1 00:00:41,967 --> 00:00:46,245 There it is - the coast of China. The big one. 2 00:00:46,407 --> 00:00:52,004 Probably the most important and significant of all the countries of the Pacific Rim, 3 00:00:52,167 --> 00:00:54,920 and yet the one that's least understood. 4 00:00:55,087 --> 00:00:59,922 But we've got to try and understand it because if forecasts are right, 5 00:01:00,087 --> 00:01:05,764 within the next 25 years, China is going to have the most powerful economy in the world. 6 00:01:05,927 --> 00:01:10,637 Yet I still have that feeling - partly because of its recent history - 7 00:01:10,807 --> 00:01:15,927 of apprehension about travelling in China, a vague whiff of difficulty. 8 00:01:16,087 --> 00:01:22,117 But I'm also deeply fascinated and looking forward to getting there. 9 00:01:26,007 --> 00:01:32,401 Slipping into China through Qingdao is like coming in through the back door. 10 00:01:36,887 --> 00:01:42,120 If you've taken the overnight ferry from Korea, this is where you will first set foot 11 00:01:42,287 --> 00:01:47,441 in a country that is home to one quarter of the world's population. 12 00:01:54,727 --> 00:01:57,639 The first surprise is how big the place is. 13 00:01:57,807 --> 00:02:03,439 Qingdao has grown from a seaside resort to a city the size of London in just 20 years. 14 00:02:03,607 --> 00:02:06,758 And there are no signs of it stopping there. 15 00:02:07,767 --> 00:02:14,240 The second surprise is the Welcome Guest House, which turns out to be a Bavarian castle. 16 00:02:21,127 --> 00:02:26,326 It was built for the governor 90 years ago when Qingdao was a German colony. 17 00:02:26,487 --> 00:02:32,483 The spirit of Wagner lingers in the woodwork and the Chinese seem to rather like it. 18 00:02:33,687 --> 00:02:39,080 Communist leaders were especially keen, if the wall plaques are anything to go by. 19 00:02:39,247 --> 00:02:43,445 When Mao Tse-tung went to the seaside, this is where he came, 20 00:02:43,607 --> 00:02:46,758 and this is the room he stayed in. 21 00:02:47,807 --> 00:02:52,961 It's just this, is it? Thank you very much. Xie xie. Xie xie. 22 00:03:05,967 --> 00:03:10,802 A little anteroom for drinking tea and planning revolutions. 23 00:03:12,167 --> 00:03:16,160 And through here another little room leading to another... 24 00:03:17,327 --> 00:03:20,842 huge room! The state bathroom. 25 00:03:22,247 --> 00:03:24,238 This is wonderful. 26 00:03:24,407 --> 00:03:29,083 A mixture of simple socialist taste and German baroque 27 00:03:29,247 --> 00:03:32,842 results in a very small loo. 28 00:03:35,607 --> 00:03:39,395 The old colonial town has survived remarkably unscathed. 29 00:03:39,567 --> 00:03:43,162 Maybe because the party leaders liked it so much. 30 00:03:46,367 --> 00:03:52,397 Modern China has been grafted onto Germany without anybody really noticing. 31 00:03:56,567 --> 00:04:02,722 As soon as I've unpacked, I take a walk to get my first feel of life on Chinese streets. 32 00:04:02,887 --> 00:04:06,675 Looks interesting. Blood donors, organ donors. 33 00:04:10,727 --> 00:04:13,082 The sign doesn't help much, 34 00:04:13,247 --> 00:04:18,082 but the sign language tells me that "mass massage" is on offer. 35 00:04:18,247 --> 00:04:21,717 (SPEAKS CHINESE) 36 00:04:25,847 --> 00:04:29,726 Every single masseur turns out to be blind. 37 00:04:29,887 --> 00:04:32,685 Yeah? Shall I take my coat off? 38 00:04:33,687 --> 00:04:36,759 Do you speak any English? 39 00:04:36,927 --> 00:04:38,918 Do you speak any English? 40 00:04:41,367 --> 00:04:47,476 Well, communication isn't really necessary. Does it through the fingers. 41 00:04:50,287 --> 00:04:55,236 It's getting slightly stronger all the time. Pressure's like... 42 00:04:58,047 --> 00:05:01,084 having a wall collapse on you. 43 00:05:01,247 --> 00:05:03,841 That's nice. That's better. 44 00:05:04,007 --> 00:05:07,283 (VOICE WARBLES) 45 00:05:10,087 --> 00:05:13,124 He'll turn me out on the street in a minute. 46 00:05:13,287 --> 00:05:18,759 Public massage is clearly not unusual in China and I come away converted. 47 00:05:20,487 --> 00:05:25,038 Walking on air. Walking on air. Really... It's a tough massage. 48 00:05:25,207 --> 00:05:28,597 A few bones broken, but I feel wonderful. 49 00:05:30,887 --> 00:05:34,721 The Chinese seaside seems just like the British seaside - 50 00:05:34,887 --> 00:05:39,517 lots of people in thick coats walking round very cold water. 51 00:05:41,367 --> 00:05:47,158 There are the same school parties and the same loonies... sorry, health freaks. 52 00:05:50,687 --> 00:05:55,920 There are the same keep-fit fanatics and the same sun-worshippers. 53 00:06:05,447 --> 00:06:08,086 Being photographed seems to be a passion 54 00:06:08,247 --> 00:06:12,240 and one that an old ham like myself can hardly resist. 55 00:06:16,767 --> 00:06:18,917 It gives me a sense of belonging, 56 00:06:19,087 --> 00:06:22,602 as if I've become an honorary Chinese on my first day. 57 00:06:24,647 --> 00:06:29,801 That's good. You like those? They're good? Yeah. Very nice. 58 00:06:29,967 --> 00:06:34,995 Back at the guest house, there is only one possible book at bedtime. 