Documentary series explores Zhejiang's environmental efforts

When Erik Solheim, former United Nations deputy secretary-general, visited Anji county in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, last August, he was warmly welcomed by Qiu Liqin, the head of Lujia village.

It was not the village head's first time meeting Solheim. In 2018, Qiu traveled to the UN headquarters in New York to receive a Champions of the Earth Award, the UN's highest environmental honor, as a delegate from Zhejiang's Green Rural Revival Program, which won the Inspiration and Action category, one of the five categories at the awards.

The scene features in the first episode of Qian Wan Gong Cheng (The Project for Thousands of Villages), a three-episode documentary series about the eponymous project.

Launched in 2003, the project has chosen 10,000 administrative villages out of 40,000 in Zhejiang to help enhance their environment and elevate the quality of life for villagers.

A film crew of around 100 traveled to over 100 villages in 25 counties in 11 cities in Zhejiang to interview many of the people who have been part of the project, and made the documentary in three months, the producers of the series revealed at a seminar in Beijing earlier this month.

Jointly produced by the National Radio and Television Administration and the Zhejiang Publicity Department, Qian Wan Gong Cheng was broadcast on Zhejiang Satellite TV between Jan 23 and 25, getting 150 million online views, while associated topics accumulated over 60 million views on major social platforms like Sina Weibo.