CCTV presents series on people and nature

A screen capture of the documentary The Third Polar. [Photo/Agencies]

China's first high-definition documentary series reflecting the relationship between people and nature on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is being shown on China Central Television on Wednesday night.

The five-episode documentary, The Third Polar, will be broadcast at 7:10 pm (Beijing time) on CCTV-4 every day until Monday. It contains about 40 stories that portray the inheritance and perseverance of traditions among Tibetan ethnic group as well as the protection of the area's environment.

Some international approaches have been used in its making, the producers say, adding that the episodes will likely charm even foreign viewers with their storytelling technique.

It took more than a year to shoot the documentary, plus about 200 days for post-production work. The crew traveled more than 100,000 kilometers on the plateau, and set many records in the history of Chinese documentaries. Underwater cameras were used for the first time inside the world's biggest lake with an altitude of more than 5,000 meters above sea level.

S.E.N.S, a Japanese instrumental group, was invited to cooperate with top Chinese musicians, such as pop and rock singer Xu Wei, to create a soundtrack for the series.

A primitive strategic cooperation plan means the documentary will also be screened on National Geographic Channel in 200 countries, making it the first made-in-China documentary directly purchased and promoted by the US network.

It will also be the opening film for the documentary section on the 5th Beijing International Film Festival, scheduled to start next month.

The documentary is expected to be released on more of CCTV's channels later this year.

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