59 00:06:35,167 --> 00:06:37,840 "Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-tung." 60 00:06:38,007 --> 00:06:41,920 Suitable reading for the man who once slept here. 61 00:06:42,927 --> 00:06:46,761 "The socialist system will eventually replace the capitalist system. 62 00:06:46,927 --> 00:06:50,886 "This is an objective law, independent of man's will. 63 00:06:51,047 --> 00:06:54,801 "However much the reactionaries try to hold back history, 64 00:06:54,967 --> 00:07:00,166 "sooner or later revolution will take place and will inevitably triumph." 65 00:07:02,607 --> 00:07:04,962 It's a dream, really. 66 00:07:10,127 --> 00:07:15,155 0utside the city is something never envisaged in Mao's little red book - 67 00:07:15,327 --> 00:07:18,683 a vineyard producing Chinese Chardonnay. 68 00:07:18,847 --> 00:07:22,237 It was started 12 years ago by a pioneering Englishman 69 00:07:22,407 --> 00:07:26,241 who went bust and died at the age of 43. 70 00:07:26,407 --> 00:07:31,765 Parry's grave overlooks slopes where supply can now barely keep pace with demand. 71 00:07:31,927 --> 00:07:37,240 - Do the Chinese like wine now? - Oh, yes. Very much. 72 00:07:37,407 --> 00:07:41,400 Wu Lizhu is the chief winemaker at the Hua Dong vineyard. 73 00:07:41,567 --> 00:07:45,355 Because production is getting bigger and bigger. 74 00:07:46,927 --> 00:07:52,206 Michael Parry's unfulfilled dream has been realised as a joint-venture project 75 00:07:52,367 --> 00:07:55,962 between the Chinese and a British company. 76 00:08:04,087 --> 00:08:08,683 Hua Dong is being modernised, but the labels still go on by hand 77 00:08:08,847 --> 00:08:13,841 and some of the departments remain defiantly labour-intensive. 78 00:08:18,487 --> 00:08:21,240 In the end, it's all a matter of taste. 79 00:08:21,407 --> 00:08:24,922 - The magic moment. - Let's start with Riesling. 80 00:08:25,087 --> 00:08:28,523 0n an afternoon when we didn't need to chill the wines, 81 00:08:28,687 --> 00:08:31,838 Wu Lizhu poured me some of his favourites. 82 00:08:32,847 --> 00:08:35,486 It's a nice colour. Yup. 83 00:08:36,487 --> 00:08:39,797 Pale and... Chinese Riesling here we go. 84 00:08:41,327 --> 00:08:44,205 Yup. Kind of appley. 85 00:08:44,367 --> 00:08:47,564 Yeah. Appley. Like green apple. 86 00:08:50,247 --> 00:08:53,319 - Shall we break the ice? - Taste it. 87 00:08:57,847 --> 00:08:59,838 Mmm. 88 00:09:01,967 --> 00:09:04,640 That's smashing. Nice, isn't it? 89 00:09:04,807 --> 00:09:08,436 - Well, that's good. - Shall we change to Chardonnay? 90 00:09:08,607 --> 00:09:11,804 I could do with a few more glasses, but China awaits. 91 00:09:11,967 --> 00:09:15,357 There's a lot of the country still to go. 92 00:09:18,487 --> 00:09:22,799 We've come inland now from Qingdao on the coast to Taishan, 93 00:09:22,967 --> 00:09:25,162 China's most sacred mountain. 94 00:09:25,327 --> 00:09:30,685 It's considered to your spiritual advantage to climb it, which I intend to do. 95 00:09:30,847 --> 00:09:36,763 Thoughtfully they've put some steps up the mountain - 6,293 of them. 96 00:09:36,927 --> 00:09:39,646 So I'd better get started. 97 00:09:43,167 --> 00:09:48,639 The Chinese believe that if you can climb the Exalted Mountain, you'll live to be 100. 98 00:09:48,807 --> 00:09:52,561 Pension-fund managers would be impressed by the turnout. 99 00:09:59,327 --> 00:10:03,684 Good for you, though, isn't it? It's a good thing to climb. 100 00:10:03,847 --> 00:10:06,315 Once you get to the top... 101 00:10:08,087 --> 00:10:11,966 the gods will look after you for a few years... 102 00:10:15,287 --> 00:10:18,245 ...till you come again. 103 00:10:22,287 --> 00:10:25,040 The stamina of the pilgrims is impressive. 104 00:10:25,207 --> 00:10:28,119 Taishan Mountain is 5,000 feet high. 105 00:10:28,287 --> 00:10:31,165 Well before the top, we're amongst snow. 106 00:10:31,327 --> 00:10:34,399 I've lost count now but I think it's about 200... 107 00:10:34,567 --> 00:10:36,637 About one... 108 00:10:37,487 --> 00:10:40,001 "Is this travel or work?" I was asked. 109 00:10:40,167 --> 00:10:43,318 To travel and work. To see the country. 110 00:10:43,487 --> 00:10:48,925 - To see the country. - As much of the country as possible. 111 00:10:50,247 --> 00:10:56,482 Today Taishan, tomorrow the world. Race you to the top? 112 00:10:56,647 --> 00:11:02,643 The only people who take it in their stride are porters carrying the heaviest weights. 113 00:11:17,567 --> 00:11:21,480 Taishan Mountain has great meaning for all Chinese. 114 00:11:21,647 --> 00:11:24,639 Taoists believe life begins where the sun rises, 115 00:11:24,807 --> 00:11:28,800 so this - the most easterly mountain in China - is the most sacred. 116 00:11:28,967 --> 00:11:31,959 Even Chairman Mao struggled up here. 117 00:11:34,447 --> 00:11:39,316 At last, after two and a half hours, I reach the Southern Gate of Heaven. 