Wild China

Where are you watching from, Sun? Do you only get 2 episodes?

Here in the UK we have only had 1 out of 6 broadcast so far. The series is a co-production by the BBC and Chinese government-controlled broadcaster so the cultural/ethnographic scenes are obviously going to be portrayed favourably. They have played up the whole "rural communities caring for their local wildlife" angle (but they do taste delicious!) In China the series is called "Beautiful China" - probably a more accurate description.

I hope that when the forthcoming programmes move to less populous regions we get a lot more wildlife (Tibet, Taklamakan Desert, Yunnan rainforests). Some of the footage in episode 1 - especially the Francois langurs and Rickett's mouse-eared bats catching fish on the wing - was amazing.

There's a very good "behind-the-scenes" article here: BBC - Science & Nature - Wild China

I also agree that the narration (as is often the case with these coffee-table TV series) was a let down.

 

I watched it while in Austria on a German TV channel, all in all summarised in two episodes.

 

I would have to agree with you Pertinax it was a bit thin on the wildlife but a interesting show

 

Well, the last episode of Wild China was shown here in the UK on Sunday night, so now I can comment on the series as a whole.

Overall, the emphasis on people was too great. The worst offender was the episode on northern China: the only wild creatures shown in the whole 60 minutes were wild boar, stonechats, gerbils and hamsters. Pretty pathetic.

I take back what I said after the first episode about the narration. Bernard Hill actually did a good job overall - the problem was his script, which was full of references to "government initiatives" that made it feel as though you were watching a communist propaganda film. Worse still were the platitudes concerning China's environmental problems, too often glossed over. I guess this was the price to pay for the "unprecedented access" that the film crew were given.

My favourite episodes were "Shangri-La", "Land of the Panda" and "Tibet", three brilliant programmes worth the price of the DVD alone. And it goes without saying that the cinematography was fantastic throughout - some really evocative shots. Memorable ones include the rutting chiru, dancing red-crowned cranes at dawn and the panda courtship sequence.

 

I would agree with all that Chris. If it had been titled something like China: its land and people then I wouldn't have been so disappointed. The last episode referred to Yangtse pollution yet no mention has been made of the extinction of the baiji. And the closing commentary: if any country can rise to the challenge facing the environment, it is China, was just pathetic. Nevertheless, it was a chance to see some of these amazing animals. I must say, chirus do look just like reindeer though.

 

First of all, total agreement to the above statements. Too little "wild" and too much "China". Some spectacular footage but most of which was a little on the short side (specially those of takins and both snub-nosed monkey species). Also a tad too many google-earthy satellite shorts if you ask me. And the moralizing tone, constantly reminding us of how well China is coping was sometimes too much when it could have been a lot more informing about the animals shown and perhaps the ones not shown.

On the other hand, some of the footage was amazing, specially the chiru's and the (if few) shots of the snub-nosed monkeys.

The main reason i responded though, was you mentioning that chirus look like reindeer! You really need to brush up on your reindeer knowledge... Spikey (oryx like) horns and those noses! Reindeer tssss

 

Overall, good programe, but mostly because we didn't see many species before.

I didn't like dripping saccharine of "Chinese living in harmony with nature", most of which was poor propaganda. Chinese who I saw were people who cared d*mn about nature. I can hardly blame them as people, given extreme poverty, but no harmony there.

Agreed, that programe was short of animals and too long, boring scenes of everyday China. I yawned watching foxes, godwits and great crested grebes - I can see them in British countryside. If they wanted more Chinese culture - why not put some of world-famous Chinese monuments instead of a lengthy story of a farmer tending carp and gerbil eating grape?

Strange, just few years ago BBC produced Planet Earth with lengthy scenes of wild camels and snow leopards - why these animals were not shot now?

Lake Poyang is full of waterbirds - why just couple of second worth shot? Did the crew really cannot find any wild cat anywhere? Why not more time about Tibet where you can film gazelles, kiang and lots of others from the roadside? I feel the production was too rushed.

I wouldn't object to "government programmes". China IS centralised, and most conservation IS run by government. It is not politicaly correct in the West, but this is reality.

 

Jurek7, I'm not sure that the production was rushed but it certainly didn't have the budget or event-TV status of a "Planet Earth". I think the producers made good use of the resources and access they were given. One thing is for sure, the Chinese government would have wanted this series on air before the Olympics to help paint a favourable picture, especially after the farcical torch relay.

The reason wild camel, kiang and snow leopard were not featured I suspect is precisely because they were all covered very well in "Planet Earth" 2 years ago. Besides, I felt that Tibet and Yunnan were covered better than any other areas.

Of course I realise that a strong government can bring strong environmental and conservation policies, and you couldn't escape endless references to "government initiatives" throughout the series, but the picture being painted was so one-sided - infact, it must seriously stretch the BBC's impartiality rules. You either cover the political issues properly or you don't mention them at all. I can't think of any other nature series that acted as a government mouthpiece.

 

Funnily enough, I know the difference between horns and antlers...Without the horns I think that chiru do look like reindeer, so there!

 

I know, it might have sounded a bit strong and that wasn't my intention at all

I found the markings and the nose very peculiar though, and they looked a lot more sturdy then i'd imagined them. Impressive creatures...

Just bought Planet Earth, the complete series so now i can see the wild camels which i really missed in Wild China... From the things i heared on this forum i highly doubt i've seen this series, so now I can't wait to see it...

 

Planet Earth is wondrous - don't expect too much in the way of insight or revealing science, just be amazed by the awesome images. The episode "Ice Worlds" is my favourite - very powerful stuff.

 

PS. Planet Earth fans, the same BBC team is now filming a follow-up called The Frozen Planet which looks exclusively at the polar regions. It should be ready for 2012. Can't wait, even though it is only going to be 6 episodes this time.

 

Could we be seeing spectacled eiders here, like on life of birds?

 

Or should it be called "Life in the Freezer 2"...

Just to be clear... Are people stating that the propaganda was forced on the producers by the Chinese government, it wouldn't suprise me but surely they could have changed it when they got back to England..?

 

I agree with Chris79: the "Planet Earth" series is amazing. Check out the thread here at ZooBeat to learn more about this wonderful set of nature documentaries.

 

You know how people are these days-most likely, the Chinese would have sued the BBC then and in the end the documentary would have never been shown...

 

I didn't see the last part of the series, but as wildlife films go there was much about destruction of nature. Wiping out larger animals and tree-cutting was mentioned in each part, often several times.

There was forced industrialization and disastrous sparrow-killing campaign under Mao, non-existence of wild giant softshells and wild Siberian tigers.

If you expected to be shown non-governmental organizations like in the West, they don't exist. What I didn't like is green propaganda/wishful thinking about how valuable is nature to Chinese. I suppose they wanted to use Chinese self-importance to make them value nature, but it was hard to listen to.

And, overall, they captured a spirit of eastern China - total destruction of nature. Every metre of land is under cultivation, climbing into mountains where in Europe you have forest or ski villages. Only wild animals are insects and few small birds. When I first time returned from China to Europe, I was enjoying seeing mallards, crows and gulls - they don't exist in China.

 

Indeed, it will be an amalgam of "Life in the Freezer" (1993) and "Kingdom of the Ice Bear" (1985), but this time I expect we'll get a lot more stuff about climate change....

 

Life In The Freezer was fantastic for anyone who missed it, I had to hire it on DVD down here in NZ...

You right Chris I suspect... Global Warming will be a BIG theme...