- 03/07/2025
This is a reality-themed documentary narrated and recorded by "others" to depict China's contemporary development and changes.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Thank you very much.
00:30The Los Plateau, one of the most inhospitable environments on Earth.
00:44Yet despite the potential hardships, this was the place selected by the Chinese Red Army for its base.
00:52Here, in caverns scooped out of the soft rock of their cliffside fastness, the Red Army found its sanctuary.
01:00In this episode, Mario Cavallo, guided by Edgar Snow's Red Star over China, ventures into the depths of northern Shangxi in search of an answer to this question.
01:16What enabled that band of idealists to weather the storm and perform history-changing miracles?
01:23This is Yan'an, Muqi Town's Victory Mountain.
01:39It took me about 40 minutes to climb the foothills along the trail, enjoying fresh air and serene silence.
01:46But I was just thinking, what if we go back in time to October 21st, 1935?
01:53We find ourselves amidst two armies engaged in fierce fighting.
01:58This valley, this mountain, filled with gunfire.
02:02The pungent aroma of burning gunpowder, death, and stray bullets whizzing past our heads.
02:09Just hours after arriving at the Shangxi Revolutionary Base, the Red Army was in action against its pursuers.
02:18After more than two hours of fierce fighting, the Red Army annihilated one regiment and routed three regiments from the Guomindang Army,
02:26achieving absolute victory in the last battle of the Long March.
02:30Now, from the relative safety of their revolutionary base, their survival no longer the overwhelming priority.
02:40There could be a shift in strategy.
02:45This is Edgar Snow's first impression of Yan'an when he arrived there in 1936.
02:52Yan'an was ideally suited for defense.
02:55Cradled in a bowl of high, rock-ribbed hills, its stout walls crawled up to the very tops.
03:02It was hard living for the nomads settled in the grasslands to the north of Yan'an.
03:08The Great Wall was being built at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty to resist the invasions of the northern Hun,
03:15to protect the farmers and their lands during this period of agricultural civilization.
03:21It was not an easy place to be living during that time.
03:24It's hard to believe, compared to my standing here, right now.
03:32For thousands of years, Yan'an had functioned as a military fortress.
03:36It had never been an ideal place for a peacetime living.
03:39Yan'an has become an ideal place for twin full of lizards.
03:43At the end ofWorks, Anthony Givingra trabajed at Hoekboarducha,
03:46the hands of the
04:08Located on the Loess Plateau, Yan'an is ecologically vulnerable.
04:20Due to severe soil erosion, the sand and mud flowing into the Yellow River
04:25was over 200 million tons annually until the 1990s.
04:31Let me share this passage with you from Edgar Snow's book.
04:34The farms of Shanxi could have been described as slanting,
04:38and many of them also as slipping, for landslides were frequent.
04:43The fields were mostly patches laid on the serried landscape
04:46between crevices and small streams.
04:49The land seemed rich enough in many places,
04:52but the crops grown were strictly limited by the steep gradients
04:56in both quantity and quality.
04:59There were few genuine mountains, only endless broken hills.
05:06Severe soil erosion led to a lack of arable land,
05:09and it is believed that when Mao Zedong and his companions arrived here
05:13that they quickly recognized there was a severe problem
05:17with the cultivation of the land,
05:20that food could not even meet the needs of the ordinary people,
05:23let alone the army.
05:24This was completely different than their situation in Jiangxi.
05:28To deal with this looming threat to the survival of the army and people,
05:36in 1941, the 359th Brigade, stationed at Naniwan,
05:42a hill-gully region of around 200 square kilometers,
05:46began reclaiming wasteland to grow food and cotton.
05:49This movement gradually evolved into a region-wide production campaign.
06:03By 1943, people were not just being adequately fed,
06:08but staggering surpluses of food were being generated too,
06:12all because of wasteland being transformed into farmland.
06:17I kes minutia, bye!
06:30Naniwan!
06:31Naaniwan!
06:32Naaniwan!
06:33How deepest!
06:36Well, it's been many times since I heard that beautiful song,
06:39and Here I Am at NaaniWang
06:42is part of beautiful Yan'an.
06:46If you visit Nan Nihuan today,
06:49you'll see vast paddies stretching between mountains to the horizon
06:53and hills and ravines covered in vegetation,
06:57quite different from the way Snow depicted it in his book.
07:01The locals told me I should visit an old lady named Ho Xiu Zhen
07:06to learn about all the changes.
07:12My old lady named Ho Xiu Zhen.