118 00:11:49,927 --> 00:11:54,239 0nce through the august portals, relief is short-lived. 119 00:11:57,287 --> 00:12:00,279 Not only is the temperature well below zero, 120 00:12:00,447 --> 00:12:04,884 but the real heaven is another half-mile away up another hundred steps. 121 00:12:06,287 --> 00:12:11,486 Then there's Immortalisation Archway to pass through and you're there. 122 00:12:14,447 --> 00:12:18,918 Time to pay respects to the greatest deity on the mountain - 123 00:12:19,087 --> 00:12:23,683 the Princess of the Temple of the Azure Cloud. 124 00:12:28,527 --> 00:12:31,599 Thank you very much. Very nice mountain. 125 00:12:38,967 --> 00:12:42,846 From the sacred mountains of Taishan to the fleshpots of Shanghai 126 00:12:43,007 --> 00:12:46,363 is a journey of 550 miles. 127 00:12:49,607 --> 00:12:54,681 For a Communist country, China's trains have always been class-conscious. 128 00:12:54,847 --> 00:12:59,682 Now the difference between hard and soft class seems to be widening. 129 00:12:59,847 --> 00:13:04,125 Hello. Taking pictures of Chinese eating breakfast? 130 00:13:04,287 --> 00:13:08,246 In today's China, wealth, it seems, can be flaunted without risk. 131 00:13:08,407 --> 00:13:13,242 As Deng Xiaoping himself said, "To be rich is glorious." 132 00:13:13,407 --> 00:13:16,922 - Rice? - No, it's not rice. 133 00:13:20,447 --> 00:13:24,645 I'm invited to eat with a businessman who honed his skills in Canada 134 00:13:24,807 --> 00:13:28,197 and is now one of Shanghai's many new entrepreneurs. 135 00:13:28,367 --> 00:13:33,839 I was here eight years ago and it seems to be changing a lot. Do you find it's changed? 136 00:13:34,007 --> 00:13:39,320 For the last ten years, it's changed a lot, mostly in the major cities 137 00:13:39,487 --> 00:13:45,562 and especially around the coast and on the Hong Kong border. 138 00:13:45,727 --> 00:13:51,802 Shenzhen is the city changed the most. Shanghai has been changing a lot. 139 00:13:51,967 --> 00:13:57,087 Are there problems running a business in China that you wouldn't have elsewhere? 140 00:13:57,247 --> 00:14:02,560 Over here there are problems. People are not used to the way we're running things. 141 00:14:02,727 --> 00:14:08,723 They've been working in the Communist kind of way for the last 40 years. 142 00:14:08,887 --> 00:14:11,276 But they're learning. 143 00:14:11,447 --> 00:14:14,439 (CHINESE SONG ON RADIO) 144 00:14:21,687 --> 00:14:26,602 It's eight years since I was last on a Chinese train and they have changed. 145 00:14:26,767 --> 00:14:31,682 The in-train entertainment system now carries adverts. 146 00:14:31,847 --> 00:14:34,407 There was one for liquor and one for insurance. 147 00:14:34,567 --> 00:14:37,479 The buffet I had for breakfast this morning. 148 00:14:37,647 --> 00:14:41,606 Very international. The uniforms. The look of the train. 149 00:14:41,767 --> 00:14:46,238 It's all much more up to date. It's almost more Western. 150 00:14:46,407 --> 00:14:51,037 I just remember it used to be a bit livelier, a bit less predictable. 151 00:14:51,207 --> 00:14:54,358 I wonder if this is just one face of modern China. 152 00:15:05,447 --> 00:15:09,440 See? More advertising. In exactly the right place. 153 00:15:21,527 --> 00:15:26,123 We're sucked into Shanghai by mile after mile of new apartment blocks. 154 00:15:26,287 --> 00:15:29,404 They're being built for the millions of Chinese 155 00:15:29,567 --> 00:15:34,516 who Chairman Mao once exhorted to work the countryside. 156 00:15:34,687 --> 00:15:39,715 They're now urged by his successors to seek their fortune in the city. 157 00:15:43,007 --> 00:15:48,320 0utside the station, I step into a great stew of cars, crowds and commerce. 158 00:15:48,487 --> 00:15:51,285 0verwhelming but exciting. 159 00:16:02,527 --> 00:16:04,836 Next morning I'm out on the streets 160 00:16:05,007 --> 00:16:09,398 because the authorities won't let us interview people in their houses. 161 00:16:09,567 --> 00:16:12,365 So not everything has changed. 162 00:16:16,847 --> 00:16:21,045 The number of bicycles in Shanghai provides a collective security - 163 00:16:21,207 --> 00:16:27,077 it's the cyclist who's boss, not the car - but I wonder for how long. 164 00:16:40,207 --> 00:16:45,645 I'm told that beside these old alleys where Chinese Communism was born, 165 00:16:45,807 --> 00:16:49,083 there is now a branch of Harvey Nichols. 166 00:16:57,527 --> 00:17:01,566 And it's true. London, New York and Paris are all represented here. 167 00:17:01,727 --> 00:17:04,719 Even Savile Row has come to Shanghai. 168 00:17:09,327 --> 00:17:11,397 - Hello. - Hello. 169 00:17:11,567 --> 00:17:17,358 It's quite a surprise to find Gieves & Hawkes here. It's a long way from home. 170 00:17:18,727 --> 00:17:21,560 Let's have a look. Ah, there's a sale. 171 00:17:21,727 --> 00:17:25,322 - Can I try this on? - You can try it, sir, yeah. 172 00:17:30,247 --> 00:17:34,718 I never get the chance to go to Gieves & Hawkes in London. 