Route Awakenings - National Geographic for everyone in everywhere

Synopsis

Harry Yuan, a Californian adventurer/traveller returns to the land of his ancestors, China. He meanders through the heartland, guided by the country's 2 longest rivers, the Yangzi and the Huang He or Yellow River. His mission is to explore whatever ancient cultures and traditions he meets on the way. His itinerary is not fixed but propelled by the people he meets. The Yangzi guides him from Shanghai to Daocheng in Sichuan via Wuhan and Shennong Stream. Leading his return trip is the Yellow river which takes him through Qinghai province to Inner Mongolia and finally, the cradle of Chinese civilisation in Shandong. This 6x30 min. series sees Harry engaging in a range of activities: action-based such as Tujia boat tracking, Tibetan horse riding and archery, Mongolian wrestling; animal handling of porpoise, alligators, yaks, and camels; and the artisanal art of Xuan paper, goat skin rafts, traditional Chinese lanterns and kites.

Episodes

Season 1

Route Awakenings 1, 1

Harry Yuan begins his journey in Shanghai where he meets a young composer who tells him about the baiji tun, or the Yangzi dolphin. Intrigued, our traveller heads towards Wuhan to meet conservationists who can tell him more about the mammal. On the way, he stops in the ancient town of Xuancheng to uncover some of the secret processes of Xuan paper making. He also discovers another Yangzi native, the Yangzi alligator is equally endangered. His hopes are dashed when he arrives in Wuhan to find that the baiji tun has been officially declared extinct, but he focuses his energies on the finless porpoise (jiang tun) which is critically endangered. Harry...

Route Awakenings 1, 2

Harry continues his journey up the Yangzi and stops in Wuhan. He finds out about the lost occupation of boat tracking... men who physically pulled huge boats to port. With mechanisation, motors replaced men and with it, is lost the subculture that involved unique songs and special moves. Harry learns more of this subculture from a retired boat tracker and is told that the Tujia tribe still practise boat tracking. This sets him on a mission to find the tribe. He finally scores at Shennong stream and is taught to track but is disappointed to discover that the activity is only a show for the tourists. He however, gains insight into the life of Tujia...

Route Awakenings 1, 3

The journey continues into Sichuan province and Kham culture. In the county of Daocheng, Harry befriends the host of a guesthouse, who gives him some insight into his tribal culture and introduces him to life as a nomad. Harry learns about yak milking, butter making and dung rolling. On the look out for adventure, Harry learns that Tibetan style horse back riding isn't good for his feet and cordycep hunting isn't for the near sighted. But the biggest surprise for Harry is to find the true meaning of Shangri-la.

Route Awakenings 1, 4

Harry embarks on the second leg of his journey via the Yellow River or Huang He. He is in the Qinghai/Tibetan plateau and his mission is to learn Tibetan archery. In a village in Ledu county, he meets a master who is prepared to teach him and prepare him for a local tournament. Harry also learns to appreciate the craft of making bow and arrow and the pre-competition ceremony involving traditional dancing and howling. Without much success in archery, Harry follows the Yellow River down towards Xunhua, where he meets a tribe whose origins are in Kazakhstan. He learns the traditional methods of making goat skin buoys that would float rafts down the...

Route Awakenings 1, 5

The journey continues following the course of the Yellow River. Harry is now in Inner Mongolia where he spends time with Camel nomads in the Alxa League. As a keen photographer, he aims for the million dollar shot with camels against sunset. but will the animals behave? Harry discovers that it does rain in the desert and that crops do grow. He finds out more about Suo Suo and Congrong, the cash crop that would replace the traditional herding ways of desert nomads.

Route Awakenings 1, 6

The journey winds through the cradle of Chinese civilisation in Shaanxi and Shandong. Harry meets a bamboo lantern maker, whose craft is considered one of the intangible cultural heritage of China. He also discovers a kind of ancient housing where people lived in silo caves. As he makes his way to Shandong, Harry puts his stilt-walking skills to work, helping fishermen to catch shrimpss and sell them at the market. Shandong is also famous for its kites and Harry learns to make giant kites and fly them in competition in Weifang. The journey comes to an end with what Harry hopes would be a spectacular finish. getting to the point in the Bohai sea,...