A recent survey of Going Global’s worldwide community listed China as the number two most interesting place to visit. It’s long held a fascination for western travelers and is a perennial favorite for regional tourists.
Travel of course is a great way to build cross-cultural learnings and to extend goodwill but so is television and one Chinese TV series has capitalized on this in a very innovative way. ”Panda & Youth” is a new documentary series which follows 3 young westerners as they learn to care for and respect China’s distinctive native bears.
Traveling from their homes in the UK and the U.S., Sienna, Annika and Michael are three young people who experienced the trip of a lifetime when they got an insider’s view of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas in Sichuan, China. It’s a great way for viewers to learn about Pandas and their native home in Sichuan Province while following along with the exploits of these teens.
The care involved cleaning, feeding and other important and often messy jobs; jobs that were handed to these kids as tasks to complete as they got to experience and know these creatures first hand.
An important part of the “I am in China: Discovering the Most Beautiful Sichuan” campaign, “Panda & Youth” is an energetic, informative and entertaining documentary and short video project which is quite timely.
After 28 years of being on the “endangered” list, Pandas have moved up to being designated “vulnerable”, in large part thanks to caregivers and groups that have worked fervently to save the panda population. Awareness of the beauty and plight of the pandas is important, and what better way to bring attention to these beautiful creatures than through the eyes of children?
The series was filmed on location in the Sichuan province, an area in the remote mountainous region of western China, where the majority of pandas live in the wild. The program is designed to care for and train young pandas to integrate safely into the wild when they are ready.
“We have released five pandas since 2006 and they have managed to survive. We do this so that the pandas can form large herds and return to the wild,” a scientist at the Base said.
Pandas have long been goodwill ambassadors for China, now they’re also TV stars.
You can watch the series on YouTube and Facebook or check your local listings.