173 00:17:35,727 --> 00:17:37,797 - Mirror. - Thank you. 174 00:17:44,687 --> 00:17:47,440 Not quite. I don't think it's quite me. 175 00:17:47,607 --> 00:17:51,919 It should be longer and wider and I could have it as a dressing gown. 176 00:17:52,087 --> 00:17:54,999 - How much is that? - 440. 177 00:17:55,167 --> 00:18:01,197 440? For only 440 quid you can look like a complete prat. 178 00:18:01,367 --> 00:18:05,804 Let's have a look at the blazers. They're not in the sale. How much is it? 179 00:18:05,967 --> 00:18:10,404 - That's £750. - £750. Yes. 180 00:18:10,567 --> 00:18:16,039 Is it really only 20 years since the whole country wore Chairman Mao jackets? 181 00:18:16,207 --> 00:18:20,200 Better? That's better, isn't it? That's more like it. 182 00:18:23,567 --> 00:18:26,639 Lovely. Oh... Sorry, I've just noticed. 183 00:18:28,847 --> 00:18:31,919 - But you can look only... - Exactly. 184 00:18:32,087 --> 00:18:36,603 Just shoot me from up here, Nigel. Do you sell bicycle clips? 185 00:18:39,007 --> 00:18:43,398 That's what I really need - some monogrammed bicycle clips. 186 00:18:45,927 --> 00:18:50,717 Alongside luxury tailors, luxury cars are beginning to appear. 187 00:18:54,567 --> 00:19:01,325 At this speed of change, I wonder how long Shanghai's bicycle-repair men will survive. 188 00:19:01,487 --> 00:19:04,285 (MICHAEL) Good. That's fine. Thank you. 189 00:19:05,287 --> 00:19:07,278 That enough? 190 00:19:08,927 --> 00:19:12,715 Really? You don't want that? Bargain. Xie xie. 191 00:19:15,527 --> 00:19:18,246 Nice to do business with you. 192 00:19:18,407 --> 00:19:24,164 Just as you start thinking you understand China, you come across something like this. 193 00:19:24,327 --> 00:19:27,797 (GENTLE WALTZ PLAYS) 194 00:19:29,367 --> 00:19:33,997 Something you can't imagine happening on 0xford Street or Fifth Avenue. 195 00:19:42,727 --> 00:19:47,801 The Chinese love ballroom dancing and they'll do it anywhere. 196 00:19:47,967 --> 00:19:52,279 And anyone can join in. You don't have to be Fred Astaire. 197 00:19:54,287 --> 00:19:57,085 It's all coming back to me now. 198 00:20:00,287 --> 00:20:04,917 I gave all this up for rock and roll. I only had two lessons. 199 00:20:06,287 --> 00:20:10,997 You don't need to speak the same language. You just have to be dressed properly. 200 00:20:20,327 --> 00:20:23,125 It's all right. Yes. Thank you. 201 00:20:32,007 --> 00:20:34,157 Thank you. 202 00:20:34,327 --> 00:20:39,162 Good morning! You are all from London or Cambridge or Oxford? 203 00:20:40,167 --> 00:20:45,161 - Well, he's from Bristol, Ealing... - (CAMERAMAN) All those places. 204 00:20:47,207 --> 00:20:51,644 If I want to get to the Bund, which direction do I go? 205 00:20:51,807 --> 00:20:57,165 - Go eastward, then you can get to the Bund. - Where did you learn to speak English? 206 00:20:57,327 --> 00:21:02,162 I'm a St John's graduate. St John's was sponsored by the Americans. 207 00:21:02,327 --> 00:21:06,240 This was before the Liberation War. 208 00:21:06,407 --> 00:21:11,162 (MICHAEL) During the time we call the Cultural Revolution, what were you doing here? 209 00:21:11,327 --> 00:21:16,606 I'm very sorry. I am graduate from St John's and that would be very troublesome. 210 00:21:16,767 --> 00:21:19,406 - To talk about it? - Yes. 211 00:21:19,567 --> 00:21:23,526 So 20 years ago, you would not have been allowed to talk to me? 212 00:21:23,687 --> 00:21:28,522 Sure. If I talk to you, I am something wrong. I must be a rebel... 213 00:21:28,687 --> 00:21:32,362 What is it called? Yes. Something would be wrong. 214 00:21:32,527 --> 00:21:37,123 Yes. OK. But it's different now, is it? 215 00:21:37,287 --> 00:21:42,202 There's a couple of chaps in police uniforms looking a bit uncertain. 216 00:21:42,367 --> 00:21:47,680 But nowadays that don't matter. They can't interfere. We can talk freely. 217 00:21:49,927 --> 00:21:53,966 I feel my new friend is someone I still shouldn't be talking to. 218 00:21:54,127 --> 00:21:59,121 I make a quick exit and follow his directions to the Huangpu river. 219 00:21:59,287 --> 00:22:01,847 This area behind me is the Bund, 220 00:22:02,007 --> 00:22:08,037 which is the old 1920s and '30s financial and economic heart of Shanghai. 221 00:22:08,207 --> 00:22:12,200 Even eight years ago, this was still the centre. 222 00:22:12,367 --> 00:22:18,397 But in the last five years, a truly staggering construction project has changed all that, 223 00:22:18,567 --> 00:22:22,401 and the new face of Shanghai is going to be here on what was... 224 00:22:22,567 --> 00:22:25,559 (SHIP'S HORN) 225 00:22:29,087 --> 00:22:32,079 - Thank you. - (SHIP'S HORN) 226 00:22:34,607 --> 00:22:37,644 Shouldn't have had the prunes! 227 00:22:40,207 --> 00:22:44,485 I was trying to say that this is the new economic zone of Pudong. 228 00:22:44,647 --> 00:22:48,037 It's awesome evidence of China's open-door policy. 229 00:22:48,207 --> 00:22:52,997 Tower blocks, built at the rate of one floor every three days, 230 00:22:53,167 --> 00:22:58,287 will house a stock exchange, banks - all the heavy artillery of capitalism. 