Discover China

The CNTV website profiles the Top 10 most beautiful geological parks in China, famous for their excellent scenery as well as their unique geologic formations.

China’s moon exploration project, Chang’e, was named after a Chinese legend about a goddess who flew to the moon. Since its commencement in 2004, the program has attracted attention from around the world. The first spacecraft of the program, Chang’e 1, was an unmanned lunar orbiter launched in 2007. The second lunar orbiter, Chang’e 2, was launched on 1 October 2010 (Chinese National Day) and is currently carrying out it’s mission of research within the moon’s orbit to lay the foundation for future moon landings and exploration.  To find out more see the CNTV Special Feature – China Launches 2nd Moon Orbiter.

What did China look like 900 years ago? It was in the most glorious period of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Zeduan, an extraordinary artist at that time, captured the daily life of people in the capital Kaifeng and made it eternal in his scroll painting, “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.” The countryside and the densely populated city are the two main sections in the picture, with the river meandering through its entire length and busy transportation and business activities functioning to connect the whole city. The Shanghai World Expo 2010 features a large animated version of the painting – to find out more about the painting and view the video see the China Network Television (CNTV) Culture Express story Look into China along the river. Kaifeng is one of China’s ancient capitals and features a number of significant historic sites. We visited the city on our trip to Henan Province in 2008.

Each year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, China Central Television (CCTV) hosts a spectacular gala that is broadcast live across China. To watch the full video online visit CCTV 2010 Mid-Autumn Festival Gala. This year’s gala was broadcast from the city of Wuhu in Anhui Province which we visited on our 2009 trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang. The distinctive Anhui architecture is reflected in the stunning Mid-Autumn Festival Gala stage set.

This Wednesday marks the traditional Chinese mid-autumn day, which is the second largest festival after Spring Festival in China. The festival is also known as the Moon festival, as the moon is at its roundest at that time of the year. On the day, family members gather to appreciate the bright full moon, eat moon cakes, and think of their home and family members who live far away. To find out more see the Chinese National Television (CNTV) stories Chinese mid-autumn day is coming! and About Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.