Visual feast

The geographic environment with subtropical maritime monsoon climate in Fujian has made the conditions for biodiversity possible there.

Lin says he used to learn about ingredients from written material, archives and scientific angles, but this journey has allowed him to know the ingredients in the field.

"When people talk about food, they may see it in restaurants or in markets, but behind a produced food are efforts by a large number of people," Lin says. "We need to tell clearly why these ingredients are good and let more people know about them, which may increase farmers' incomes and push the development of the agricultural industry."

Lin has written down his feelings during the shooting and collected them into a book which he is about to publish.

Wang Shengzhi, general director of the show, has filmed documentaries about food and literature and this is his first on rural vitalization.

"I took a year for this project, spending eight months to know about a duck. There are many special ingredients in Fujian which are easier to make films on, but I wanted to film normal ingredients in daily life and try not to make the documentary dry," Wang says.

Growing up in the countryside, Wang has a deep connection to rural life and he says he hopes the documentary will have artistic appeal for the audience. He says the documentary's tone is earthy. "I think the value of this show is respecting things in daily life."

The documentary infuses several approaches to filming such as traveling, discovering and telling people's stories behind each ingredient. The background music is quite dramatic, which Wang used to showcase the modernity of rural life.