231 00:23:00,007 --> 00:23:02,475 It may be capitalism without democracy, 232 00:23:02,647 --> 00:23:08,404 but there is surely no going back to the stern certainties of old-style Communism. 233 00:23:22,927 --> 00:23:26,715 This is the gaudy face of a country that has seen 10% growth 234 00:23:26,887 --> 00:23:30,960 every year for the last ten years, and wants more. 235 00:23:45,047 --> 00:23:49,518 Later that night, I catch the midnight express out of Shanghai. 236 00:23:57,887 --> 00:24:04,565 - Is it always full? - Yes, it is. It's always like this. 237 00:24:04,727 --> 00:24:10,643 - People have to book ahead for these? - Oh, yeah. 238 00:24:10,807 --> 00:24:14,117 How many people? Thousands on these trains, I suppose? 239 00:24:14,287 --> 00:24:19,407 Yeah. You've never seen the hard seats. If you see that... fully packed. 240 00:24:19,567 --> 00:24:24,038 That's further down. They sleep on the hard seats for days? 241 00:24:24,207 --> 00:24:29,235 How long would a train like this take to get down south to Beijing, say? 242 00:24:29,407 --> 00:24:32,763 It would take probably three days. 243 00:24:34,687 --> 00:24:39,283 Hard class haven't got beds. But we have. 244 00:24:55,927 --> 00:25:00,125 0ur destination is Vietnam, but we're taking an inland route - 245 00:25:00,287 --> 00:25:05,884 travelling due west and following the Yangtze River into the heart of China. 246 00:25:09,207 --> 00:25:11,675 It's the third longest river in the world - 247 00:25:11,847 --> 00:25:15,362 a fraction shorter than the Amazon and the Nile. 248 00:25:15,527 --> 00:25:18,166 Upstream from the city of Yichang, 249 00:25:18,327 --> 00:25:22,878 it enters a series of gorges which cut through mountains so impassable 250 00:25:23,047 --> 00:25:26,756 that the river is still the only way through. 251 00:25:28,767 --> 00:25:30,997 The Yangtze is a dangerous river. 252 00:25:31,167 --> 00:25:35,957 Attempts have been made to control its mighty, unpredictable flow. 253 00:25:36,127 --> 00:25:38,402 The lock at Gezhou is one of them. 254 00:25:38,567 --> 00:25:44,676 Before it was built, boats battled through rapids, whirlpools and fierce currents. 255 00:25:59,767 --> 00:26:06,400 This massive lock we're ascending actually raises the water level about 100 feet. 256 00:26:06,567 --> 00:26:11,641 And it's here because the Yangtze's already been dammed at this point. 257 00:26:11,807 --> 00:26:14,275 If the Three Gorges Project goes through - 258 00:26:14,447 --> 00:26:20,158 this massive damming project which the government insists will go through by 2009 - 259 00:26:20,327 --> 00:26:27,199 then there'll be many more locks for people to navigate as they go up the Yangtze. 260 00:26:27,367 --> 00:26:31,280 This is pretty spectacular. 261 00:26:47,087 --> 00:26:52,878 0nce through the lock, we enter Xiling - the first of the three great Yangtze gorges. 262 00:27:05,367 --> 00:27:08,723 This was once the most treacherous stretch of the river. 263 00:27:08,887 --> 00:27:13,881 Massive rocks claimed dozens of ships and thousands of lives. 264 00:27:24,367 --> 00:27:28,042 The busy river sweeps by between limestone formations 265 00:27:28,207 --> 00:27:32,439 to which the Chinese have given names like Yellow Cat Gorge, 266 00:27:32,607 --> 00:27:38,477 Lantern Shadow Gorge and 0x Liver and Horse Lungs Gorge. 267 00:27:39,487 --> 00:27:42,081 Then suddenly the landscape changes. 268 00:27:42,247 --> 00:27:44,715 Changes utterly. 269 00:27:48,767 --> 00:27:54,637 From the middle of the countryside rises the biggest construction site in the world. 270 00:27:54,807 --> 00:28:01,758 0ver the next 15 years, a gigantic wall - 600 feet high and one and a quarter miles long - 271 00:28:01,927 --> 00:28:05,476 will rise from these foundations. 272 00:28:05,647 --> 00:28:08,605 It will cost $20 billion. 273 00:28:10,927 --> 00:28:13,805 This is currently the most important 274 00:28:13,967 --> 00:28:18,563 and probably the most controversial point on the Yangtze River. 275 00:28:18,727 --> 00:28:22,083 You can see the workings for the Three Gorges Dam 276 00:28:22,247 --> 00:28:25,876 which will extend to the other side of the river here. 277 00:28:26,047 --> 00:28:30,325 So everything from here on that we're going to see 278 00:28:30,487 --> 00:28:35,436 will in 16 or 17 years' time be totally underwater. 279 00:28:36,807 --> 00:28:43,360 The homes of over a million people will disappear beneath a lake 370 miles long. 280 00:28:43,527 --> 00:28:47,406 The project promises safe navigation, cheap electricity 281 00:28:47,567 --> 00:28:49,797 and an end to devastating floods. 282 00:28:49,967 --> 00:28:53,403 The cost will be the loss of all this. 283 00:29:21,647 --> 00:29:25,799 The man-made scenery of the Yangtze is spectacularly grim. 284 00:29:25,967 --> 00:29:29,118 Ancient power stations belch fumes. 285 00:29:29,287 --> 00:29:32,199 A permanent smell of sulphur hangs in the air. 286 00:29:34,567 --> 00:29:36,558 These towns look doomed. 