"The Covenant of History," the first episode of the political documentary "The Path to Prosperity," which commemorates the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, aired on Tuesday during prime time on the state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV).

The eight-episode documentary depicts the great journey China has been through over its 40 years of reform and opening up. It was co-produced by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform, the Party History and Archives Research Center for the CPC Central Committee, the National Development and Reform Commission, the National Radio and Television Administration, the Xinhua Agency, the China Media Group and the Political Work Department of China Central Military Commission.

The first episode recalls the difficult exploration of a great road undertaken by the Communist Party of China (CPC) before the People's Republic of China was founded. From east China's Shanghai and Jiaxing to west China's Zunyi and Yan'an, the Party accumulated strength in rural areas to encircle and capture the cities, with its military seizing power and overcoming all obstacles on its march forward.

It also follows the great social change made by both the people and the CPC during the early years after the founding of the country. Facing poverty, the Chinese people promoted socialist construction, established a basic socialist economic system and a basic political system under the leadership of the CPC.

In the following decades, China prospered with the launch of 156 key projects. An ancient agricultural country began to explore the path toward a modern industrial power.

The documentary illustrates the country's history of struggle with heartwarming stories and introduces figures who have made special contributions to the course of reform and opening up, including Wang Jinxi, Shi Chuanxiang, and Lei Feng.

It also stresses that the Chinese nation, through self-reliance and hard work, stands proudly through its ups and downs.

As Chinese President Xi Jinping noted at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the great course of reform and opening up "has laid a fundamental political premise and institutional foundation for all development and progress in contemporary China."

"The Chinese nation has made a great leap forward from the continuous decline of modern times to the fundamental reversal of destiny and the continued strength and prosperity."