TheproductionoftheTVdocumentarytookatotaloffiveyearstocomplete.ThecrewtraveledhundredsofthousandsofkilometersthroughoutChinafromtheGreaterHingganMountainsinthenorthernmostprovinceofHeilongjiangtotheXishaIslandsintheSouthChinaSea,visitingthemostuntouchedregionsofthecountry.Morethan500daysofshootinginthewildernessreapedrewardsofvisualrecordsofmorethan100rarespeciesofplantsandanimals,suchasTibetanantelopes,snowleopards,wildyaks,gibbons,andAsianelephants.Thedocumentaryrecountedtouchingstoriesaboutearth’screaturesandshowcasedthebeautyofChinainanunprecedentedway.
AposterofThePowerofNature.
TakingphotosunderwaterintheXishaIslandsoftheSouthChinaSea.
TheChinesecrestedtern,oneofthemostendangeredspeciesofbirdsonearth.
Muteswan.
UnderthewatersoftheSouthChinaSea.
AroedeerintheTianshanMountainsintheXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion.
AherdsmanontheSuniteGrasslandintheInnerMongoliaAutonomousRegion.ThefirstofitskindinChina,CCTV’sdocumentarychannelhasjoinedhandswithmanyoftheworld’stopTVdocumentaryproducersincludingtheBBC,DiscoveryChannel,andNHK.
Inrecentyears,Chinahasseenrapiddevelopmentindocumentaryproduction,aboominthenumberofproductioncompaniesandindividualproducersandajumpinthevolumeofdocumentaryoutput.Moreover,manydocumentariesaregettingtheatricalreleases,attractinggreatenthusiasmfromviewers.
Still,China’scapacitytoproducenaturedocumentariesiscomparativelyweak.AfterwatchingThePowerofNature,ProfessorZhangTongdao,awell-knownChinesedocumentaryresearcher,acclaimeditasa“breakthroughforChinesenaturedocumentaries.”
Thecrewdevotedtremendouspassiontothesubject.Theirfirstfull-lengthdocumentary,ForestChina,wasreleasedbackin2007.
Hotbedsofrarespeciesofwildanimalswerediscoveredinthecountry’snorthwesternquadrantwhereharshnaturalconditionsinTibetAutonomousRegion,QinghaiProvince,andXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionhavedeterredhumanhabitation.
Thecrewendureddauntingnaturalenvironmentstofilmwildanimalsintheseregions.In2011,photographersventuredtoQiangtang,oneofthefourleastpopulatedareasinChina,wheretheycapturedglimpsesofTibetanantelopes,ararespeciesunderfirst-classstateprotectionthatisonlyfoundover5,000metersabovesealevel.Thefirsttestwasadjustingtothealtitude.Asnightfell,thetemperaturefellto30degreesbelowzero,leavingthephotographersfrozeninthemiddleofnowhere.
ThephotographicteamstayedinQiangtangfortwomonthsandrecordedtheentirelifecycleofTibetanantelopesfrommating,pregnancyandbirthtothespecies’magnificentmigration,oneofChina’smostprofoundnaturalphenomena.Morethan100,000Tibetanantelopesleadtheircalvesacross100,000squarekilometersofuntouchedlandinQiangtang.
DirectorYuanYuanwastotallystunnedbythegrandscenesduringthegreatmove.“IhadreadaboutsuchscenesinabookwrittenbySvenHedin,aworldfamousSwedishadventurer,”shesays.“ButIneverexpectedtohavethechancetowitnessitwithmyowneyes!”
ThePowerofNatureprovidesanaturalprofileforacountryexperiencingrapiddevelopment.Everysingleshotinthefilmwascapturedinthewild.ItdepictsnaturalChinarealisticallyandaccurately.
“Wecouldhavenevermadethishappenwithoutloveandpassionforwildanimals,plants,mountainsandriversonthisland,”declaredSunKun,aphotographerintheteam.
TheauthorisadirectorforCCTVandservedaschiefdirectorofThePowerofNature.
ThecrewofThePowerofNatureworksontheGreatHingganMountainsinHeilongjiangProvince.