Documentary
Billie JD Porter finds out what it’s really like to grow up in China, the country with the highest population on the planet.


Billie JD Porter reveals what it's really like to grow up in China, where respect for state and elders is being drilled into the next generation.

Billie JD Porter plunges into the competitive world of Chinese love - where marriage markets, dating bootcamps and even plastic surgery are used to increase marriage potential.

Billie JD Porter explores how China's recent boom is changing people's lives fast, from migrant workers in Guangzhou to new tourist industry jobs on China's only tropical island.

Self - Presenter

Experience one of the most fascinating phenomena of our times - the rapid evolution of the world's most populous nation from a secluded land of mystery to an economic powerhouse welcoming the modern world. In this compelling four-part series, China Rises takes you inside this dynamic country - from jeep joyriding in the Gobi Desert to a factory floor in Zhejiang Province, from walking the red carpet at the Shanghai Film Festival to staging a pop concert at the Great Wall, from police rescuing abducted women to experts training astronauts, from celebrating Chinese Central Television's new state-of-the-art headquarters to transforming controversial Tiananmen Square into an Olympic beach volleyball court. The seismic changes happening in China today reflect a potent mixture of dreams and despair, with consequences that will shape the future of the entire planet.

Filmed in Sweden and Norway, this documentary series follows adventure-traveler and BBC journalist, Simon Parker, as he embarks upon a 2,000 mile / 3,500 KM cycling adventure from the North Cape to Smygehuk – the full length of the Scandinavian Peninsula. On his journey, Simon charts the seasonal cycles of the natural world, as summer is transitioning into autumn.