Master of culture

"Traditional culture is not something old and outdated," Wang says. "Instead, they have enduring charm to provide guidelines for modern lifestyles and artistic creations, and may also generate new fashion trends."

For instance, in the second episode about kung fu, Chinese American choreographer Franklin Yu follows action film star Frankie Chan to visit prestigious Wing Chun master Duncan Leung to seek inspiration for his dance works.

In the episode about the 24 solar terms, the relationship between the Chinese calendar and seasonal food is explored, with award-winning chef Su Qisheng going to Sichuan and Yunnan provinces to find the best seasonal ingredients to localize molecular gastronomy, a cooking style emerging from the West.

With bamboo shoots from Sichuan, black truffles and rushan (or milk fan) cheese from Yunnan, Su creates a dish shaped like a resting panda, fulfilling his wish to use a molecular gastronomy cooking technique to showcase the complex Chinese culture.

On another episode featuring landscape paintings, photographer Zhang Kechun treks to remote snowy mountains, using cameras and lighting to create epic photos which look like living landscape paintings.

The documentary has been aired in 40 countries and regions in Asia-Pacific on Discovery Channel, and will soon be aired in more regions overseas.