Wild China

The Chinese have long had an appreciation of insects, particularly in their art, and many species are also used in traditional Chinese medicines. This film shows how now they are gaining an even greater respect for the widespread importance of these tiny creatures and are developing an understanding of the significance in the conservation of larger animals and their crucial role in the food chain.

Many endangered animals are featured in this documentary which opens with exceptionally rare footage of perhaps the last Siberian Tiger believed to have existed in the wild. It covers the threat facing China's wildlife in general, showing how and why many animals and birds are currently facing extinction.

This documentary looks at the variety of fascinating monkeys found in China and follows their lifestyles and communal habits. This film features the spectacular Golden Monkeys, symbolic of China, and the rarely seen Tibetian Monkeys. China's monkeys have a unique place in Chinese folk-lore and mythology yet they now face threats from hunting and the destruction of their habitat.

This episode examines the efforts being made by the Chinese people and scientists to save Giant Pandas. It shows the natural history of pandas including its endangered species status, where it lives and why it's threatened, the other animals that are its relatives, and its peculiar diet which consists almost entirely of bamboo.

Beginning with dramatic scenes of the awesome Himalayas, this documentary traces the bird and animal life that survives in the harsh conditions of the Quinhai-Tibet Plateau. We see the deep respect of the Tibetian people for nature that has endured for thousands of years and which remains the key to the future of life on the 'roof of the world'.

Liuba, a girl living in China's far North mountains, describes her life with her clan and family, who lived there for centuries raising the rare rain deers, hunting and fishing.