Mountains and prairies in Yili Kazak autonomous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chinese TV viewers typically say that Chinese nature documentaries are not as good as their Western counterparts. But, a new China Central Television documentary series shot in high-definition is getting an unprecedented response.

Four episodes of Aerial China were screened by CCTV's Documentary Channel during the Lunar New Year festival, and the rating for the documentary series on Douban.com, the country's top TV and film fan website, is 9.4 points out of 10, putting it at the top of the documentary ratings list.

Commenting on the ratings, Yu Le, 36, director of the series, says: "When people recommend a documentary, they always say something like 'It's a production by the BBC', but not this time."

Speaking about how the documentary series was made, he says: "Even the most familiar things look different from a height.

"We wanted to show how beautiful this familiar country is, and this was possible thanks to our time up in the air."