Heritage sites in focus

Hakka people's earthen residential buildings in Fujian province and West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, are two of the UNESCO World Heritage sites featured in the reality show The Shape of Culture. YANG ENUO/LONG WEI/FOR CHINA DAILY

"I'm not an actor," Shan says, smiling.

"I cannot follow a designed script, and my lines are impromptu based on my experiences. But I don't want the show to be a documentary either."

Shan highlights the importance of natural communication, but he also understands that the reality show needs to balance public entertainment and academic accuracy.

Following the success of the first season of The Nation's Greatest Treasures in 2017, variety and reality shows featuring cultural relics and museums have mushroomed on Chinese screens. However, most still focus on "movable" artifacts placed indoors.

Shan is asking a wider audience to pay attention to the huge heritage sites outdoors. A good start in that direction was made by featuring the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, in the debut episode of The Shape of Culture.

Liangzhu dates back to 5,300 years and is known for its developed waterways and dams, and its rice-growing and jade-worshipping civilization. The inner section of the city covers 3 square kilometers, roughly four times the size of the Forbidden City, according to the show.

"The structure is a lasting legacy of urban construction in China," Shan says.

"It provides evidence of China's 5,000 years of uninterrupted civilization."

But today one can only see, from the ground level, the basic landscape, terraces and some remains of earthen dams and walls in the ruins.

That is why Shan is trying to boost public imagination.

Although he is a green hand in craftsmanship, Shan leads other participants in the show to experience the process of making jade items, which will probably take people back to the heyday of the jade-worshipping civilization and recognize its significance.

While exploring lesser-known corners of heritage sites, the celebrity guests, accidentally or not, also display another side of their personalities, which may be unfamiliar to fans.

For instance, in the debut episode, actress Han Xue skillfully monitors a drone to get a better view of the dam site in Liangzhu.