The World of the Chinese

China is playing an increasingly important role worldwide. Under President Xi Jinping, substantial investments are being made in communication and cooperation and industrious Chinese people are settling abroad in large numbers. Documentary maker and China expert Ruben Terlou visits them in the new VPRO travel series ‘The World of the Chinese’. Who are they, what do they want to achieve and what impact does their presence have on the local population?

The Mekong River with Sue Perkins

Sue Perkins embarks on a life-changing, 3,000-mile journey up the Mekong, South East Asia's greatest river, exploring lives and landscapes on the point of dramatic change.

China from the Inside

China is rapidly becoming a world power, but much of the country and its people remain hidden to those outside its borders. China from the Inside, provides a rare insider's view of China, her institutions and people. China is at a critical point in its history -- it is richer and stronger than ever, but the clash between economic policies and the Communist political agenda complicates the lives of many of its citizens. China from the Inside includes perspectives ranging from those of the powerful to the powerless, the scholars and the uneducated, and the supporters and detractors of today's China. It does not shy away from China's many contradictions, with scenes from some of the most breathtaking places on the planet as well as the most polluted. Across four extraordinary hours, the series explores a country of 1.3 billion people undergoing astonishing growth while facing prodigious obstacles.

天下一锅

Inside the Forbidden City

The Forbidden City in the heart of Beijing was the home of the Chinese emperor and the seat of a vast bureaucracy ruling over what is now the world’s most populous state for 500 years. After falling into disrepair following World War II, the palace’s ancient wooden structures are undergoing extensive restoration works today. Inside the Forbidden City offers unprecedented access into the magnificent palace complex where access was once denied to all but the emperor, his family and his most senior retinue.

China Lighthouses

Legend of Martial Arts

Wushu is one of the most representative symbols of Chinese culture. Today, hundreds of millions of people around the world are practicing martial arts, experiencing eastern wisdom and the true meaning of martial arts. So how did martial arts spread abroad? What opportunities and challenges do generations of martial artists face in their overseas promotion?

The Quest For Everest

Karl and Chris goon a 3 week trip, where they got to travel through China, Tibet & Nepal with the highlight of reaching Mount Everest base camp. However, their plans fall apart with Chris being hospitalised with severe altitude sickness. Will they succeed with our quest for Everest?

Rubio in Search of the Lost Taste

Chef Rubio's journey in search of the real ones flavors of the Far East will affect Thailand, China and Vietnam. As always, the chef will alternate stages in large cities with stages in small country villages, in order to show the public what the real local gastronomy is.

Untamed China

In new six-part series Untamed China, wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven explores the country's mountains and grasslands, crosses its greatest deserts and treks through its deepest jungles in search of the rare, little-known and extraordinary creatures that live there. Over half of China's plant and animal species live in Yunnan Province in the far southwest of the country. In episode one, Nigel goes there to explore the ancient city of Dali and the surrounding mountains and forests. He meets some bizarre and deadly reptiles and amphibians, goes on a very unusual fishing trip, enjoys the fairy-tale lifecycle of butterflies and gets up close to highly endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys.

老广的味道

Made in China

Filemon and Mark are building a life with Chinese webshop products and researching quality, safety, environmental impact and consumer behaviour.

Art of China

Andrew Graham-Dixon undertakes an epic journey to uncover the art of China.

Charm of China

The series of documentary publications "Amorous China" takes the most representative intangible cultural heritage items among the 55 ethnic minorities and other unique ethnic minority cultural content as the main body and core of production. The first season mainly shows people living in Northwest China. Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and ethnic minorities in northern Xinjiang. Focusing on the theme of precipitation, nurturing, and inheritance, it focuses on the splendid and diverse national cultural heritage, digs deeply into the true nature of Chinese culture, and deeply records the historical memory and cultural heritage of Chinese ethnic minorities, as well as their firm watch over their own national culture. The whole work is not only a devout reflection on the relationship between man and nature, but also a vivid portrayal of the characteristics of the times and social changes, national customs and free life.

Faith of the Century: A History of Communism

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.

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School

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.

Secrets of China

Billie JD Porter finds out what it’s really like to grow up in China, the country with the highest population on the planet.

The Great Shokunin

Artifacts

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.

Along the Banks of the Yangtze

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.