07:15My old lady named Ho Xiu Zhen.
07:17My old lady used this tree
07:21to build 26 million acres of trees.
07:25It has 26 million acres of trees.
07:27At the beginning, this tree has 60 inches wide.
07:31I'm going to tear it up like this.
07:34The other tree is like this?
07:38I hitchhiked across Nan Nihuan again.
08:06Ho Shiozhen told me if the trees hadn't been planted, the Loess would have been washed
08:12away by rainwater down the mountains, and these paddies would have been long gone.
08:18So she and other villagers spent several years planting saplings on a dozen of the surrounding
08:23mountains.
08:24It was tough work, but she knew it was for their own well-being in the long run.
08:35Over the decades, from wasteland cultivation to afforestation, the ways of thinking have
08:41changed drastically, which results from the grain for grain policy by the Chinese government
08:46carried out since the 1990s.
08:50In some areas, the limited lands are no longer used for growing grain and other crops.
08:57The government encourages people to plant trees and other plants instead for long-term benefits.
09:03In other words, they are trying to achieve a long-term sustainable balance.
09:10the people who are not living in the world.
09:16Hello, hello.
09:17Hello, hello.
09:18Hello, hi.
09:19Hello.
09:20How are you going to be filming today?
09:21I'm going to fly over there and see how it looks.
09:29Baohui and Yuanjie are my new friends.
09:32They are typical contemporary Chinese youths who like new things,
09:36are creative, and show a strong interest in public welfare.
09:40As drone enthusiasts, they began to plan for an aerial documentary
09:45titled Green Shanxi two years ago.
09:51It's 200 meters away from us.
09:54Oh man, that is just so beautiful.
09:57It's so beautiful.
09:59I've had an impression on my before.
10:01It's the sky, the sky, the sky, the sky, the sky.
10:03From when I came to the film,
10:05I realized that it's a change in the world.
10:09It's now very, very, very beautiful.
10:12In this process, I heard a lot about
10:17some of the people in our environment.
10:21Baohui's words took me back to Wuqi,
10:25the first pilot county of the Grain for Green project.
10:29Tiebian town in Wuqi was a frontier fortress in ancient times.
10:35From the air, the ruins of the castle town are still clearly visible.
10:39However, Tiebian town today is surrounded by green vegetation.
10:48Teachers and students of Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University
10:53are conducting research on soil and water conservation
10:57on a mountain not far from Tiebian town.
11:00Soils from underground layers of different depths
11:23can reveal the secrets hidden within the Loess.
11:26With this information, the composition of the above-ground vegetation
11:31can be adjusted and optimized.
11:34We're trying to contemplate what we said,
11:37vertical structure like trees and shrubs and grass on the surface,
11:43you know, different structure.
11:46And also want to increase the diversity,
11:49yeah, diversity of the species.
11:51But you need to find the right species that will grow in this soil.
12:00This soil, yes, sure.
12:02Because they're all not the same.
12:04Yes, different.
12:05Don't you want to try?
12:06I would love to try.
12:07Okay, let's go.
12:08I will get my own soil suitable.
12:09Let's go.
12:10Yeah, try.
12:11Professor Xu's research shows that after more than two decades of afforestation,
12:18the Chinese have gained a deeper understanding of ecological engineering.
12:23Now, they are cultivating diverse and stable forest communities.
12:28However, for Professor Xu, Wu Qi born and bred,
12:33this is much more than just a job.
12:36The correct position.
12:43Every year when I come back,
12:44I will go to the store and go to the store.
12:47From here to the store.
12:49This place has been a long time for 10 years.
12:51It's a special area.
12:53It's a special area.
12:54When I choose to work,
12:56I choose a soil and a soil.
12:59After I thought,
13:01why do I choose a soil environment?
13:04I don't have to be able to find out.
13:05I've seen the soil.
13:06It's a special area.
13:07It's a special area.
13:08Yes, yes, the tree.
13:09It's a special area.
13:10It's a special area.
13:11I think it's a special area.
13:12It's an amazing area.
13:13Look at this tree.
13:14Look how much the tree grows.
13:16In my childhood,
13:17I was a little bit old.
13:18I saw this tree.
13:19I thought,
13:20I thought,
13:21I was coming back.
13:22It's a special area.
13:23It's a special area.
13:24It's a special area.
