A Bite of Culture

In 2012， the documentary television series A Bite of China 1 aired across China. Shots switch between raw materials in a natural environment and prepared delicacies on table， such as golden billowing wheat wave juxtaposed with hot steamed buns. In April 2014， the second season of the hit documentary finally hit small screens.

Chen Xiaoqing has served as chief director for both seasons. Born in the 1960s， Chen became well known in the 1990s and has won several international documentary awards. At 9：00 p.m. on April 18， A Bite of China 2 premiered on the documentary channel of China Central Television （CCTV）. After several episodes， statistics showed not only that its ratings crushed competing shows in the same time slot， but also that it had become one of the most-watched documentaries in CCTV history.

BBC Caliber

From when CCTV’s documentary channel first went live on January 1， 2011， until A Bite of China season one won over viewers in early 2013， Chen， who oversaw much of the network’s operation， endured a difficult two years.

Before A Bite of China， few would have considered wasting time on a documentary. China seemed to lack a consumer market and workable business modes for documentaries. In Western countries， documentaries are generally sponsored by foundations， while in China， they are primarily produced by government-sponsored organizations such as CCTV. Chen is frank about the governmental shadow lurking behind documentaries， but insists the medium is still an ideal form for cross-cultural exchange. To enhance its international image， China needs the documentary： an ideal international platform in many ways. Also， the documentary industry can create huge business opportunities

Although A Bite of China is not CCTV’s first commercial documentary attempt， it is indeed its first major commercial success， and season two has already surpassed the first installment’s impressive figures. Two enterprises paid a combined 90 million yuan to become title sponsors， and the documentary has generated 100 million yuan from advertising.

After season one’s success， investment in the follow-up increased heavily. The budget for a single episode grew from 700，000 yuan to a million. In 12 months， the production team trekked 400，000 kilometers and surveyed 400 locations. Various expensive techniques such as aerial， underwater， and infrared shots were employed at more than 200 locations. With more than 2，000 hours of high-definition footage in hand， the pro- duction team finally edited together nine episodes， with one episode revealing what happened behind-the-scenes. In terms of both production quality and techniques， season two has reached lofty international standards. “A Bite of China is as good as documentaries produced by BBC，” exclaims Chen with confidence.

Thanks to his endeavors， A Bite of China 2 hits the air in weekly installments. A common practice for international television， once-weekly broadcasting is a bold experiment in China. From the very beginning， Chen and his team have been looking internationally. At last year’s International Film TV Programs Exhibition in Singapore， A Bite of China 2 was sold to distrib-utors serving more than 60 countries at a price of US $350，000 for a single episode.

Food， Hearts， and Culture

“Food is likely one of the most universal topics.” For Chen， A Bite of China’s ability to attract public attention and generate discussion of Chinese cuisine is a victory in and of itself. In his office， he has hung a customized map of China， on which the homes of more than 300 delicacies have been marked.

Exploring Chinese cuisine from cultural and human perspectives remained the central issue when Chen discussed season two with his culinary consultants. Thanks to his efforts， the new season rises above simple introductions to food and becomes more of a story about the tight relationship between people and food， and even between people and people. When season two premiered， Chen began writing an essay about the process of shooting each episode as it aired.

On the internet， some expressed dis- appointment with Chen’s people-heavy approach. They believe that too many characters have stolen the food’s spotlight. Some even accused the production team of plagiarism. They pointed out that four shots of flying fish from the third episode were identical to shots in the BBC documentary， Life. In response， Chen admitted learning from noted international documentaries. For the third episode， they did add five shots from BBC， but all were used with permission.

To Chen and his team， the most important issue is the philosophical value the documentary represents and its deep exploration of traditional Chinese culture. “Not only ancient poems and literature preserve Chinese culture，” declares the narrator in the new season. Through food， Chen explains his own understanding of culture.“Food， like oil used for cooking， is just a tool，” he opines. “I think people should pay more attention to the cooking， rather than the oil itself.”