This movie talks about some landmark Chinese architectures as well as the relevant Chinese architectural and cultural history behind. Both the ancient and modern Chinese architectural wonders will be addressed from the artistic and scientific prospective. This series, starting with two chapters on Great Wall and Beijing Makeover, discusses the far-reaching influence of those famous architectures upon the Chinese history and social life through gorgeous pictures, interesting explanations and credible interviews.

Shanghai Makeover
In 2008, the tallest building in the world will tower over a Chinese city, a city which has had the fifth tallest building of the globe, the tallest hotel, the longest underwater pedestrian walkway, and the fastest maglev train. The city is Shanghai. As the city with the largest population and the highest economic development speed in China, Shanghai attracts architectural talent from all over the world, providing them with a huge stage on which they can put their most adventurous designs and newest technologies into practice. Shanghai is constructing unique buildings day and night; it is not only an architectural wonder of China but also of the world.  
The shots in the documentary mainly focus on some representative buildings such as Jin Mao Tower, Lupu Bridge, Shanghai World Financial Center and Oriental Pearl Tower. It shows their characteristics from a refreshing angle; through combining on-the-spot shots and computer graphics and reproducing the procedures of design and construction, the program presents inanimate structures to viewers in lively and vivid TV language; by thoroughly probing the historical details of these buildings. It tells of the vicissitudes of Shanghai in the past and looks ahead to tomorrow's international metropolis.

Hangzhou Bay Bridge
In 2009, Hangzhou Bay Bridge connecting Shanghai and Ningbo, with a length of 36 kilometers, will be open to traffic. It is the longest cross-sea bridge in the world under construction. With a two-way expressway each of three lanes, the bridge has a targeted service life of over 100 years; it cost 11.8 billion Yuan, and will use 1.20 million tons of cement, and 600 thousand tons of steel products. Moreover, the climate of Hangzhou Bay is treacherous; the bay is one of the three with strongest tides and there are less than 200 effective working days in a year. Hence, the bridge is rather difficult to build. The designers, as well as the builders, face numberless technical difficulties.   
Through shooting on the spot, reproducing stories, expert talk show and detail descriptions, the program introduces the architectural and engineering theory of the design of the bridge and the scientific and technological innovation in the course of its construction. In a certain sense, it reflects the great changes China is undergoing today.

Great Wall

This program describes the amazing scale and legend of the Great Wall, opening a full picture about how the ancient Chinese engineers and craftsmen built the whole Wall and gave it life. Through modern computer technologies the original blueprint for the Great Wall, the subsequent revisions to meet the ever changing defensive demands as well as some architectural secrets will be finally revealed.  

Beijing Makeover

China's preparation for the Olympic Games has proved to the whole world that it has become a strong nation standing in the East. A large scale environmental protection movement has been carried forward in China and in the meantime a large number of well designed sports facilities are being constructed, among which, the National Stadium, the host stadium for the games, is the most eye-catching. 

Interview with Mr. Jiang Xiaoyu, Executive Vice-President of the Beijing Organizing Committee
for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG)

Olympic Stadium under-construction

Shooting the best-known street in Beijing -- Wang Fu Jing

Length: 60 minutes/ chapter
Language: English
Year: 2005
Produced by CICC (China Intercontinental Communication Center) and NHNZ (Natural History New Zealand)
Presented by CICC (China Intercontinental Communication Center) and Discovery Networks Asia