13:25I'm looking at this huge expanse of green and you're telling me when
13:34you were a boy it was just dirt dirt yeah brown dirt all of it almost so your
13:43home was inside the mountain yes yes this is just so cool the memory is not so
13:54good winter here yeah it's it's long and difficult long and cold because you
14:02know as the wind
14:07Without Professor Xu's account, I would never have imagined this place was constantly struck by sandstorms.
14:30Today, the Loess Plateau has turned green.
14:34The ever-increasing vegetation has blocked the sandstorms and conserved water and soil,
14:41and the once-extremely-fragile ecosystem has been restored.
14:52Wu Zongkai, a well-known bird photographer in Wuxi, has used his lens to record the changes in Wuxi's environment.
15:01We agreed to meet at a shooting location near a bird sanctuary.
15:08I'm here.
15:09You're here.
15:10This is a wild bird.
15:11Let's see the birds.
15:12Okay.
15:16And that's the baby.
15:18This place has 20-year-old birds.
15:2220-year-old birds.
15:2320-year-old birds.
15:2420-year-old birds.
15:25Listen to this.
15:26This is called a big bird.
15:28This is a big bird.
15:31It's very difficult to find.
15:34It's very difficult to find the Eurasian bitterns.
15:39To let the birds get used to our presence, we set up a table and two chairs to have afternoon tea.
15:56So you, you are here, just enjoying the paradise with the birds.
16:03How many pictures do you have?
16:18How many pictures do you have?
16:19My picture is now 50,000.
16:21From 2006 to now.
16:24Over 15 years.
16:25This place, Wuxi's birds have 184.
16:30Yes.
16:31How many birds have before?
16:33There are 40.
16:34Now, from 40 to 184, it's more than 40.
16:3920,000 birds.
16:40These are all the birds of the land.
16:43Let's see how many birds of the land are.
16:45The birds of the land are in the land.
16:47This is the birds of the land.
16:48This is the birds of the land, right?
16:51Yes.
16:52For the birds of the land,
16:54the birds of the land,
16:56the birds of the land.
16:58For the birds of the land,
16:59a little bird,
17:00a little bird.
17:02Mr. Wu knows the birds in Wuxi like the back of his hand.
17:05He said that this was actually a continuation of his previous work.
17:08previous work. Before retirement, he worked in the government forestry
17:14department for 32 years, personally witnessing and participating in the
17:19whole process of mountain closures, grazing prohibition, and afforestation.
17:25Before 1998, the forest cover in Wuxi was only 8.4%. By 2021, it had increased to
17:35over 20%, and the percentage of the forestry and grass coverage had reached
17:40over 70%. In Snow's account, when the Red Army first arrived in Wuxi, there were no
17:49trees for dozens of miles. Now, trees are everywhere. Forests and rivers abound
17:55with diverse species. I wonder how many more such magical moments are waiting to
18:01be enjoyed in the Loess Geographical Zone.
18:12Now, we are driving to Dingbien, at the northwest corner of Shaanxi Province, along
18:19the border of the desert. Here, we find one of the most exotic landscapes of the
18:25region.
18:39When Mao Tudong was in Yan'an, he called the Dingbien Salt Lakes the first financing of
18:45the central government. During the great production campaign of the border area,
18:50especially during the difficult period from 1940 to 1943, production and trade activities
18:58were mainly based on the salt of the lake, which became the most important financial
19:04pillar of the border region government.
19:07Well, the salt of this lake causes a barrenness to the land. The thin air of the high plateau,
19:18exposed to strong solar radiation. Strong light encourages evaporation to flourish. The ground
19:28water carries salt to the surface. The water rapidly evaporates, leaving the salt behind to accumulate
19:37in the soil. Nothing can grow easily in such a salty soil.
19:42Though bright sunlight can play a role in creating barren lands, in some other areas, it's used to create wealth.
19:54On the yellow-green alkali soil, neatly arranged photovoltaic panels look like blue water.
20:01Through these photovoltaic panels, solar energy is continually being converted into electric energy.
20:07Photovoltaic power generation is bringing huge benefits to Dingbien.
20:13On the.
20:34Power station Director Nhi tells me that there are now more than 40 photovoltaic power stations
20:40in Dingbien. Although his power station has a medium power generation capacity, its ecological
20:46benefits cannot be underestimated.
21:10If you want to use this 480,000-year-olds, it needs more than 26,000-year-olds.
21:17You can see the trees on the ground. It's very good. It's very good.
21:23Is it originally?
21:24No.
21:25It's not.
21:26It's white.
21:27Yes, it's white.
21:28Now, you can see the trees on the ground. You can eat the trees.
