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China: New Empire - China Awakens

April 28, 2016

China will be the leading global economy by 2017 according to new figures from the IMF and the World Bank. How did the country rise to power? This documentary takes a look back through China’s history.

https://p.dw.com/p/1IYMB
22.04.2016 DW Feature China2
Image: Les Films Grain de Sable

China went through a series of revolutions over the course of the 20thcentury. The country wanted to escape the powers of the West that had ensnared the country since the Opium Wars. On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong (commonly referred to as Chairman Mao) founded the People’s Republic of China and declared it a communist state. But the republic's early years were overshadowed by the Korean War of the 1950s, in which a million Chinese soldiers perished.

22.04.2016 DW Feature China2
Celebrations in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, on 1 October 2009 – the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.Image: Les Films Grain de Sable

The Great Leap Forward

In 1958 China launched the “Great Leap Forward” campaign. Mao wanted to use country's farming workforce to industrialize the country. But it was a disastrous move that eventually led to the Great Chinese Famine and the death of up to 45 million people. An emergency program was put into action when China hit its lowest point in 1961. Mao was marginalized and an economic model was developed by other party members that strongly went against Mao’s ideology. It appeared successful on the surface, but only served to further widen the gap between rich and poor.

22.04.2016 DW Feature China4
Expo 2010, the biggest ever world’s fair, took place in Shanghai from 1 May to 31 October 2010.Image: Les Films Grain de Sable

Mao’s Cultural Revolution

From 1966 until his death in September 1976, Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution to cleanse society of capitalist behavior continued in various forms. Initially welcomed by the nation, the revolution slowly turned China into a nation of violence and persecution.



Broadcasting Hours:

DW

TUE 03.05.2016 – 19:15 UTC
WED 04.05.2016 – 01:15 UTC
WED 04.05.2016 – 15:15 UTC
THU 05.05.2016 – 05:15 UTC
SAT 07.05.2016 – 07:15 UTC
MON 09.05.2016 – 03:15 UTC
FR 20.05.2016 – 09:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4


DW (Amerika)

WED 04.05.2016 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 07.05.2016 – 07:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3