Chen Xiaoqing [Photo provided to China Daily]

The global trips have also brought unexpected challenges to the crew. For director Li Yong, the most impressive journey was to sail with six colleagues to shoot king crabs fishing on a Norwegian ship in a raging sea.

As one of the cameramen tried to stand on the front of the ship to get the best visual effect, the Norwegian captain worried that a swinging iron cage for hunting king crabs may hit him, insisting they stop shooting.

"The temperature is around minus 20 C in the water. No one can survive more than 2 minutes if they fall in," says Li.

In spite of unexpected risks, language barriers and a pressing deadline, director Chen says his team has a passion for documentary, and want to raise the bar for domestic documentaries, a niche in China's TV and streaming market.

Chen wants Chinese documentaries to win a bigger influence with more quality work.

"Six years ago, I visited a studio in the United States and studied some of the cutting-edge technology. I established my own documentary production company after I returned to China. We hope we can be the front-runner in our industry, which not only requires the support of technology, but also needs us to raise our storytelling skills as well as our perception about the world," he says.