21:34Raising sheep under photovoltaic panels is something new. Why would they come here?
21:40A shepherd from a nearby village has the answer to this question.
22:10Well, it's a place where the sheep meet the solar panels. I never thought I'd be saying that.
22:21The solar panels and the green grasses and the sheep have a wonderful synergy. They all need each other.
22:29Mr. Ni has done a masterful job of thinking of clever methods to be able to create a clean energy power station while also achieving an ecological balance.
22:44Of course, the power station's success is due largely to the surrounding dense vegetation.
22:57Dingbien is located on the southern edge of the Mu'uz Desert, one of the four major deserts of China. It used to be ravaged by wind and sand.
23:09After the founding of New China, it took generations many decades to turn the ancient desert into an oasis.
23:20With their home turned green, it's only natural that the Dingbien people have special feelings toward the trees and plants in general.
23:28The next generation is a new home.
23:33This is the new home.
23:35I was a little older.
23:36This is an old school.
23:37This is a new home.
23:39I welcome you to my home.
23:41Oh, great, great, great.
23:44This is a small village.
23:45I have a small village for my own food.
23:48So nice.
23:49Nice.
24:16What a lovely family garden.
24:18We've got ourselves some watermelon over there,
24:20sunflower plant.
24:21Of course, a nice grapevine growing on the vine up there.
24:25This is a pear tree.
24:26Of course, some nice cilantro, a walnut tree,
24:30and this beautiful little red flower right here.
24:33Well, we don't know the name, but that's okay.
24:34It is just so lovely.
24:38The yard and its owner seem to embody
24:41the most fundamental perspective
24:42on the interdependence and interaction
24:45between humans and the ecosystem.
24:47The fact is that whether it's safeguarding the environment
24:51from degradation by closing mountainsides
24:55and prohibiting grazing and pasturage,
24:57people on the Lowest Plateau are experimenting
25:00with ways to better coexist with nature.
25:04On the 52nd Earth Day, the Food and Agriculture Organization
25:13of the United Nations issued a report.
25:16Over the past 10 years,
25:18the planet has been losing 4.7 million hectares
25:21of forests every year,
25:23while Asia's forest area has increased annually
25:26by more than 1 million hectares.
25:29And the main contributor to this figure has been China.
25:34To get a sense of how this was possible,
25:36you just need to take a look at what's been done
25:39on the hitherto, desolate Lowest Plateau.
25:43If the environment here can be restored,
25:46just think of the even greater miracles
25:48being worked elsewhere in China.
25:49Now, having learned that I was in Dingbien,
26:01my friends Bao Hui and Yuan Jie came over
26:03to meet me at a cycling club.
26:05Fei is a warm young man.
26:29He provided me with a mountain bike,
26:31And Captain Wong of the club had a club cycling jersey ready for me to wear.
27:01Faces are great.
27:03The next Скорее我们的衣服也是七层的
27:08连天白雄
27:10还有千年年幅
27:11我們的蕨妹花
27:12因为我们的汽车速度非常快
27:17适不可的
27:19可以试一下我们的这个 气形风
27:25这是我的头盔
27:27就是我的头盔
27:31Originating in Europe, the cycling culture represents an environmentally friendly, energy-saving
27:47and low-carbon lifestyle.
27:48You would have thought you'd run into Chinese cycling enthusiasts on the ancient Loest Plateau.
27:55They not only understand the significance of the culture, but also enjoy the lifestyle.
28:08In the vast interior of China, river valleys, dense forests, hills, mountains and plateaus
28:15bear witness to the stories of the Red Army's long march.
28:18Since Edgar Snow wrote up those accounts and turned them into his classic work, amazing
28:27changes have taken place in the lands the Red Army marched through on its epic journey,
28:33showing that, in a sense, the long march is still ongoing, the long march of progress and
28:40history.
28:42The reality is that history is constantly being reshaped and created by those who hold
28:47fast to their beliefs and take the initiative.
28:51What we see today in the lands that witness the long march should give us renewed confidence
28:58in the movement that founded New China.
29:01The same movement that continues to shape the country down to this very day, and whose faith
29:07is as resolute as that reflected in Edgar Snow's classic work 80 years ago.
29:34New.
29:35New Christian History
29:52ubs just the previous few trails.
29:53New Palestine
29:55Let's pray again
29:59about the hypothesis
30:00Unis 가장 important
Recommended
29:48
|
Up next
29:48
29:48
29:48
29:48
1:07
45:00
44:00
7:56
8:07