Short Video Series “Overlooking Beijing – A City’s Wisdom for Development” Released in Beijing

On April 17, the launch ceremony for the short video series “Overlooking Beijing – A City’s Wisdom for Development” was held in Beijing. The series, jointly produced by the Beijing Municipal Information Office and Guangming Online, uses satellite images to present a beautiful panoramic view of Beijing and an epic painting scroll of the new era with the support of charts and texts.

Xu Hejian, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Director of the Beijing Municipal Information Office, said the series speaks the language of fact, uses satellite images to reflect the new era, empowers communication with technology, and has created a model for international communication of Beijing so that people can not only see the changes of the city, understand its development better, but also envisage its future.

Lu Xiangao, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Guangming Daily, said the series tells a wonderful chapter of Beijing’s development through satellite data visualization, 3D modeling, and other new forms of expression. Satellite images record the green transformation of Beijing as the city becomes more livable and international. The pictures contained in the videos are resonating well with the interest of viewers. The Beijing stories have presented a three-dimensional expression of a dynamic city.

The series of 20 episodes was broadcast from April 17 to May 24, with three to four videos released each week on the WeChat account of Beijing Publishing and GMW.cn, as well as on the New Media Matrix of Beijing and its social media channel overseas, and other platforms at home and abroad. Viewers are sure to be thrilled by the modernity and vitality of the ancient city as they grasp the connotations of the Chinese path to modernization.

In the video series, “Hello! Beijing Municipal Administrative Center” shows the vibrant development of the city’s sub-center through satellite images that have changed over time. “The Glowing Lights of Beijing” highlights the changes in Beijing’s urban construction through high-precision optical images of the city at night. “Every Species Can Find a Home” tells the biodiversity in Beijing through the krubi in the National Botanical Garden; the “3,000-Year-Old Construction Drawing” and the “Beijing-Hangzhou Canal that Runs Forever” highlights some dynamic images of Beijing’s Central Axis and the Grand Canal with the digital earth technology; whereas “Hello! Beijing” showcases the sci-tech achievements with a line of code while presenting the city’s achievement over the past five years according to the 2023 Government Work Report of Beijing.

It is worth mentioning that the series incorporates nearly 200 high-definition satellite images and over 20GB of satellite roaming videos. Thanks to the satellites Beijing-2 Remote Sensing, Beijing-3, and Jilin-1, a panoramic view of Beijing’s development is presented. During the production process, new technologies such as Earth Twin, GEOVIS Earth Studio and PIE-Earth were used to support the creative expression of Beijing’s future development plans. In the meantime, disaggregated data from multiple satellites was analyzed to help viewers better understand Beijing’s forest coverage rate, its average concentration of PM2.5, water quality of the Miyun Reservoir among other multi-spectrum information provided in a virtualized fashion with a level of authenticity second to none.

According to Yang Gu, President and Editor-in-Chief of Guangming Online, the series marks a new approach in telling the Chinese story as it combines personal experience with grand narratives. Going forward, Guangming Online will explore how satellite data can be used in news communication, thus tell the story of Beijing’s development and amplify China’s voice in cyberspace.

Speech by Xu Hejian, Deputy Head of Publicity Department of CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and Director of the Beijing Municipal Information Office, at the launch of the satellite video series:

Appreciate the Immensity of Beijing’s Beauty and Explore New Approaches of Communication

As nature blossoms in this gorgeous early spring, we gather today at the beautiful Beihai Park for the launch of the short video series entitled “Overlooking Beijing – A City’s Wisdom for Development”. On behalf of the Publicity Department of CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the Beijing Municipal Information Office, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the distinguished guests and friends attending this event. Let me also express my heartfelt gratitude to friends who have long supported the international communication efforts of Beijing.

