In conjunction with taking on Bernard Hill. “Wild China” was seen on the BBC in May and June of 2008 and here in the States on the Travel Channel in late July and early August. The DVD and Blu-ray hit store shelves on August 5 and is made up of six, hour-long, segments focused on not only the wildlife of China, but also the way it affects and interacts with human life. From the beautiful Himalayas to the Gobi desert this doc covers it all leaving no stone unturned and it is expertly edited together and never lacking in wonder.
The six parts to this series are titled “Heart of the Dragon,” “Shangri La,” “Tibet,” “Beyond the Great Wall,” “Land of the Panda” and “Tides of Change.” Each part doesn’t necessarily give you a clear idea of what you are in for prior to viewing considering each one is not singularly focused on say one animal rather than one region of China.
“Heart of the Dragon” is the first part and within 15 minutes I was hooked as the visuals presenting a look at the hills of Southern China filled with terraced rice paddies is too extraordinary to ignore. What’s fantastic about this series and what makes this a perfect jumping off point is the way in which it shows how humans and wildlife coexist and depend on one another with the rice paddies being a perfect example. From the way each season begins based on the return of the local Swallows to the way the water filled paddies play home to more than just rice fields with fish and other forms of wildlife aiding in the livelihood of the farmers tending the crops. The same installment takes you into mountainside caves only to find a school and out in the rivers you find that birds do the fishing.
You will then venture into the Yunnan forest, the Himalayas, across the desert, down the Silk Road that once was traveled from China to Rome and you will get a firsthand look at how that silk is collected. You will see a giant flower that stinks of dead flesh and looks as ugly as you may expect, only to discover the wildly unique way in which it uses this scent to distribute its pollen. Civilizations growing grapes in the middle of the desert and the land of the panda and what is being done to save the famed animal from extinction, but is it for the best?
As far as special features go there is a short making-of feature on the final disc. Traditionally making-of features are often quite boring, but like those that accompanied BBC’s “Planet Earth” DVD series this one expands on what you have just watched and the story of the bear you see peeking his head up above is definitely worth your time.
Nearly every aspect of China is covered in this collection and in such a way that you are not only treated to a look at the wildlife and the landscape, but how humans interact and affect it all. It isn’t done in an accusatory way as much as it is done in a matter of fact way. The Chinese waste very little in terms of resources and it is interesting to see how doing so can have both a positive and negative effect on the land. It isn’t out of malice or intent as much as it is a matter of circumstance and survival and it is fascinating.
You can buy “Wild China” on DVD right here, on Blu-ray right here and you can also buy the BBC Natural History Blu-ray Collection right here for only $125. The collection may be worth a look if this interests you considering it includes not only Wild China, but also the impressive Planet Earth feature, Galapagos and Ganges.
