Everybody knows about the Giant Panda, the creature that's literally come to symbolize the cause of wildlife conservation. But how many people know exactly where these endearing animals come from? The answer of course, is Sichuan in southwest China - a province that's absolutely bursting with often-overlooked natural wonders.

Home to cuddly giant pandas, golden snub-nosed monkeys, vast bamboo groves and host of other plants and animals, Sichuan's rich biodiversity owes much to its complex geology. Thanks to the clash of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates that caused the elevation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau uplift, Sichuan is a vast basin dotted and criss-crossed with mountains and valleys - a truly "three-dimensional ecological tapestry" that has made it a paradise for all lovers of the natural world.

The six-part documentary Sichuan: the Ecological Paradise offers a panoramic view of Sichuan’s magnificent natural landscapes and its varied flora and fauna. It’s a series in which viewers get to visit the Ruoergai Wetland - one of the world’s largest alpine marshlands - to observe its landscape of blooming flowers and the soaring black-necked cranes that call it home. At the other end of the scale, we see the largest ancient ice cap in the Hengduan Mountains - the origin of the many lakes, large and small, that glitter across the Sichuan landscape. Going to the southern fastnesses of the province, it's easy to see why many regard the province as a 'sea of bambo'’!

Of course, it would be impossible to do true justice to the natural charms of Sichuan in one documentary series. Nevertheless, it's a series, that thanks to the ingenuity of its production team, does manage to showcase the essence of this "land of abundance". Not only does it offer viewers a positive feast of the province's natural glories, it also lets people in on the inside story behind this present-day natural paradise: Sichuan's unstinting efforts in the field of conservation and ecological civilization construction. It's this that accounts for such triumphs as the reclassification of the giant panda's ecological status from “endangered” to merely “vulnerable”. And now, as ecological function of the Yangtze River basin is gradually being restored, Sichuan is resuming its place at the very heart of China's biodiversity.

All in all, this is a documentary series in which ecological civilization construction and biodiversity protection take center stage, highlighting the commitment of the Chinese people to transforming the earth into a beautiful home for the whole of humanity. As we are poignantly reminded in the last part of the documentary: “Just as rivers always flow, humans' respect for nature should never cease.”

Tune in to CGTN Documentary to watch Sichuan: the Ecological Paradise and be amazed by the ecological wonders of Sichuan!

Click the link below to watch the full documentary:

Sichuan: The Ecological Paradise 1

Sichuan: The Ecological Paradise 2

Sichuan: The Ecological Paradise 3

Sichuan: The Ecological Paradise 4

Sichuan: The Ecological Paradise 5

Sichuan: The Ecological Paradise 6