Shaolin-Schüler; Quelle: Ingo Au rich

A film by Christian Klemke - Through the east of China to Beijing (8/10)

A journey through China - from the south to the capital, from Guangzhou to Beijing. Our team crosses a historic border that used to divide the Middle Kingdom until the 20th century: the Yangtze river. From times immemorial, there was not a single bridge to connect the north and the south of China.

The farEAST-team goes to see an opera. Together with farmers from a village close to Guangzhou, they experience a Canton opera performance on the schoolyard of the local country school... in front of the stage and behind it. The Yangtze - the large river that, until the middle of the 20th century, did not  have a single bridge - runs through the megapolis Wuhan. The team meets an engineer who took part in conceiving and building the first tremendous bridge across the wide river.

The Shaolin monastery could be called the sanctuary for all Kung-Fu-enthusiasts and the city Dengfeng beside it, with all its Kung-Fu schools, a paradise for all fans of martial arts. But these schools are far from being paradisaical places. It is not about practicing but about tough military exercise. The Zhanshiyan park, in turn, is a true paradise. Here, the team checks out the echo in the mountains that is said to be unique in all the world.

Beijing, China's vibrant capital has lot's of problems - with air pollution and with lack of water. And it creates more problems by tearing down the old residential neighborhoods. A Chinese doctor invites the team into his fabulous house at the gates of the city in which he practices traditional life according to the rules of feng shui. Despite the ban of heavy duty firecrackers, the inhabitants of Beijing love them, not only at the turn of the year but year round. The Beijing fire department, as the team finds out when they follow the men around for a day, is not happy about this.