By Zhou Jin

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Nourished by the Same River

By Zhou Jin

After three years of shooting， the 20-part high-definition TV documentary Nourished by the Same River was broadcast in 2008. China Central Television （CCTV）provided investment， and cooperated with fve national TV stations of Thailand， Cambodia，Laos， Myanmar and Vietnam to complete the shooting. Te original name of the documentary was Lancang-Mekong River. However，in the spirit of “peace， friendship， cooperation and development”， it was fnally renamed.

It tells the stories of over 40 persons in different countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region， including fishermen from Cambodia， an elephant trainer from Tailand，villagers from a rainforest in Laos， workers of a ruby mine in Myanmar， a female member of an explosive ordnance disposal team from Vietnam and a traditional craftsman from Yunnan in China， reflecting the region's geography， nature， economy， culture， religion，people's life and social status.

Why was such a documentary produced？Its general director， Li Xiaoshan， revealed in a recent interview： “It is mainly because of the signifcance of the Greater Mekong Subregion to so many.”

He went on to explain： “I raised the funds to shoot this documentary to publicize the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area. During preparations， I saw some materials and found that the people in neighboring lands were generally very friendly towards China. Hence，it was necessary to develop economic cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.”

Why was such a documentary produced？ Its general director，Li Xiaoshan， revealed in a recent interview： “It is mainly because of the significance of the Greater Mekong Sub-region to so many.”

In recent years， the Chinese Government has put forward a diplomatic policy of“building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries” and “securing anamicable， tranquil and prosperous neighborhood” to achieve more pragmatic and specifc cooperation. As a model of regional cooperation， the GMS has provided strong impetus to the wider cooperation between China and ASEAN.

Documentary Nourished by the Same River being popular with Chinese audience.

A group of children enjoy their summer vacation by jumping in the water on a hot day in Cai Lay， Vietnam.

Mekong River， mother river of local residents.

Having worked for 15 years at CCTV， Li Xiaoshan is skilled at shooting a large-scale documentary and guiding its production. He has directed a number of works and won many international awards. As the general director of Nourished by the Same River， he was delighted with the project despite facing tremendous pressure.

“I am glad to direct such a monumental work with the partners of other five countries. Together， we tell our own stories in this high-quality documentary，” Li said.

In fact， it was very hard to flm along the Lancang-Mekong River since it is the boundary between Myanmar and Laos and also Thailand and Laos， flanked by high mountains and dense forests with a primitive road network. Tus， CCTV proposed a joint shooting approach with the TV stations of other countries. Te documentary is the frst largescale cultural and geographical documentary created by the six countries.

The documentary is not a fragmentary compilation of travel anecdotes but is held together by the theme refecting the common ground of the six countries. For example， all of them are major rice producers： there are Yuanyang terraced felds and rice paddies in mountainous areas in southern Yunnan； the crops are harvested seven times over a twoyear period in Vietnam， the highest yield frequency in the world； and the rice processing of Tailand is world-famous.

Li Xiaoshan said the aim of the documentary was to make the region known to more people. Therefore， it should show a wide range of resources， in particular those to be developed， such as water， forests and animals.

Attentive viewers may find that many of the 20 themes of the documentary involve rich regional products such as the above-mentioned rice， minerals， forest products， flowers and fruits. Li Xiaoshan said：“Although we can't refect all aspects due to our limited shooting cycle and limited budget， we know what we should explore and pay attention to in the future.”

The documentary offers much fine detail. Take the Water-Sprinkling Festival for example. It is a traditional festival of the countries who believe in Theravada Buddhism in the Mekong River Valley to celebrate the Buddhist New Year. Celebrations vary between countries， such as worship rites，showing respect to elders， fower parade and beauty contest. Tere is a comprehensive synchronized record of the distinctive festivals and traditional customs of these countries in the documentary. “The civilization of the countries along this river turns out to be homogeneous in regard to human progress， a point which we should highlight in this documentary，” said Li.

Broadcasting of the documentary caused much discussion in China. A netizen named“Jiuyue Haizi” said： “Recently， I have one thing to do before going to bed every night，i.e. to watch a 20-part TV documentary Nourished by the Same River， a good series rarely seen in years. In my opinion， if a flm is good， one can still remember it afer a few days and think of it when doing something else. It seems as if one has actually experienced the stories， been to these places and lived with these people.”

Another netizen commented： “I strongly recommend this documentary with exquisite production and excellent commentaries. Each part mainly depicts one or two characters or families. I am deeply impressed by the Smile of Angkor， and Living on Water and Dragon Boat Races -also moved me a lot.”

Recently， with the increasingly close relations between China and ASEAN， the bilateral cooperation has showed new development momentum， giving Li Xiaoshan a new idea. He recalled regrets over lack of time and fund limitations when shooting Nourished by the Same River. Now， he is actively preparing for shooting a sequel to present a new look of the Greater Mekong Sub-region with richer contents.

Background

After one year of deliberation and negotiations， the Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation Mechanism held its first foreign ministers' meeting in Jinghong City of Yunnan on November 12， 2015. China， Myanmar，Laos， Thailand， Cambodia and Vietnam will launch new “circle of friends” for regional cooperation - the“Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation Mechanism”.

Known as the “Oriental Danube”， the Lancang-Mekong River originates from the Tanggula Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China， flows from Qinghai into Yunnan via Tibet and passes through Myanmar， Laos， Thailand， Cambodia and Vietnam. With a total length of 4，900 km， it is the sixth largest river in the world， and the only one linking six countries in Asia. This region is relatively underdeveloped in terms of economy and society， but the potential for economic and trade cooperation is huge in this region.