CityReads│Seeing China From the Air
Seeing China From the Air
The two-part documentary China From Above by National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) captures China from the air as cameras catalog the country’s assorted landscapes, extreme weather, massive cities and sprawling infrastructure in 90 minutes.
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI), 2015. China From Above.
Source: http://natgeotv.com/uk/china-from-above
Picture source: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/05/china/aerials/steinmetz-photography
China, a vast land with one of the most diverse cultures on Earth, now reviewed like never before. How did the ancient traditions, engineering, agriculture and nature wonders shape this great nation and continue to forge modern day China from centuries’ seclusion?
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) has acquired the rights to the two-part doc China From Above, which capture China from above as cameras catalog the country’s assorted landscapes, extreme weather, massive cities and sprawling infrastructure in 90 minutes.
The first episode is “The Living Past”, which shows how have the traditions of China shaped its landscape and people, and how do they hold up in the present day? From the monumental engineering feats of the Great Wall to a massive water splashing festival in the tropical south, we unveil the secrets and patterns of China‘s living past in a fresh new perspective.
The second episode, “The Future is Now” , introduced the latest in aerial photographic technology, massive megacities, staggering infrastructure and new transportation in China, as well as the entertainment for modern Chinese people.
From the aerial perspective, we are on an epic journey to watch China from above.
The Living Past：
How China Feeds Its People？
China, a land with nearly a population of 1.4 billion, 92% are Han Chinese, but there are 55 other ethnic group, speaking 120 living languages. This aerial journey will cross China from mountains, desserts and great forests to reveal a hidden culture of great complexity.
The arable land in China only accounts for 11% of its land. How could China feed its own people? For centuries, the Chinese people are taming the landscape to their needs.
Turpan of Xinjiang province is a dry and desolate dessert. People have had to come up with an ingenious methods to direct water from Tianshan Mountain glaciers to their fields and villages.
Using the water canal breath the ground, People in Turpan created the oasis in dessert and grow food.
Hani Rice Terraces in Yuanyang,Yunnan
Hani people in Yuanyang, Yunnan, transformed the landscape to grow their crops. They hand carved rice paddies into the mountains to trap the water. Rising above 6000 feet, the Hani people make a living by wet-field agriculture.
Farming wasn't an option in Qinggil, Xinjiang. Kazakh people train wild eagle to hunt for food.
The Golden Eagle is one of the world's most effective birds of prey. They can spy a rabbit at 2,000 yards. Catching their food in this ingenious way has kept small villages from destitution.
Mature adults are released back into the wild and act as resonates with the Kazakh belief. And the numbers of eagle in the region are reportedly once again on the rise.
On the east China coast, people grow giant kelp. For the country it’s a way to feed the ever-growing masses without using land.
Lisu people have been living in the three parallel rivers(TPR) national park for over a thousand years. In this beautiful but challenging place, they found a good way to adapt the nature barriers——Ziplining to across the valley.
The Future is Now：
How to Power Urban China？
Over the past 3 three decades, China has experienced rapid industrialization and urbanization, Dwarfing the 19th century Industrial Revolution of Europe and America.
Hundreds of millions of people migrate to the cities for new life. Urban China needs cutting edge technologies and massive projects and infrastructures to function.
China, a five thousand-year-old civilization in a hurry, over the last three decades it is modernized faster than any other country, at the heart of this transformation is one city——Shanghai. In 1993 there almost no skycrapers in Shanghai, but by 2014 it has as many as Tokyo city.
This urban transformation is spread across the China, China is building the equivalent of the city’s size of Chicago. The growth of city brings the lack of lands. For example, tomb sweeping was once an easy task from rural towns and villages, now millions have to exit their new urban suburbs along congest truck roads, causing chaos. The new city dwellers are establishing thousands of new parts on the outskirts of the city where land is cheaper, but such is the demands of Shanghai residents, they are likely to run out in 15 years.
Made from complex material and edge-cutting technology, the high-speed rail became very popular among Chinese, who need to reunion with family at Spring Festival.
In ten year, China will have more megacities, and the can not be without reliable infrastructure. In Lishui Zhejiang, worker are installing ultra high-voltage cable network that will run thousands of miles across China. Each tower is about 213 feet. When this integrated electric highway is set to stretch from more than 12000 miles, half of the Earth circumference.
Fossil fuels are also a necessity for China’s rapid growth. This container ship as long as three football patches is not carrying shoes or smart phones to the west. It transporting liquid nature gas to the rest of China. Liquid nature gas has to be stored at minus -260 F, more than three times cold as the Antarctic winter. This proves China have reached a global milestone in engineering.
The growth of cities has produced a negative impact: pollution. To solve this problem, renewable energy is used. In Xinjiang, wind power is used to harness the unusual climactic conditions across these enormous plane.
In the high plateau of Qinghai, it is building one of the world’s largest solar parks, which generates enough energy to power an average city.
In Guizhou, China is building a telescope that will take another cosmic leap into the future. With the diameter of 16000 feet, it’ll be more than one and a half times as big as the world’s largest telescope.
Conclusion
China, a nation that until recently was closed off to the world, has transformed itself in a incredible ways from a rural society to the world's factory. Cities have been built to a size and scale not matched in any previous period in world history. Across this vast and inhospitable land high-tech transportation and highways are built at an incredible pace. Engineering solutions are required to supply the huge amounts of energy needed to reduce pollution that's affecting almost half of it's nearly 1.4 billion population. Against this ever-changing landscape, millions of Chinese still observe ancient traditions and rights while discovering new forms of pleasure and entertainment.