287 00:29:36,727 --> 00:29:41,721 Why change anything when, in a few years, all this will be engulfed? 288 00:29:46,927 --> 00:29:51,318 Coal is flung down the mountainside - some of it sliding into barges, 289 00:29:51,487 --> 00:29:56,277 the rest settling over the city like a great black shroud. 290 00:29:59,527 --> 00:30:04,521 We pass through Witch's Gorge and into Szechuan province. 291 00:30:04,687 --> 00:30:09,556 There could hardly be a greater contrast with the world we've left behind - 292 00:30:09,727 --> 00:30:13,766 the glittering promise of Shanghai and the Three Gorges Dam. 293 00:30:13,927 --> 00:30:20,002 This is old China, where machines are few and human effort plentiful and cheap. 294 00:30:27,047 --> 00:30:30,835 Men and women form a conveyor belt to the coal barges. 295 00:30:43,607 --> 00:30:47,122 We decide to stop here and look at the town. 296 00:30:47,287 --> 00:30:52,122 It's called Wushan. A small hard-working place of few luxuries. 297 00:30:56,527 --> 00:31:02,636 Life on main street reflects basic needs - food and warmth for the coming winter. 298 00:31:09,767 --> 00:31:14,716 For some reason, Wushan is full of hairdressers. I decide to treat myself. 299 00:31:14,887 --> 00:31:18,596 Can you do one of those like you were doing to him? 300 00:31:18,767 --> 00:31:23,522 And a wash and... No haircut because I think that's OK. 301 00:31:23,687 --> 00:31:26,645 How do you do? Thank you. 302 00:31:32,247 --> 00:31:37,037 This is a monk's hair wash. They just do the bit in the middle. 303 00:31:40,407 --> 00:31:42,637 Thank you. 304 00:31:45,847 --> 00:31:48,077 They obviously work in relays here. 305 00:31:48,247 --> 00:31:51,364 One lady lathers the hair very thoroughly 306 00:31:51,527 --> 00:31:56,396 and now this girl here applies the massage, which is very nice. 307 00:31:56,567 --> 00:32:00,321 I'm not sure what's going to happen next! I'll leave them to it. 308 00:32:14,527 --> 00:32:20,079 I don't think this happens often in Wushan, judging by the audience! 309 00:32:20,247 --> 00:32:24,320 They don't really see any Westerners at all. 310 00:32:28,287 --> 00:32:31,677 The other sad thing... 311 00:32:31,847 --> 00:32:39,083 is that in seven years, this high street will be completely dead. It'll be evacuated. 312 00:32:39,247 --> 00:32:45,038 And a couple of years after that - about ten years from now - it'll be underwater. 313 00:32:53,087 --> 00:32:56,966 Every porter in town has turned out to help us leave. 314 00:32:57,127 --> 00:33:01,723 It's a fixed fee - the fewer the porters, the more money they share. 315 00:33:01,887 --> 00:33:05,084 So each man fights to carry more. 316 00:33:28,127 --> 00:33:30,960 Believe it or not, these are the lucky ones. 317 00:33:41,567 --> 00:33:46,561 I try to be helpful but all I'm doing is depriving someone of a job. 318 00:33:53,607 --> 00:33:56,883 Separated from the rest of China by mountains, 319 00:33:57,047 --> 00:34:01,518 Szechuan is home to one hundred million people. 320 00:34:01,687 --> 00:34:05,919 For many, the Yangtze is not only the lifeblood, but the great highway. 321 00:34:11,927 --> 00:34:17,285 The hard-worked river boats sustain a whole range of ancillary services. 322 00:34:17,447 --> 00:34:20,678 As departure draws closer, the pace in the kitchen rises 323 00:34:20,847 --> 00:34:24,283 from merely manic to hysterical. 324 00:34:34,247 --> 00:34:37,956 Chinese takeaway is given a whole new meaning. 325 00:35:00,447 --> 00:35:03,757 Those of us not enjoying a Chinese throwaway 326 00:35:03,927 --> 00:35:09,047 eat in the more sophisticated surroundings of the first-class dining room. 327 00:35:11,607 --> 00:35:15,839 We're deep inside China now and I'm aware, not uncomfortably, 328 00:35:16,007 --> 00:35:19,238 that we're the only non-Chinese on the boat. 329 00:35:48,327 --> 00:35:52,366 After three days and two nights on board ship, we've... 330 00:35:52,527 --> 00:35:54,961 - (SHIP'S HORN) - Thank you! 331 00:35:55,127 --> 00:35:59,518 We've negotiated... Shut up! We've negotiated our way down the Yangtze gorges 332 00:35:59,687 --> 00:36:02,679 to the town of Chongqing here. 333 00:36:02,847 --> 00:36:08,126 It's about 1,500 miles from the mouth of the Yangtze in Shanghai 334 00:36:08,287 --> 00:36:14,726 and here the Yangtze River meanders off for another 2,500 miles to the Tibetan border. 335 00:36:14,887 --> 00:36:20,439 We have to try and head south towards the Vietnamese border 336 00:36:20,607 --> 00:36:23,883 and try and get a train across to Hanoi. 337 00:36:24,047 --> 00:36:29,167 The last we heard was that there wasn't a train across the border to Hanoi 338 00:36:29,327 --> 00:36:34,003 and also that there was, so we'll just have to see for ourselves. 339 00:36:34,167 --> 00:36:36,681 This might have been the easy bit. 340 00:36:38,927 --> 00:36:43,955 At first sight, Chongqing looks as romantic as all the other cities of the Yangtze. 