We're back in China. Great.
We did it. I'm in a beautiful place on the
Chinese-Russian border in the far north. Beyond the river lies Russia. In front of me, thousands of kilometres
of extensive grasslands. And from this spot in Inner Mongolia
I start my long journey south. In a couple of months' time I will travel
to China's southernmost point... ...on the South China Sea.
From the steppe to the tropics. Straight through the heart of China. through the heart of China Over the past thirty years, life for
the Chinese has radically changed. This former Third World country
has now become a world leader. And yet, we in the West
know so little about it. Is there freedom of Internet?
And what if you're gay? These things shouldn't be happening. Or if you're bad? My parents sent me here
so I could change. Why has football become so popular?
And who looks after you if you're ill? I want to know how the Chinese
bury their dead. And during my trip from north to south,
my camera will help me find the answers. But let's start at the beginning:
in the far north. One, two... He's really heavy.
- Wow, that was fierce. See? The roots have withered. The government does nothing for us. mines & deserts
episode 1 Look, we are here,
in the far north of China. This is Russia and this is Mongolia. This yellow area is Inner Mongolia which
consists of grasslands like these ones. The grasslands are very vulnerable
because of the ruthless climate. During winter, the temperature drops
to minus 40, 50 degrees. During summer, the temperature soars
to 35 or even 40 plus degrees Celsius. If it doesn't rain for a long time,
right now it's been three years... ...desertification speeds up.
That's what people fear most: Before long, this whole area from
the borders right down to Beijing... ...will be turned into one big desert. But where to start
in this extensive landscape? Mongolian communities are tight-knit
and extremely closed. So if you ever needed a guide,
it would be here. I came into contact with Mr Djin,
a well-connected Han Chinese. What's the climate been like this year?
- It's been a dry year. Is there no rain?
- No rain. But first I have to meet his family. Hello.
- Hello. This is my wife. Welcome.
- Nice to meet you. Do you live here?
- Yes. Is that your own lamb?
- Yes. When was he butchered?
- Two days ago. Feel free to eat with your hands. I gather that the desertification
has serious consequences. Have you started noticing the effects? Every year, we get sand storms.
- And what else? Drought. It hasn't rained in a long time.
All the grass is dead. High grass reduces wind speeds. If the grass were this high... ...it would stop the sand
from going through. Am I the only one who's eating?
- Have some more. I already ate a lot.
Give him some more. Tell me about the relationship between
the Han Chinese and the Mongolians. It's very good. He is Mongolian, I am Han.
- Are you Mongolian? Really? He told me he wasn't.
- That was bad of him. I no longer speak Mongolian,
so I feel more like a Han Chinese. But you told me you were a Han Chinese. I no longer speak Mongolian.
- What's going on here? Because I don't speak Mongolian,
I'm a token Han. His father is Mongolian.
- So not 100% Han? His mother is a Han, his dad is Mongolian. His dad speaks Mongolian, the children
don't. So he's half-Mongolian. I learned my mother's language.
Mongolian is too difficult. I wanted a Mongolian wife,
but she seduced me. Sure, blame her, why don't you? If she hadn't been so persistent,
I would have had a Mongolian wife. So you're not to blame?
- No, it's her fault. Don't listen to him,
he's talking rubbish. What does Aobao mean?
- Aobao? It's a sacred place where people
gather to worship the gods. They walk around the Aobao
and place stones in its honour. Every year, they pray for good weather. I see.
- They pray for more rain. If there is a drought, they come here
to pray for rain. So... Who has given you permission
to come here? I only want to ask a question. You have no permission. Go away.
- Why not? We have to go back.
- Why? Sir, please let me explain.
- Stay back. They want to take pictures from there.
- Absolutely not. Why not?
- I'm not talking to you. Go away. The atmosphere is tense. This mountain overlooks the site
for the Nadaam festival. A traditional Mongolian festival
where they race horses and do wrestling. Up here they're in the middle
of performing a holy ceremony... ...in which they ask the gods
for prosperity. We can't go any further.
They rudely told us to leave. This Mongol even picked up a rock,
so I think it's time to go. Okay, we're going. It's not a great start. Luckily we can film
at the festival down below. The locals are here to see strong men who
take each other on for a couple of euros. You need to be agile. Wow, he's taking a beating. That was below the belt.
