BBC Two to show major season of programmes about China
With China never far from the headlines, from the long-awaited end of the ‘one child policy’ to the country’s economic turbulence, BBC Two takes a closer look at the world’s most populous country through a series of new programmes in 2016.
This season will allow viewers to visit one of the most fascinating and powerful countries in the world and show a little-known nation in a whole new light.
With both new drama and factual programmes, this season includes:
- Michael Wood's compelling and definitive journey though China’s rich hidden history
- Kate Humble, the Hairy Bikers, Jing Lusi and Ant Anstead exploring the country’s extraordinary New Year celebrations - from the magical ice sculptures of Harbin to Beijing railway station at the peak of one of the biggest annual migrations on the planet as eight million people hit the road home
- Robert Peston bringing his inimitable authority to investigating China’s economic slowdown
- Rick Stein discovering revelatory and mouth-watering food
- Katie Leung (Harry Potter, Run) starring in One Child - a gripping three-part drama written by Guy Hibbert about a young woman caught up in a life-or-death situation as a result of China’s one child policy
BBC Two Controller Kim Shillinglaw says: “These ambitious new programmes demonstrate BBC Two’s on-going commitment to bringing the world to our viewers. From an extraordinary look at one of the biggest annual movements of people on our planet - Chinese New Year - to the gritty and compelling new drama One Child and Robert Peston investigating China’s economic slowdown, this season will allow viewers to visit one of the most fascinating and powerful countries in the world and show a little-known nation in a whole new light.”
Chinese New Year - 2016 The Biggest Celebration on Earth (w/t) (3x60 mins)
This extravagant and eye-opening series submerges us into one of the most spectacular events on earth, getting to the heart of what it is to be Chinese in the 21st century. With Kate Humble, The Hairy Bikers, actress and presenter Jing Lusi and Ant Anstead presenting across three fantastically rich episodes, we will mark China’s extraordinary annual celebration.
Every year, a sixth of the world’s population celebrate Chinese New Year. In 2016 the festival will spread across 15 days peaking on 8 February as China welcomes The Year Of The Monkey. It is the largest event on the planet and it sparks Chunyun, the biggest annual human migration, as over one billion Chinese travel home, emptying out China’s vast urban centres and bringing the Chinese countryside to life.
Our team of presenters will be based at three key locations: Beijing, Hong Kong and the Harbin Ice Festival, to tell the story of this massive annual event. They will also report from the far corners of this vast country.
Kate Humble will be at the Harbin Ice Festival - an amazing starting point to the celebrations - where ice palaces are created at minus-30 degrees centigrade. Jing Lusi will be at Beijing West train station, one of the largest stations in Asia and the epicentre of the organised chaos that unfolds as eight million passengers a day squeeze onto trains that will take them hundreds and thousands of miles home.
The Hairy Bikers will delve into the delights of Beijing’s Xinfadi Food Market, a riot of colour, smells, and frantic buying and selling, as families, restaurants and businesses stock up for the all-important New Year Feast.
Finally, Ant Anstead will explore the amazing technology behind the greatest fireworks display in the world that will light up Hong Kong Harbour.
Commissioned by Kim Shilling law, Controller BBC Two and Donna Clark, Acting Head of Commissioning, Factual Features and Formats. The programme is made by Lion Television and Bill Locke is the Executive Producer and Sarah Sarkhel the Series Producer. 3x60 mins
The Story of China (60x60 mins)
Written and presented by historian Michael Wood, The Story of China explores the history of the world’s oldest continuous state, from the ancient past to the present day.
Home to more than a billion people, China is the new superpower. It's a country that we all want to understand, and Wood argues that to do so we have to look at its history. Travelling across the country he explores the landscapes, peoples, stories and cultures that have helped create China’s distinctive character and genius over more than 4,000 years.
A grand sweeping narrative, full of big ideas and unexpected surprises, the series shows how the Chinese created their own distinctive vision of the world. It's a vision which is still alive in the 21st century, and, as Wood argues, it's the motor which has driven the incredible success of China today.
Commissioned by Kim Shillinglaw, Controller BBC Two, and Martin Davidson, Head of Commissioning for Specialist Factual. The programme is made by Maya Vision International and Rebecca Dobbs is the Producer. 6x60 mins
This World: Peston's Great Chinese Slump (working title)
Robert Peston travels to China to investigate the effects of the economic slowdown. In the frozen northeast he sees a part of the country which has slowed down far more than the Chinese government is prepared to admit. He visits an area where private business has shut down and workers been thrown out of work, and sees a 'ghost town' in which a vast sum of money has been wasted on housing which lies unoccupied or unfinished.
In more prosperous south China, Peston goes shopping to explore whether the country is managing to stop the slowdown by generating growth through services and spending. He looks at the recent stock market crash and asks what the potential political consequences of low growth might be. In candid interviews with a leading Chinese policy-maker; the British Chancellor George Osborne; bankers and economists, he evaluates what China's slowdown means for the country itself, the world economy and for the UK, at a time when the British government seeks closer economic ties with China.
Commissioned by Kim Shillinglaw, Controller BBC Two. The programme is made by BBC with executive producer Sam Bagnall, produced and directed by Jane McMullen
One Child (3x60 mins)
One Child crosses the world as a young Chinese-born woman, adopted by Anglo-American parents, struggles with who she really is and where her loyalties lie. The 3x60 contemporary thriller is written by Bafta award-winning Guy Hibbert (Blood And Oil, Five Minutes Of Heaven) who wanted to look at the emotional effects of China’s 35 year-old one-child polic, which is coming to an end in March this year. It is directed by John Alexander (The 7.39, Exile, A Small Island).
Mei, played by Katie Leung (Harry Potter, Run), is asked to return to her birthplace, Guangzhou, when her birth mother, Liu Ying desperately seeks her assistance in saving her son, Ajun. How far will Mei go to help the woman who gave her away and the brother she’s never met? One Child takes a new look at what it means to be family. Mardy Ma, Sebastian So, Linh Dan Pham, Donald Sumpter and Elizabeth Perkins also star in this tense and gripping drama.
One Child is co-produced by BBC In-House Drama England Production and Sundance TV. The executive producers are Hilary Salmon and Guy Hibbert and the series is produced by Grainne Marmion.
Rick Stein’s Taste of Shanghai (6x60 mins)
Shanghai has doubled in size over the last 20 years and has one of the largest city populations in the world, outgrowing London, New York or Paris. How does a city this size feed itself while holding on to its culinary roots? In Rick Stein’s Taste Of Shanghai our eponymous chef, keen to add to his Chinese repertoire, sets off to find out.
From dining in an ordinary family home, through the back streets with their fast food cooks and their flaming woks, to dim sum joints and eventually to the most glitzy restaurant in this massive city, Rick takes us on a revelatory journey through Shanghai’s culinary world.
Commissioned by Lindsay Bradbury. The programme is made by Denhams and the Executive Producer is Lindsay Bradbury. 1x60 mins.
Notes to Editors
For more information about the programme or interview opportunities please contact:
Chinese New Year - 2016 The Biggest Celebration on Earth (working title) - Philippa.spurr@bbc.co.uk
The Story of China - Yad.luthra@bbc.co.uk
This World: Peston's Great Chinese Slump (working title) - ellie.bancroft@bbc.co.uk
One Child - Sarah.Aspinall01@bbc.co.uk
Rich Stein’s Taste of Shanghai - frontdesk.publicity@bbc.co.uk
