Documentary explores 40 years of reform

A cross-border documentary focusing on 40 years of China's reform and opening-up was released internationally on Friday .

The three-episode production How China Made It was aired in China on streaming media Youku and was broadcast on American TV channel Discovery worldwide.

The production, filmed in 4k ultra HD, was co-produced by CICC, a State-owned media group in China, Discovery Channel, Youku, and Meridian Line Films, an independent production company based in Yorkshire, England.

The voice-over is in English, with an English-Chinese bilingual subtitle.

In the documentary, Chinese people from different backgrounds share their personal experiences of the past four decades, reflecting on major developments in the Chinese economy and society.

"This production chooses individual touches to better tell Chinese stories, because every one of us is a witness of this great process," Chen Lujun, director of CICC, said on Tuesday at the documentary's premiere.

"China, on one hand, keeps traditional colors of Eastern culture," he said. "But it unrolls a dazzling modern picture as well. It's our responsibility to help the rest of world better understand this country."

The first episode focuses on people in rural areas and looks at how reform and opening-up changed farming families. It features personal testimony and spans from the establishment of the household responsibility system in 1978 to today's efforts alleviating poverty.

Business founders and entrepreneurs' stake in the Chinese economy is the focus of the second episode.

The documentary's third episode takes a wider scope, showcasing how people's daily lives – from education to travel and from culture to healthcare – have changed since the beginning of reform and opening-up 40 years ago.

The documentary also includes interviews with international scholars, including Martin Jacques, senior fellow of politics and international studies at Cambridge University; Rana Mitter, University of Oxford professor, and Danny Alexander, vice president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

"Reform and opening-up not only changed China," said Tony Qiu, general manager of Discovery in China. "It also had a lasting influence in other countries.

"This documentary combines local materials with a cross-cultural mindset and viewing habits," he said. "It can thus vividly show China has developed together with the whole world."

Zhao Qi, deputy secretary-general of the publicity department of CPC central committee, said that the production shows the successes of reform and opening-up.

"Media from different countries can have more such cooperation in diverse forms," he said. "It will enhance friendship between China and other countries and promote people-to-people connectivity."