341 00:36:44,127 --> 00:36:47,199 The difference is its size. 342 00:36:54,847 --> 00:36:57,680 Chongqing is the biggest city in China. 343 00:36:57,847 --> 00:37:01,157 It may soon be the biggest city in the world. 344 00:37:01,327 --> 00:37:05,878 16 million people live in and around this mini Manhattan. 345 00:37:06,047 --> 00:37:08,880 It's famous for its fog. 346 00:37:13,927 --> 00:37:17,203 In the morning, I set out for a lunch date. 347 00:37:21,047 --> 00:37:24,005 Steps climb steeply from the river. 348 00:37:24,167 --> 00:37:27,876 50 years ago, the entire water supply for the city 349 00:37:28,047 --> 00:37:32,404 was carried up here by an army of 20,000 porters. 350 00:37:38,527 --> 00:37:42,805 So if you choose a local speciality? 351 00:37:42,967 --> 00:37:45,765 Waiting for me at the meat market is Miss Liu - 352 00:37:45,927 --> 00:37:49,522 a 23-year-old graduate from Chongqing University. 353 00:37:49,687 --> 00:37:51,962 She's one of a new generation of Chinese 354 00:37:52,127 --> 00:37:57,201 who can barely remember hard-line Communism and the Cultural Revolution. 355 00:38:00,687 --> 00:38:04,043 So the meat that's hanging up here, that is the menu? 356 00:38:04,207 --> 00:38:08,086 - That's where the food comes from? - Yeah. 357 00:38:08,247 --> 00:38:13,879 - What's this we're starting with? - I think this is the steamed meat. 358 00:38:14,047 --> 00:38:15,878 - Steamed meat? - Pork. 359 00:38:16,047 --> 00:38:18,356 - Pork meat. - Have a try. 360 00:38:19,967 --> 00:38:22,242 Try a bit of steamed pork. 361 00:38:23,527 --> 00:38:26,837 - How about it? - I knew it was good before I ate it. 362 00:38:27,847 --> 00:38:34,798 We've come into China through Korea and we spent some time in Shanghai. 363 00:38:34,967 --> 00:38:40,963 Does it worry you that as people get richer, they get more selfish? 364 00:38:41,127 --> 00:38:44,597 Less community-minded? 365 00:38:44,767 --> 00:38:49,921 Mao's idea was that China should be built on the peasantry who shared everything. 366 00:38:50,087 --> 00:38:56,083 Now everyone's getting rich. They have their mobile phones. Is it a change for the worse? 367 00:38:57,087 --> 00:39:01,000 I think so, to some extent. Because... 368 00:39:01,167 --> 00:39:05,399 I've heard that before the Cultural Revolution in China, 369 00:39:05,567 --> 00:39:10,197 people lived more closely to each other. 370 00:39:10,367 --> 00:39:16,363 They talked to each other very friendly, but nowadays I don't think so. 371 00:39:16,527 --> 00:39:22,966 Do you have an image of life in Great Britain? Like London, where I come from. 372 00:39:23,127 --> 00:39:27,040 Someone said they were very preserved. 373 00:39:27,207 --> 00:39:29,596 - Reserved, yes. - Reserved. 374 00:39:29,767 --> 00:39:33,646 Preserved is perhaps more true than you think! 375 00:39:33,807 --> 00:39:36,844 Is it true? And also the... 376 00:39:37,927 --> 00:39:43,684 Especially for the men, they are gentlemanlike. They have good manners. 377 00:39:43,847 --> 00:39:47,760 I think if I had the chance I would go to Britain 378 00:39:47,927 --> 00:39:53,604 to see what's the difference in the real Britain and the Britain in my mind. 379 00:39:53,767 --> 00:39:57,157 You be careful of the men. They're not all preserved. 380 00:39:57,327 --> 00:40:01,206 (BELLS AND CYMBALS) 381 00:40:06,287 --> 00:40:12,476 Not the local football supporters, but retired people exercising in the socialist manner. 382 00:40:17,367 --> 00:40:23,363 Red sashes are sported to remind Miss Liu's generation of their revolutionary heritage. 383 00:40:27,767 --> 00:40:29,758 Time to leave Chongqing. 384 00:40:34,487 --> 00:40:40,517 - (PATRIOTIC MUSIC PLAYS) - The Chinese take their railways seriously. 385 00:40:40,687 --> 00:40:47,081 Complete with its own martial music, the 9.30 for Guiyang pulls out dead on time. 386 00:40:54,247 --> 00:40:59,082 South of Chongqing now. Still running beside the Yangtze. 387 00:40:59,247 --> 00:41:05,117 For about another half-hour or so it's still the main artery of China. 388 00:41:16,487 --> 00:41:20,639 An hour out of Chongqing, as we part company with the Yangtze, 389 00:41:20,807 --> 00:41:24,243 I asked the driver what he thinks of the Spice Girls. 390 00:41:27,007 --> 00:41:30,841 We're travelling south, away from the mists of the gorges 391 00:41:31,007 --> 00:41:37,606 into a world of green paddy fields and a rich, reviving, subtropical sunshine. 392 00:41:45,167 --> 00:41:50,116 The railway slices across a high limestone plateau and into Guizhou province. 393 00:41:50,287 --> 00:41:55,645 Its construction 30 years ago was vital in opening up this remote region. 394 00:41:55,807 --> 00:42:01,757 But even so, Guizhou remained closed to foreigners until the 1980s. 395 00:42:14,207 --> 00:42:18,120 Guizhou is far from big cities and centres of control. 396 00:42:18,287 --> 00:42:24,283 These mountains have provided a refuge for some of the oldest tribes in China. 397 00:42:34,607 --> 00:42:38,646 My guide, Sheng Wan - or Priscilla as she prefers me to call her - 398 00:42:38,807 --> 00:42:42,243 is taking me to a market deep in the mountains. 