Alexey Denisov Photo: Courtesy of SABRI

Alexey Denisov, chief editor of All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company's History Channel, screened the Chinese version of his documentary series The Second Birth of the Celestial Empire for students and professionals at Beijing's Tsinghua University on Wednesday during an event organized by the campus' Student Association of Belt and Road Initiative (SABRI).   

The documentary reveals rare footage taken by 17 veteran Russian filmmakers around China in 1949, the year when the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded. The photographers were dispatched to China by Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union at the time, as part of a joint effort with Chinese filmmakers to document the founding of the PRC. In 1950, their efforts bore fruit in the form of the black-and-white documentary The Chinese People's Victory, which later went on to win the Stalin Prize in 1951. 

According to Denisov, The Chinese People's Victory actually only used a small portion of the total footage shot at the time, with the rest stored and kept secret in the national archives following the death of Stalin in 1954. Looking through the archives, Denisov discovered around 200 boxes of stored footage, which he used to create his six-episode documentary series.  

Denisov's documentary was aired on Russian news channels Russiya 1 and Rossiya 24 in mid-September to coincide with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's official visit to Russia. According to Denisov, the documentary was the most viewed TV program in the morning and evening time slots. 

"There is unique value in this precious color footage. It is like a diamond!" said Denisov. 

The documentary director described his 35-year film-making career as treasure hunting, with the found footage being the most valuable gem he has ever discovered. He noted that Russians were interested in watching it because of the traditional friendship between the two great nations. 

More interestingly, the colorful footage provided rare glimpses of the high-level leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, such as one segment that shows then Chairman Mao Zedong delivering a speech and announcing the founding of the PRC on October 1, 1949 and another showing an informal gatherings of China's high-level leaders. 

The documentary highlights the founding ceremony of the PRC but also features street scenes in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. 

In one scene, a silver-haired man is seen practicing with a three-section staff, a weapon used in Shaolin martial arts. Other scenes show people living in closely built thatched houses along a river bank . 

The documentary also explores the cultural communication between Russia and China. Over the years, many Russian song and dance ensembles have been dispatched to China to tour around the country. In the documentary, one Russian interviewee recalls that the Russian classical song "Moscow Nights" was so popular in China that at one point it seemed to become a Chinese ballad. 

Denisov told the Global Times that he was happy to give Chinese filmmakers permission to edit his series for a Chinese version so they could decide what to show and how to present the footage.
Newspaper headline: Precious memories