You can bet on the wrestlers. If your knee touches the ground,
you lose. He lost, so his opponent gets the money. Why are Mongolians so fond of wrestling? Out here, we're not into table tennis
or basketball. Because of the grasslands. We only have two sports:
wrestling and horse riding. I get the impression... ...that Mongolians are quite impolite. No, they're not.
- I find them rather rude, you know? And not very hospitable. Mongolians are very pure.
They are not self-centred. Take the incident at the Aobao just now. You should have taken an offering,
like cheese or sugar. If you had done that and shown respect,
they would have admitted you. Women can't come either, they are unclean.
- I didn't know that. You didn't give me a chance to explain.
- Why didn't you tell me? I tried to, but you didn't listen.
- Didn't I? I am sorry. So I was the rude one, not him.
- Exactly. He made that deal.
I have no idea who paid him. I'm not crazy. What's this all about? We are talking about cow feed
and the price of a tonne of grass. It's dry.
- Can you make enough money? Not without grass,
which is very expensive at the moment. Your Chinese is very good, by the way.
- I'm trying. Is this your grassland?
- It's more of a desert right now. See? Even the roots have
completely withered. It's all arid.
There's not a drop of moisture around. It's dead.
- Yes. Only rain can help it grow again. It's very dry.
- Not a drop of moisture. There's no more grass for the cattle,
so we have to buy it. We have to sell cattle to pay
for the grass so we can breed new cattle. It's a vicious circle.
- I get it. What will happen if there's still no grass
next year? Next year? If there is no grass
before this autumn... ...I will have to sell my land. And then what?
- I will have to look for another job. I have no choice. Without money, I can't
buy grass. That's why I am so angry. We're all going bankrupt. The starting line should be around here. Is this desertification too?
- Not as much. Over there it is, look.
- Yes, I can see. Can't you find them?
- Yes, I can. The start is over there. Okay, this must be it.
- Is this the starting line? We're here. It's quite funny. This looks like a random
place in the middle of the grasslands. This is where the races start from.
It's all last minute arrangements. They'll say: 'Want to go racing tomorrow?' And then you're here,
in the middle of nowhere. In the grasslands that are turning into
deserts with windmills in the background. That was quick. I took a shortcut,
otherwise it takes too long. Have you moved house yet? No, we haven't heard anything
about financial compensation yet. They live in an area that will
be redeveloped by the government. That's why many families
have to move elsewhere. He now lives in an area
that's desertified. So you have to move?
- Yes. Is the desertification really that bad?
- Yes, it is. The reconstruction will take at least
five years. We're scared of never being able
to go back. Of having to stay there. The area has been divided among the
farmers, but we no longer travel around. The division took place in 2003. Before then, we were nomads. We put up your yurts
near good grazing grounds... ...and that's how we moved around
three times a year. That way, we saved the grasslands
from depletion. But these days we can no longer
travel around. How many participants are there? I think there are four horses now. There will be a few more, twenty in total. Which horse is fastest, yours? Nobody dares to say his horse is fastest.
Not until after the race. If he wins the medal.
- He will. Everybody wants his horse to win,
but the race will determine the winner. Go north. All vehicles: that way.
Do not follow the horses. It's about to start. Is that the finish line?
- Yes. Those two horses there have already
finished. How did it go?
Did you come in third, or what? Where did you come in?
- Piss off. What does the winner get?
- A sheep. One sheep?
- Yes. That's not bad.
- There it is. Number four?
- That's us. And where is number three? I'm really annoyed.
I usually come in first. Are you upset because you didn't win? He's in a foul mood. He came in fourth
and didn't win the sheep. He did win 400 yuan.
Apparently his horse had a cold. The Mongolian horse breeder is called
Mr Sai. He's a friend of my driver. Sai invites me to the farm he is about
to leave because of the drought. Where does he live?
- A bit further down. Sandstorms can get up to wind force ten.
The drought and winds have gotten worse. Because of the winds, the dunes have
become seven, eight metres higher. So this is where you live.
- Do you want a tour? There is hardly any grass left
for the cows. After the rains,
the grass would normally reach our ankles. What does the government do? The government helps us move
from the area. We can carry on living here,
but only without cattle. So you can live here without cattle? That's easy for them to say, but we live
off our cattle. What are we to do? I don't know.
- There are no alternatives. Does that worry you?
