Wild China

Very Good Series. As a great fan of the BBC Natural History Unit series like Planet Earth I only came across this recently and it surprised me greatly in that I never realized China is so varied and full of amazing natural wonders. As with most Westerners my idea of China was just what we see on news channels with the background pictures of Beijing and the Great Wall. What was particularly good was the way the filmmakers include something of the life of local people in each episode. So many interesting local cultures exist in pockets each with a rich cultural tradition going back centuries. It is great that something is being done to record this before they disappear under the pressure of modern ways. The filmmakers also (quite carefully given the sensitivity of the Chinese government to perceived criticism) point out the huge problems for wildlife from human pressure for land taking the habitat for animals and birds and also the fact that in some parts of China they eat everything leading to rare animals being hunted for profit. For the first time ever I felt I would visit China to see its natural history and peoples.

This is a very interesting documentary that should have been seen by so many more. Thanks to Netflix for making this available for a bigger audience.

If more Chinese people were shown this in school, maybe many of them would have different thoughts towards animals and wildlife in general.

After visiting China a couple of times last year, it was fascinating to see a different kind of China from what I experienced in my travels. Of all the episodes I enjoyed Shangri-La, Tibet and Beyond The Great Wall the most. The amazing animals in the rain forest in Shangri-La and the peaceful Tibetan lifestyle living in harmony with nature are some of the best highlights.

The last episode was also important in the mind of the future of China and in fact the world in general. Hopefully the mindset of Buddhism will continue, and not be overthrown by western/eastern influences and economic growth.

As for the use of shark fin soup, it's been a large decrease the last years, much thanks to campaigns using high profile stars as the popular basketball player Yao Ming. Luckily it seems to be a better understanding of animals and environmental problems by the younger generation.

So there is still hope… but China will play a big role for all life in the future, whether we like it or not!

Am a big fan of nature documentaries, especially the work of David Attenborough. Having been recommended 'Wild China' through Amazon and here, it was instantly put down on my list as a must see. Also heard nothing but praise for it, which has nearly always been a good sign, so that further sparked interest.

'Wild China' is as good as others have said and there is not much to add, actually feeling much more than just a documentary. Throughout it's an awe-inspiring, utterly transfixing experience where one forgets they're watching a documentary and instead feeling like they're watching art. This may sound like extreme hyperbole, but to me 'Wild China' is completely deserving of its praise and even deserving of more.

It is hard knowing when to start with the praise. 'Wild China' for starters looks amazing, reasons enough to make book a trip to see the more naturalistic parts of China. It is gorgeously filmed, done in a completely fluid and natural, sometimes intimate (a great way of connecting even more with the animals), way and never looking static. In fact much of it is remarkably cinematic. The scenery and habitats are some of the most breath-taking personally seen anywhere, whether in visual media and real life. The rich colours just leap out and the scenery from this part of the world has rarely looked more beautiful. The music here is a remarkably good fit, throughout it not only complements the visuals but enhances them and there is an authentic flavour to it.

What of the narrative and information aspects? Can't fault 'Wild China' in this aspect either. The narration has a great well-balanced mix of facts that will be familiar to the viewer and others that will induce the right amount of surprise. In short, it's just fascinating, informative and thoughtful.

From start to finish, 'Wild China' managed to intrigue and illuminate, and there is a freshness to the material, not feeling derivative of anything. The narration is delivered articulately by Bernard Hill, there's an enthusiasm and precision about the delivery and it never feels preachy and always lets the scenery and such speak for itself.

The wildlife themselves are a wonderful mix of the adorable and the dangerous, and one actually finds they're rooting for them in exactly the same way they would a human character. Not just that we also see how humans interact and adapt which was just as great and interesting to watch. There is a good deal of suspense and emotional impact. There are some scenes where one is amazed that they managed to be filmed in the first place, like with the snakes.

In all the six episodes, 'Wild China' feels much more than a series and it doesn't feel episodic or repetitive. The episodes instead feel like their own story, without being too reliant on that approach, with real, complex emotions and animal characters developed in a way a human character would in a film but does it better than several.

Overall, wondrous in every regard. Not to be missed. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is by far the moat self serving "nature documentary" that i have ever seen. When i watch a nature documentary that is exactly what i want to see.... the animals and land of the region, but this documentary was just as much about the religion and beliefs of the people of China than it was about nature. The Tibet episode was almost entirely about the beliefs of the people. It seems as if the people of China have already killed off all of their animals so they couldn't fill 6 full episodes with nature. How can you make a nature documentary called "Tibet" and in that episode only mention Mt Everest in passing? I do not recommend these shows if you are looking for a good nature documentary. Maybe the last episode, because i didn't bother to watch it.

I saw the whole documentary in blu-ray, and was quite stunned by the picture quality, sound, last but not least, how they'd capture the animals and nature on film. Really gives you "wow" thoughts! Great diversity, from high Himalayan mountains and dense bamboo forests, to sea-life in the south China sea. Not just an ordinary documentary, but art!

Wild China also shows the human interaction with nature on a interesting way, e.g the fishermen in a certain scene. Definitely worth seeing!

Makes you wish there were more episodes to watch!

However, the replay value might not be the best, but it's a documentary you'd watch once a half year or so.