399 00:42:42,407 --> 00:42:45,240 This is where the Miao people live. 400 00:42:49,727 --> 00:42:53,356 The Miao form an ethnic minority of some five million. 401 00:42:53,527 --> 00:42:57,600 They've more in common with the mountain people of Laos, Vietnam and Burma 402 00:42:57,767 --> 00:43:00,645 than they do with the Chinese. 403 00:43:09,927 --> 00:43:13,283 During the Cultural Revolution, they had to conform. 404 00:43:13,447 --> 00:43:18,475 Now they're free to live the way they want, but they remain very poor. 405 00:43:18,647 --> 00:43:25,166 (MICHAEL) Would you buy things from this market? Would you buy food here? Is it safe? 406 00:43:25,327 --> 00:43:28,125 Yes, it's safe. 407 00:43:28,287 --> 00:43:34,317 Yeah? It just looks kind of basic. Meat laid out on the open tables. 408 00:43:34,487 --> 00:43:37,718 - Do you want to try some? - I've suddenly lost my... 409 00:43:37,887 --> 00:43:43,120 I love these. Do the women wear this all the time, this national dress? 410 00:43:43,287 --> 00:43:44,606 Yes. 411 00:43:45,487 --> 00:43:51,244 And they wear even more beautiful on holiday, on festival days. 412 00:43:53,287 --> 00:43:58,600 - This is what they normally wear? - Yes. Normally wearing. 413 00:44:00,367 --> 00:44:05,316 These days the Miao are encouraged to celebrate their own culture. 414 00:44:05,487 --> 00:44:09,799 The Chinese have set up a Minorities Ministry to make sure they do. 415 00:44:15,927 --> 00:44:21,604 The Miao love festivals. They were originally for the young to find partners. 416 00:44:21,767 --> 00:44:25,999 A get-together could lead to a knees-up which could lead to a get-together 417 00:44:26,167 --> 00:44:29,523 and a whole new generation of musicians. 418 00:44:34,727 --> 00:44:37,719 Driven out of the rich plains by the Chinese, 419 00:44:37,887 --> 00:44:43,678 the Miao have had to make a living from a magnificent landscape but very poor soil. 420 00:44:47,887 --> 00:44:51,038 The methods haven't changed in hundreds of years. 421 00:44:51,207 --> 00:44:54,005 Machinery is almost unknown. 422 00:45:06,007 --> 00:45:11,525 Their tractors are water buffalo and their seed drills are women and children. 423 00:45:19,607 --> 00:45:25,204 There are no roads. To get to the village we have to walk through the paddy fields. 424 00:45:26,847 --> 00:45:30,157 There are few places in the world as untouched. 425 00:45:30,327 --> 00:45:33,842 We're probably the first foreigners they've ever seen. 426 00:45:34,847 --> 00:45:36,405 Hello. 427 00:45:40,727 --> 00:45:46,040 - Do they speak Chinese or Miao? - Only Miao. 428 00:45:46,207 --> 00:45:49,643 (SPEAKS CHINESE) 429 00:45:49,807 --> 00:45:53,641 Only can understand some Mandarin. 430 00:45:53,807 --> 00:45:58,881 Unlike many others in China, the Miao are open, friendly and curious. 431 00:45:59,047 --> 00:46:02,357 I asked Priscilla if we can see in the house. 432 00:46:05,847 --> 00:46:08,839 - (PRISCILLA) Yes. - We can have a look in. 433 00:46:12,847 --> 00:46:15,315 (MICHAEL) Let's go in, shall we? 434 00:46:18,167 --> 00:46:21,364 Barging in while you're having your lunch. 435 00:46:21,527 --> 00:46:23,563 Is this? 436 00:46:26,887 --> 00:46:31,199 Do they have a big meal in the middle of the day and go back to work? 437 00:46:31,367 --> 00:46:34,359 (SPEAKS CHINESE) 438 00:46:37,007 --> 00:46:38,884 Yes, yes. 439 00:46:39,047 --> 00:46:44,644 Can you ask them have they ever seen foreigners before? People from the West? 440 00:46:53,127 --> 00:46:55,595 - (PRISCILLA) No. - What do we look like to them? 441 00:46:55,767 --> 00:46:59,840 - Quite different. Quite strange. - How? Why? 442 00:47:00,007 --> 00:47:03,716 - Oh. With big nose, they say. - Big noses? 443 00:47:03,887 --> 00:47:08,005 - Westerners have a big nose. - That's just me, not everybody! 444 00:47:17,567 --> 00:47:22,004 Two weeks after entering the Yangtze gorges, we're out of the mountains 445 00:47:22,167 --> 00:47:27,366 and rushing across the plains towards the Vietnam border. 446 00:47:31,967 --> 00:47:37,803 Well, almost to the border. It turns out there is no rail connection to Hanoi. 447 00:47:37,967 --> 00:47:42,245 We must leave our train and carry on by bus. 448 00:47:46,087 --> 00:47:51,639 We're set down hours later at a grand, strangely deserted frontier. 449 00:47:52,647 --> 00:47:57,118 This is Friendship Gate in Pinxiang and it marks the end of China 450 00:47:57,287 --> 00:48:00,404 and the frontier with Vietnam, which I hope to cross soon. 451 00:48:00,567 --> 00:48:03,957 This is not an orthodox way of leaving China. 452 00:48:04,127 --> 00:48:08,962 In 1979, the Chinese and the Vietnamese went to war and the border was sealed. 453 00:48:09,127 --> 00:48:12,517 It's now open again but there aren't many people here. 454 00:48:12,687 --> 00:48:15,360 I hope there's someone to see my passport. 455 00:48:15,527 --> 00:48:19,805 Sadly, it's goodbye to China and "Hello, Vietnam."