Since the 18th Party Congress, Beijing has fully and accurately implemented the new development concept and aligned itself to the new development paradigm. It has shifted from the development as one city to the development as the “capital city”, and to the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It has also transitioned from resource-driven growth to phasing out functions non-essential to its role as the capital city, and from urban management to the governance of a mega-city as well. As such, Beijing has entered a new era, one with milestone significance, in its development history. As a 3,000-year-old city and as a capital city for 870 years, Beijing is writing the legend of development with magnificent changes every day. Be it folk dramas or grand operas, one can count on Beijing to pass on the fine traditional cultures of the country as it taps the potential of the performing arts industry. From the Winter Olympics venues to the Universal Studios, new landmarks are emerging every year. From suburban parks to the ecological lungs of the city’s sub-center, Beijing has set an example in ecological conservation. But no matter how the city changes, its commitment to creating a more livable environment remains unchanged, and it isn’t hard for anyone living in Beijing to feel the difference over the years.

Along with the 10-year transformation of the capital, the satellite industry in Beijing has grown rapidly. The Beidou chip provides high-precision positioning services, the “Beijing” series of remote sensing satellites and the “Huairou-1” scientific satellite are roaming on orbit, outlining the progress of Beijing’s aerospace technology. The Beijing-3B satellite, successfully launched in August 2022, can capture over 2,400 images in less than one second with a resolution of 0.5 meters. From high above, it can easily identify traffic markings on the ground, human figures in squares, and scan along rivers and highways to capture images. The rapidly growing satellite industry not only epitomizes the tremendous progress and extensive changes of Beijing but also provides inspiration for innovating the city’s international communication.

As an ancient poem goes, “men marvel at the immensity of the vast universe and the diversity of species on the planet”. Multiple approaches maybe employed to decode the growth of a city. At a time of rapid technological progress, it is no longer an unattainable dream to stand in the cosmos and take a bird’s view of Beijing, the capital city of China, as satellite images today are able to compare 10 years of data and highlight the marvelous achievements of the city since entering the new era. What does Beijing look like in the eyes of a satellite? What would it be like to overlook the city from 600,000 meters above? The micro-video series we’re releasing today offers a rare glimpse into the gigantic scroll of Beijing with the support of satellite images, data charts and verbal introductions. This will be a journey of discovering a beautiful Beijing where viewers can feel the pulse of the high-quality development of the megacity.

The series consists of 20 episodes and is jointly presented by the Information Office of Beijing Municipality and Guangming Online, such as “Hello! Beijing Municipal Administrative Centre”, “The Glowing Lights of Beijing”, “Beijing on the Rails”, “A Trip to Beijing with the Bustard”, “Authentically Beijing Cultural Space”, and “Three Hills and Five Gardens – Glittering Scene of a City”. Each episode is only 3 minutes long but shows the following three features:

Speaking a new language of truth with facts: the series uses satellite images to show the vibrant development of the sub-center; uses high-precision optical imaging of Beijing’s lighted streets at night to show the significant progress made in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. These short videos show the modernity and vitality of the ancient city, while opening a window for the world to appreciate the Chinese path to modernization.

Showcasing the grand new era with solid evidence: the Great Bustard tells Beijing’s integrated protection of mountains, water, forests, fields, lakes and grass. The Giant Krubi at the National Botanical Garden highlights the biodiversity of Beijing. When the historic mission of development meets with substantial progresses of the past decade, a giant painting scroll of the capital in the new era is unfolded slowly in front of your eyes.

Empowering communication with modern technology: analysis of data from multi-source satellites allows viewers to visualize Beijing’s annual average PM2.5 concentration and water quality of Miyun Reservoir; digital earth technology enables the presentation of dynamic images of Beijing’s central axis and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, allowing viewers to gain a deeper understanding of Beijing and envisage its development in the future.

The series of 20 episodes will be broadcast from April 17 to May 24, with three to four videos released each week on the WeChat platform of Beijing Publishing and GMW.cn, as well as on the New Media Matrix of Beijing and its social media channel overseas, and other platforms at home and abroad. We sincerely hope you can join our promoting campaign with your respective channels as well.

Ladies and gentlemen, to tell the story of the capital’s development in the new era, we need to gather wisdom and efforts from all walks of life. We will take today’s launch as an opportunity to make the most of Beijing’s advantages in development and international communication, create a new brand of communication, and do a better job in promoting the city in the international arena. We believe that with the wide dissemination of the short videos, more people around the world will get to know, understand, and fall in love with Beijing!

Thank you!