Documentary explores stories flowing from the Yangtze

The Yangtze River, the longest river in China, has nurtured rich and diverse cultures along its 6,300-kilometer course. For producer and director Sun Lu, it became the driving force behind the documentary Because of the Yangtze River, which explores why this great river has served as the cradle of Chinese civilization and how it has shaped the lives of its people along its banks.

Speaking at a symposium in Beijing, Sun recalled that the crew traveled over 20,000 kilometers across 13 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities within a year, interviewing experts from more than 100 museums and cultural institutions.

Recently nominated for the 15th China Academy Awards of Documentary Film, the eight-episode program has drawn widespread attention online, with its content and related topics attracting more than 600 million views, according to the producers.

Beyond exploring the history of the river, the documentary also sheds light on contemporary realities. It follows environmental volunteers collecting trash along the banks of the Tuotuo River, the source of the Yangtze, and cultural relic restorers in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, who painstakingly piece together fragments of ancient civilization.

Gao Menghe, chief academic adviser of the documentary and vice-president of the China Cultural Relics Academy, said one of the major challenges was helping the crew select the most suitable content for the episodes, each spanning 25 minutes — shorter than the standard 40-minute format of regular documentaries.

He added that after multiple brainstorming sessions, they decided to focus on civilization by telling stories through cultural relics, highlighting seven distinct regional cultures that emerged and evolved along the Yangtze River.

"We hope every Chinese person, having been nurtured and influenced by the Yangtze civilization, can gain their own insights from the program," said Gao.

Currently, six of its overall eight episodes have been translated into English for overseas distribution, with a namesake book also being edited for publication, according to the producers.