- Yes. We already reduced our livestock
from forty to twenty. We don't have to become rich,
we just want to stay right where we are. We feel free here. We were told to move out by the end of
this month, but nothing has been confirmed yet. We don't know if it's still going ahead. Before, when we lived as nomads,
our cattle could graze anywhere. We moved around
at least three times a year, usually four. That was a true nomadic lifestyle.
But now we are always in the same spot. During summer, it gets so dry
that the cattle has nothing to eat. What was that, is he coughing?
- Yes. There is a lot of sand in the air
and it bothers him. Do they get sick often?
- Yes, with pneumonia or fever. If you had to leave this place,
would you really miss it? Yes. Before, nomads moved on if there
was no more grass for the cattle. This limited the damage to the grasslands. But that was when the nomadic
Mongolians were the only inhabitants here. Nowadays, there are many more
farmers and cattle. Something needs to happen
to prevent a disaster. My driver is actually a sheep farmer. Are these your sheep? He makes some extra cash by letting
his sheep participate in an experiment... ...carried out by Peking University. We alternate the meadows. The goal of the experiment is to measure
the damage caused by the grazing sheep. Let's grab the sheep. We need to weigh them. Herding sheep is definitely not
a relaxing job. It doesn't come easy. Close the gate. We have 264 sheep in 24 meadows. The number of sheep varies per meadow. The grass over there is so green
because it hasn't been grazed in years. Tie his four legs. 39.8 kilograms.
- Okay. What are you testing?
Why must we weigh them? Last time, this sheep weighed
35.5 kilograms. So this tells us that in one month
he gained... 4.3.
- Yes, he gained 4.3 kilograms. If it hadn't been for the drought,
he would have weighed a lot more. That's how we work out a guideline for
the number of sheep per square metre. Can you see how happy they are? They hate being locked in a pen. I decide to see what's happening
a couple of hundred kilometres further on. I can still see the same infinite
grasslands. Did I say grasslands? The only difference are the many smoking
chimneys and factories on the horizon. It looks like there are mines everywhere.
- There are three mines here. How long did you work in the mines?
- I worked there for three years. Where are we going? We are going to a former mine. The land has completely subsided. There used to be small mines
owned by private owners. Are they closed? Yes, for a long time now.
- The private mines. The state mines are still open.
- Why were they closed down? They wasted too many raw materials. They didn't mine all the coals
and only had a limited capacity. Is that the subsided area over there?
- Yes, that's one of them. How did this happen? Maybe they mined the coal
that was right underneath it. It looks like a bomb crater.
- Before, there were many of such craters. You can still see the cracks.
The soil is very fresh. Don't you think?
- Yes, it's fresh. Isn't this dangerous?
- Yes, that's why you can't come here. Shall we go back a bit?
- Yes, let's. Nobody knows exactly
when this land is going to cave in. These holes will be filled to restore
the environment. Do you understand?
- I do. That's a former mine.
- That one over there? I'd like to take a look inside.
- You won't get permission. Why not?
- You have to put in a formal request. Well... I did put in a formal request,
I just didn't get permission. Things work differently in this industry.
- I haven't been given a reason. No filming is allowed inside these mines.
That goes for the whole country. The Chinese coal mines have made
the headlines for all the wrong reasons. There's talk of the exploitation of miners,
but pollution is also a recurring theme. Those are sensitive topics
for the government. Here you can clearly see the cracks
that were caused by subsidence. The entire area is subsiding.
That's why you need a warning sign here. Does that mean that this whole area
is subsiding? Yes. It's not very deep,
but it concerns a large area. Here you see the effects
of a nearby mine. This whole area in front of us
is subsiding. Aren't we a long way away
from the entrance of the mine? Sometimes they dig a kilometre wide
to mine coal. One kilometre?
- Yes. One kilometre wide. That car over there belongs
to the big boss. Tell him you're filming. Which boss are you talking about?
- The boss of the mine. What do we do? Shall we leave?
- There's no point. They have seen you. Are you scared?
- Not at all. You're jittery.
- What is he going to do, kill me? You stopped talking when you saw the car.
- Why would I? They will ask us what we are doing here.
- What do I say? Tell them you are filming. Did you see that? He didn't even stop.
We are just filming here. It's not like we're trespassing
or anything. Not a problem.
- Okay. If he's out to get you,
there's nothing you can do anyway. You have nothing to be afraid of. My guide's jitteriness surprises me. I was going to visit one of the coal mines
without permission. But I'm no longer sure
if that is such a good idea. Hello. The only thing we can do here,
is herd sheep. The work is fine,
it's not too demanding. Who is that?
