This isn't your daddy's Olympic games so why are you still watching the day's events on your lame TV set. But then, how does one keep up with the over 300 Olympic events in 28 sports? Well, the Beijing Olympics have been digitized for your delicious consumption. This means fans in China will be able to watch however, wherever, and whenever they please. China is #1 in the world with 253M internet users as compared to 220M in the US. More amazingly, recent statistics report that over 500M Chinese have and use mobile phones. We scour Beijing to see how the digital age is changing peoples' viewing patterns. We find that watching the Olympics is pretty much inescapable; it's everywhere--on mobiles and computers, in taxis, elevators and shopping malls, on subways, and even at gas stations.This isn't your daddy's Olympic games so why are you still watching the day's events... more
Watch the entire first show of our five part series. Naked China: Busting Out examines the massive economic growth that's transformed China, particularly the hundreds of millions in its new middle class.Watch the entire first show of our five part series. Naked China: Busting Out... more
Watch the entire second show of our five part series. From an unprecedented construction boom to a struggle to clean up the air and environment, "Naked China: The Good, Bad and the Ugly" explores what China has done to get ready for the Olympics.Watch the entire second show of our five part series. From an unprecedented... more
Watch the entire fourth show in our five part series. Increasing prosperity has emboldened many Chinese to fight for greater freedoms and more democracy. Is China on the brink of a revolution?Watch the entire fourth show in our five part series. Increasing prosperity has... more
Watch the entire final show in our five part series. "Naked China: Let the Party Begin" is an up-close and personal look at life in China today. From hipsters in Beijing to people who collect foot calluses.Watch the entire final show in our five part series. "Naked China: Let the Party... more
Angela Sun looks at how Christians in China are going against the Communist government's authority and worshing in underground churches. It's a growing movement that has inspired an estimated 50 million Chinese citizens to worship in secret.Angela Sun looks at how Christians in China are going against the Communist... more
City of Refuge/Pittsburgh provides sanctuary to writers exiled under threat of death, imprisonment, or persecution in their native countries.
Writer/painter Huang Xiang is considered to be a pre-eminent post cultural revolution poet of China. His unceasing bravery, in the face of sure re-imprisonment, and further torture, forced him to leave his homeland.
Huang Xiang was born in Hunan Province, China.
Huang began writing poems in the 1950s and has been imprisoned repeatedly for his work. In 1978, he founded "Enlightenment", the first underground writers' society, and started a literary magazine with the same title. In exile in the United States since 1997, he was resident poet in Pittsburgh under the Cities of Refuge program.
TODAY, YOUNG WRITERS IN CHINA FACE THE SAME DESTINY.City of Refuge/Pittsburgh provides sanctuary to writers exiled under threat of death,... more
In the early 1990s, villagers around central China were organized by local governments to sell their blood. But some of these village blood selling businesses were unhygenic and many villagers contracted HIV/AIDS. Angela Sun braves the wrath of local officials to visit a village in Hebei Province where 20% of the residents contracted HIV/AIDS.In the early 1990s, villagers around central China were organized by local governments... more
In 2001 the Chinese government declassified homosexuality from the designation as a mental illness. Partly in thanks to this development, along with an astonishing economic boom, an emerging gay scene has began to take shape in China's most modern city Shanghai.In 2001 the Chinese government declassified homosexuality from the designation as a... more
The Real Ting profiles the Chinese tattoo artis Zhuo Dan Ting, who is as well known for her talent as a tattoo artist as for her unique look and style. Through her experiences we can see the development, and influences driving China to be an more open minded society. Ting is an example of self expression at it's loudest.The Real Ting profiles the Chinese tattoo artis Zhuo Dan Ting, who is as well known... more
Laura Ling goes to China where an information battle is taking place between China's 120 million Internet users and the Chinese government's web censors.Laura Ling goes to China where an information battle is taking place between China's... more
Laura Ling looks into China's booming sex industry, one that was virtually non-existent twenty-five years ago.Laura Ling looks into China's booming sex industry, one that was virtually... more
China's rapid economic growth over the last two decades has seen the emergence of many new industries, including the sex industry. This pod explores this issue through eyes of two male prostitutes, immersed in this secret world.China's rapid economic growth over the last two decades has seen the emergence of many... more
Take a trip to an electronic wasteland in Southern China. Here, much the world's electronic waste ends up. The crude process of recycling this e-waste can have serious health and environmental consequences.Take a trip to an electronic wasteland in Southern China. Here, much the world's... more
A look at China's massive makeover as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games in 2008.A look at China's massive makeover as the country prepares to host the Olympic Games... more
Beijing is gearing up for the arrival of the Olympic games. Training schools have been set up to drill Olympic ushers and bartenders into world class hosts.Beijing is gearing up for the arrival of the Olympic games. Training schools have been... more
'Gathering Dust' is a collection of fleeting portraits of migrants in Beijing. It visits a cleaner, a migrant school teacher, street vendors, sex workers and migrant children. These migrants come from poor rural areas, and when in Beijing, live at the fringes of urban society. Yet they perform many of the menial jobs without which, Beijing's and China's astonishing development would not be possible. We wanted to capture these stories on film and spent 3 weeks in Beijing shooting the project. It wasn't always easy, as migration is a sensitive subject. We found many closed doors, especially with the Olympics only one year away. But in the end, we wanted to focus on personal stories of migrating to Beijing from different parts of China." Official statistics place the number of internal migrants over 130 million: 10% of China's entire population. Today, they make up more than 40% of the urban workforce, and being largely unskilled labourers, and perform menial tasks such as rubbish collection and construction. Despite their large numbers, internal migrants are strongly disenfranchised compared to urban residents. China's household registration system (hukou) ties government services to native place and occupation. Poor migrants are prevented from accessing social services in urban areas, such as subsidized housing, free education and pensions. Living conditions are often cramped, and diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis spread easily. In 2006, 80% of new HIV cases reported in Beijing were migrant workers. Children inherit the hukou from their parents, and without government education, they have little chance on improving their social status. Annual school fees in Beijing exceed the income of some construction workers. Roughly half of migrant children therefore cannot attend school, and nearly 10% are forced to drop out. There are cheaper 'migrant schools'. But teaching is often sub-standard, and diplomas are largely unrecognized by state education authorities.'Gathering Dust' is a collection of fleeting portraits of migrants in Beijing. It... more
In this pod, Zack Mexico examines China's thriving smoking culture. As the Olympic games have approached, the government has attempted to brush the rampant cigarette use under the carpet, but has been met with resistance from China's smoking culture.In this pod, Zack Mexico examines China's thriving smoking culture. As the Olympic... more
A look at the pollution in Beijing, one of the worlds most polluted both before and during the Olympic Games, when the government will make a concentrated effort to curtail the smog. In this pod, Zack Mexico examines the effects of the pollution and performs his own make-shift experiments to gauge how bad it really is.A look at the pollution in Beijing, one of the worlds most polluted both before and... more
China is building megacities like this at a pace and scale the
world has never seen before. Chongqing has 12 million people and counting.
It's part of the central government's plan to bring some of China's economic
boom to its impoverished interior province where three out of four Chinese
live. Vanguard takes you on a whirlwind tour of the city---from inside a
cramped boarding house where migrant workers to inside a starter apartment
of China's new class of yuppies; from inside ancient, crumbling teahouses to
gleaming new car factories.China is building megacities like this at a pace and scale the
world has never seen... more
