Film Library: China

EXPLORE CHINA (00:48:49 )

• APRIL 2006

Explore went to China on a fact-finding mission led by Charles Annenberg Weingarten, a trustee of the Annenberg Foundation. During the three-week trip, the team discovered many of China's hidden gems: philosophy, art, education, and rural life. They also discovered how the country's hard-working and innovative leaders were working to solve issues of the environment, human rights, and public health.

ANWU SCHOOL (00:03:08)

• APRIL 2006

Rural schools, where the vast majority of children in China receive their primary education, are often below the standards of their urban counterparts. About 80% of rural schoolchildren don't get past middle school, and many face difficult life prospects as they become teenage farmers and migrant workers. But at AnWu Elementary, the explore team saw the results of the school's vigorous improvements, and students share their big hopes for the future with "Professor Charlie."

CHINA - INTRODUCTION (00:02:27)

• APRIL 2006

Explore went to China on a fact-finding mission led by Charles Annenberg Weingarten, a trustee of the Annenberg Foundation. During the three-week trip, the team discovered many of China's hidden gems: philosophy, art, education, and rural life. They also discovered how the country's hard-working and innovative leaders were working to solve environmental, human rights, and public health issues.

YANGTZE (00:08:01)

• APRIL 2006

One mile long and 600 feet high, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is a project of epic proportions — and controversy. The dam, completed in 2008, created a vast reservoir extending 370 miles, about the distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It brings drinking water to northern China and generates as much electricity as 18 coal-fired power plants. But it has also displaced some two million people and caused widespread flooding, destroying rural villages and cultural treasures.

RURAL WOMEN (00:03:36)

• APRIL 2006

Women in rural China have one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Wu Qing at the Development Center for Rural Women believes that empowering women with the idea of equality, giving them out-of-home work skills, and instilling a sense of social responsibility will increase their feeling of self-worth and improve quality of life. To plant the desire for knowledge, the center also started a grassroots literacy program.

GIANT PANDA RESERVE (00:02:51)

• APRIL 2006

Established in the Sichuan province in 1963, the Wolong Nature Reserve is home to one of the earliest research bases for the endangered giant panda. Starting with just 10 pandas in captivity, it has increased that number nearly tenfold through successful breeding methods — in 2006, 18 baby pandas were born: a new record. Assistant Director Li Desheng explains how they will be reintroduced into the wilderness.

THE GREAT WALL (00:02:33)

• APRIL 2006

Built in stages over many centuries, the Great Wall of China stretches more than 6,400 kilometers, or nearly 4,000 miles through northern China. China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, began constructing the wall in the 3rd century BC to protect the northern borders of his empire from Mongolians and other nomadic invaders.

TERRACOTTA WARRIORS (00:03:05)

• APRIL 2006

The explore team visits the tomb of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses — one of the most important archaeological findings of the 20th century. A ceramic army of 8,099 life-sized, intricately carved statues modeled after Emperor Qin's infantry men, officers, and archers stand at attention, ready to protect their leader in his afterlife.

SHANGHAI (00:03:13)

• APRIL 2006

Shanghai, situated on the banks of the Yangtze River, is China's largest city. It has a population of around 20 million people and includes one of the world's busiest ports. Our guide, environmentalist Wen Bo, comments on the challenge China faces today in balancing growth with the need for ecological conservation.

CALLIGRAPHY MASTER (00:04:27)

• APRIL 2006

Master Fa Qing is a philosopher, calligrapher, and Buddhist monk who believes that calligraphy and other spiritual arts allow us to simplify our lives, opening up a door to happiness in a world where complexity often works against it.