- My husband. We do this together. Hello, I am from the Netherlands,
from Europe. Are you a shepherd too?
- Correct. What's it like here?
- Fine, apart from the drought. There's barely any grass.
Is there no water? What about groundwater?
- They drain it 24 hours a day. They drain it until it's all gone.
- All gone? There is too much sand in the air
and the water tastes filthy. The water tastes really salty. Why is that, because of the pollution?
- Yes, because of the mines. They are mining coal
right underneath us. It's no use to anyone.
Before, all of this was flat grassland. The mountains are relatively new.
They're not natural to grassland. Does it make you sad?
- Yes, of course. We are not from the area,
but we have lived here for forty years. What made you come here? Our harvest was diminishing
and we were hungry. Was that also because of desertification?
- Yes, we came here to look for work. Life is getting harder by the day. We lost our own land. Here we have
no grassland and no work. We try to work as much as we can
until we die. That's the way it is.
The government doesn't help us. Every time we ask for help, they turn us
down. So what else can we do? Despite not having any permission... ...I want to make one last attempt
at photographing the coal mines. I think we are being watched by that white
car. We're not supposed to be here. From this ledge here
we should be able to look into the mine. This is as close as I'll get,
unfortunately. China has been working
on its environmentally-friendly image. It takes the lead in climate deals,
which is why I can't visit the coal mines. I am allowed to visit a windmill, though. For China is now the largest producer
of wind energy in the world. That has a better ring to it than being
the largest coal producer in the world. How high is this windmill?
- 95 metres, all the way to the top. Can I go up?
- Sure. It's 95 metres high
and I am going to climb it. Here we go. Holy shit. Oh, man... Are we nearly there yet?
- Yes. Have we made it to the top?
- Yes. There's grasslands as far as the eye can
see, with windmills and the odd village. This concludes our promotional
windmill video. Fantastic, of course. But they don't offer any short-term
solutions to the drought. And our horse breeder Mr Sai
still has to move. Where are we going?
- To my new house. This is where we will be moving to.
Seventy kilometres from our current home. Do you know this area?
- No, not at all. We're here. This is where we'll be moving to.
- To this house? Yes, this one here. What's that, over there? That's going to be the stable
for our cows and sheep. The house isn't finished yet.
- You won't be living in a yurt anymore? We haven't properly moved yet.
- Would you prefer living in a yurt? My family has lived in one
for three generations. So you prefer a yurt. This is completely different. What's it like,
being in your brand-new home? Are you sad,
or maybe also a bit excited? I have mixed feelings about it.
It's a bit of both. I grew up there, I know how to live there.
I'll have to get used to things over here. I'm sure we'll be fine... ...but it's not easy finding out
that you suddenly have to move. I am going to miss the old place,
and so will my cattle. I think they're going to walk back
to the old place. The horses especially. We can stay here for five years until
the situation back home has improved. Have you thought about what you're going
to do if you can't go back? Yes, I have. And if the drought and desertification
continue... ...then nobody can live there.
That would be torture. Where is your yurt going to go?
- I will show you. I was thinking of putting it right here. After levelling the soil,
there would be room for two yurts. One yurt?
- Two. There's just about enough space. I think this is a good spot.
I really do. The spot itself doesn't bother me,
but the area does. We are used to intimate surroundings.
This is unfamiliar to us. Maybe it's for the best,
but we will always miss our own place. Who is that?
- That's a friend of mine. He asked for my help taking care
of a wounded horse. I just heard about a wounded horse,
close by. I think time is of the essence. I have no idea how it happened.
I didn't notice it until this morning. What's wrong with him?
- He walked into barbed wire. Wow, that was fierce. One, two... He is really heavy. This is how you do it, you see? Where is the needle? He needs stitches. Careful. The harsh conditions that these people
have been living in for centuries... ...make them completely self-reliant. Farmers like Mr Sai
are jacks-of-all-trades. Farmers, wrestlers, mechanics
and horse whisperers, all rolled into one. But climate change is too big an issue
for anyone to tackle. next time Next time I arrive in China's capital. Beijing is too busy.
The stress is ever increasing. I discover that without a smartphone,
you're an outcast in Beijing. I wouldn't want to be gay
in a next life.
