Along the Banks of the Yangtze — Season 1, Episode 6: Motorway to Tibet
Documentary • 44 min • 1 season, 6 episodes • ★ 8.2/10
Episode synopsis
The River Yangtze flows along the mountain sides of the Himalayas before taking a sharp turn in the direction of Shanghai. In this area, we should still be able to find the authentic China, but for a huge motorway that was constructed here five years ago and is responsible for the rapid development of the remote district. This has great consequences for the minorities that live here, such as the Miao and the Tibetans. Ruben lives among them and discovers ancient traditions and customs, such as local traditional medicine and ritual funerals, which slowly seem to be disappearing. Modern China advances, but how do these minorities feel about that themselves?
About Along the Banks of the Yangtze
A six-part series in which photographer Ruben Terlou travels from Shanghai, the most westernized part of China, to the much more traditional Tibetan city of Shangri-La. Through the stories of people he meets along the 6,300-kilometre river, Ruben discovers the real China, forty years after Mao’s death.