S01E01 Kenya
Ruben Terlou sees Kenyans expressing their love for the Chinese motherland through song in fluent Chinese, but discovers that the arrival of the Chinese and their investments also lead to conflict. The rise of China...
The World of the Chinese
S01E02: Cambodia
On the coast of Cambodia, in only a few years a sleeping backpacker village has been transformed into a gigantic city with casinos, hotels and nightclubs. Sihanoukville is built and populated by Chinese citizens and Chinese investors and fortune seekers flood the city. Cambodians are in the minority, unable to compete and no longer recognize their own city through all the Chinese billboards that are being put up. Ruben Terlou drinks $6,000 cognac with the boss of a nightclub, gets to know a Chinese dancer and meets a Cambodian worker who has lost friends and family after a Chinese construction project had collapsed.
Overview
China is playing an increasingly important role worldwide. Under President Xi Jinping, substantial investments are being made in communication and cooperation and industrious Chinese people are settling abroad in large numbers. Documentary maker and China expert Ruben Terlou visits them in the new VPRO travel series ‘The World of the Chinese’. Who are they, what do they want to achieve and what impact does their presence have on the local population?
Episodes
S01E02 Cambodia
On the coast of Cambodia, in only a few years a sleeping backpacker village has been transformed into a gigantic city with casinos, hotels and nightclubs. Sihanoukville is built and populated by Chinese citizens and...
S01E03 Madagascar
Chinese companies enjoy doing business in the exotic, remote Madagascar. There is a lot to be gained, because the country is rich in natural resources. And because the population is poor, labor is cheap. Ruben...
S01E04 Serbia
Serbia and China are close friends, partly because of their shared communist past. The Chinese are rolling out railway lines in Serbia and have taken over the ailing heavy industry. But the Serbs pay a...
S01E05 United States
Lots of Chinese settle in California, for different reasons. For some it's the American Dream, others want to offer their children a better education. What's striking is that a lot of Chinese-Americans are very conservative...
S01E06 Italy
In Prato the last few decades, the biggest Chinese community of Europe, has taken over the textile industry, which is the pride of Italy. The locals are longing back to the past, but there also...
S01E07 The Netherlands
After Ruben Terlou has met Chinese across the globe, he's now looking into the Chinese presence in The Netherlands. Who are these Chinese that have settled in our country? In Giethoorn lives a ingenious Chinese...
Cast
Ruben Terlou
Presenter
