On Oct 19, the first episode of The Great Wall: Stories of China premieres on four TV stations – China Central Television (CCTV), China Education Television, Beijing Television and Shanghai Television, as well as on iQIYI.com, a Chinese video sharing website.

The TV documentary The Great Wall: Stories of China premieres on four TV stations and a Chinese video sharing website on Oct 19.

The documentary will help people to change their fixed understanding of the Great Wall. It argues that the Great Wall was not just a fortification, but a complicated architecture and defense system; that it is not a wasted vanity project, but a project that ensured the continuous development of the Chinese farming civilization in a peaceful environment and that it was not created by the Han ethnic group only, but the northern nomadic people also built and helped preserve it. It is not an obstacle that hindered human progress, but borders of different civilizations.

The whole production, which lasted three years to shoot, has employed panoramic aerial videography and digital 3-dimensional technology to reconstruct the original looks of the Great Wall throughout the history. The documentary, which tells the story of the Great Wall in a feature film style, combining two TV genres in an innovative way, also reflects upon the lives of ancient people.

The documentary is a joint production by Phoenix Publishing and Media Group, China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio Group and Beijing Keying Media Co. China International Television Corporation is responsible for its global distribution.

A preview and launch ceremony for The Great Wall: Stories of China was held in Beijing on Oct 11. At the ceremony, Chen Haiyan, chairman of PPM, reviewed the production process and expressed his appreciation of the shooting crew. He hoped that the documentary can deepen people's understanding of the Great Wall and receive wider public recognition.

A preview and launch ceremony for the documentary is held in Beijing on Oct 11.

More than 30 experts in the fields of history, media and documentary production, who had the chance to preview it, believe that the documentary will be a milestone in its genre.

Among the participants were Xue Jijun, chairman of China International Television Corporation, Zhang Yue, deputy editor-in-chief of China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio Group, and senior managers from PPM and the four TV stations. The Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily and CCTV reported the ceremony.

Edited by Mevlut Katik

Click here to watch the English promo

Click here to watch the Chinese promo