controversial Tiananmen Square into an Olympic beach volleyball court. The seismic changes happening in China today reflect a potent mixture of dreams and despair, with consequences that will shape the future of the entire planet.
Tracing Xi Jinping's defining moments, how he's exercising his power and the impact on China and relations with the U.S.
In the heart of Beijing lies the largest palace in the world, The Forbidden City. For five hundred years, it served as the home of the almighty Emperors of China along with their wives, concubines, and entourages of tens of thousands of eunuchs and civil servants. But the Forbidden City is more than an imperial residence; it is the center of the universe, a unique complex of structures revealing a hierarchy of power both imperial and divine.
Oscar and Grammy Award-winning producer and artist Mark Ronson explores the intersection of technology and musical innovation with his heroes and fellow hitmakers – including Paul McCartney, DJ Premier, Charli XCX, Dave Grohl, and Questlove.
Morgan Freeman presents his quest in order to find how most religions perceive life after death, what different civilizations thought about the act of creation and other big questions that mankind has continuously asked.
This docuseries captures the remarkable rise and unprecedented success of one of the most dominant and iconic franchises in professional sports. Featuring exclusive access to the Buss Family and probing, revealing interviews with players, coaches, and front office execs, this series chronicles this extraordinary story from the inside – told only by the people who lived it.
Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.
American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.
TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.
Executive producer Jon Favreau invites the cast and crew of The Mandalorian to share an unprecedented look at the making of the series. Each chapter explores a different facet of the first live-action Star Wars television show through interviews, never-before-seen footage, and roundtable conversations hosted by Favreau himself.
Explore American cinema through the decades and the cultural, societal and political shifts that framed its evolution.
This docuseries takes an unprecedented look at the enduring and influential legacy of DC, allowing fans to rediscover the universe of characters, as well as the iconic comic book company’s origins, its evolution and its nearly nine-decade cultural impact across every artistic medium.
Don Wildman unearths relics from the world's greatest institutions to reveal secrets from the past. He examines each artifact to illuminate history's most incredible triumphs, sensational crimes and bizarre encounters.
Explore Ali’s challenges, confrontations, comebacks and triumphs through recordings of his own voice. The two-part documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who was a beacon of hope for oppressed people around the world and, in his later years, was recognized as a global citizen and a symbol of humanity and understanding.
Actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in a travel show that explores healthy, sustainable ways to live.
MegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an educational look of varying depth into the construction, operation, and staffing of various structures or construction projects, but not ordinary construction products. Generally containing interviews with designers and project managers, it presents the problems of construction and the methodology or techniques used to overcome obstacles. In some cases this involved the development of new materials or products that are now in general use within the construction industry. MegaStructures focuses on constructions that are extreme; in the sense that they are the biggest, tallest, longest, or deepest in the world. Alternatively, a project may appear if it had an element of novelty or are a world first. This type of project is known as a Megaproject.
For the first time ever, global superstar, Ed Sheeran opens the doors to a definitive and searingly honest view into his private life as he explores the universal themes that inspire his music. This series follows Ed after he learns of life changing news and reveals his hardships and triumphs during the most challenging period of his life. Featuring exclusive footage behind his iconic hits, never-before-seen personal archive with his friends and family, and epic stadium performances giving insight into Ed’s world.
A unique fusion of blue chip natural history and earth science that explains how our living planet operates. This five-part series shows how the forces of nature drive, shape and support Earth’s great diversity of wildlife.
A rare look at warring animal clans battling for survival in a remote region of Africa, which is drying up after years of flood-soaked abundance.
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.
A British genealogy documentary series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, discovering secrets and surprises from their past.
Explores the experiences of James Safechuck and Wade Robson, who were both befriended and sexually abused by singer Michael Jackson, and the complicated feelings that led them both to confront their experiences.
Chris is on a mission to live better for longer. With the help of top scientists, he takes on six epic challenges to test mind and body to the max.