BEIJING, July 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Recently, 10 international visitors from nine countries — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Egypt, Ukraine and Iraq — set out to explore Beijing’s streets and alleyways, community parks, research labs and cultural venues, discovering how this megacity is reinventing itself. The group included journalists, scholars, curators and long-term foreign residents in China. Despite their diverse backgrounds, they came together in the spring of 2026 with a shared mission: to participate in Where Spring Breeze Blows (Season 2), a 10-episode multimedia documentary series produced by Beijing Radio & Television Station (BRTV). Through their eyes, the series takes viewers on an in-depth exploration of a vibrant, open and inclusive Beijing, uncovering the city’s most compelling stories of urban renewal.
Where Spring Breeze Blows (Season 2) has premiered on Beijing Radio & Television Station and leading online platforms across China. Spanning 10 episodes of around 15 minutes each, the series tells warm and engaging stories: Old City, New Life; Building Dreams Through Innovation; Spring Breeze Express; Heritage in Bloom; Aging with Happiness; Passing the Torch; Garden Beijing; Bridge of Mutual Learning; A Better Era; and Beijing: A Source of Innovation.
Through intimate storytelling, the series captures the changes reshaping Beijing today. It offers viewers an inside look at how the city is evolving — from urban renewal and technological innovation to megacity governance, cultural preservation, education and regional development.
As China’s capital, Beijing serves as the country’s political center, a hub for scientific and technological innovation, a center for international exchanges and a city rich in cultural heritage. Through 10 compelling stories rooted in everyday life, the series shows how broader development initiatives are being reflected in the experiences of people living and working in the city.
Episode 1, Old City, New Life, follows Tatiana Kornilyeva, a participant from Russia, and her family as they explore Beijing’s more than 600-year-old Longfu Temple neighborhood, discovering how historic hutongs, time-honored brands and traditional architecture are being given a new lease on life. Rather than relying on large-scale demolition and reconstruction, Beijing is embracing a more thoughtful approach to urban renewal — preserving the character of old neighborhoods while creating space for new ideas and possibilities.
Episode 2, Building Dreams Through Innovation, follows Sander Kole from the Netherlands as he explores Beijing’s innovation frontier. In Haidian District, a leading technology hub, he encounters robotic hands precise enough to thread a needle. Later, at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center in Yizhuang, he meets humanoid robots capable of performing complex moves such as the Thomas flare. These encounters offer a glimpse into the breakthroughs transforming Beijing’s innovation landscape.
Episode 3, Spring Breeze Express, follows Fraser Daniel Sampson, a British stand-up comedian and 25-year resident of Beijing, as he steps into the shoes of food delivery riders and experiences their daily work firsthand. Along the way, he discovers the close connection between the megacity and its new generation of workers, revealing a heartwarming story of how people and the city grow together.
Episode 4, Heritage in Bloom, follows Cleo Luden from France on a journey to rediscover fanlihua, a 300-year-old Chinese intangible cultural heritage craft she first encountered at an Oriental heritage exhibition at the Louvre. In Beijing, she meets Li Mei, an inheritor dedicated to preserving the fading art form, and joins her in creating a new fanlihua piece inspired by the Great Wall. Their collaboration tells a story of how traditional craftsmanship can be preserved, reimagined and passed on through creativity and innovation.
Episode 5, Aging with Happiness, follows Rene Bernard, a German participant who has lived in China for 15 years, as he begins reflecting on his own future after the passing of his Chinese father-in-law. His search for answers leads him to Wulaoxinjie, a Beijing neighborhood transformed with senior-friendly facilities and services. There, he gets a firsthand look at how elderly care in China is evolving — from meeting basic needs to helping older adults enjoy healthier, richer and more fulfilling lives.
Episode 6, Garden Beijing, follows Shyshov Yegor from Ukraine as he sets out to save a cherished houseplant that is beginning to wither. His search for a “plant doctor” takes him on a 42-kilometer cycling journey across Beijing, from pocket parks and urban greenways to wetlands and ecological corridors. Along the way, he discovers how Beijing’s vision of a garden city is taking shape and gains a deeper understanding of the planning and ideas behind the city’s transformation into a greener urban landscape.
Episode 7, Passing the Torch, follows Josef Gregory Mahoney, an American scholar, as he visits Beijing Bayi School to explore how innovation begins in the classroom. From aerospace lessons to student robotics competitions, he witnesses how cutting-edge technology and hands-on learning inspire young people to think creatively, collaborate and solve real-world problems. His journey reveals how schools are helping cultivate the next generation of scientific and technological talent.
Episode 8, A Better Era, follows Ameen Muneer Mohammed, an Iraqi journalist who has experienced the devastation of war firsthand, as he explores Tongzhou, Beijing’s sub-center. Drawn to its welcoming neighborhoods and relaxed pace of life, he begins envisioning a future there—not just as a visitor, but as a resident. His journey is a reminder that a city’s true appeal lies in the sense of security, comfort and belonging it offers to those who call it home.
Episode 9, A Bridge for Mutual Learning, follows Mohammed Jihad, an Egyptian expert with China International Communications Group, as he explores Beijing’s sub-center at a symbolic moment: the 70th anniversary of China-Egypt diplomatic relations and a decade since both Beijing’s sub-center and Egypt’s New Administrative Capital began taking shape. As he walks through this young district, he discovers how innovative urban planning is breathing new life into the thousand-year-old Grand Canal, creating a place where history and modernity thrive side by side.
Episode 10, Beijing: A Source of Innovation, follows David Ferguson from the United Kingdom on a journey through Beijing Huairou Science City, where he visits a lithium battery research facility and discovers the decades of dedication behind China’s pursuit of solid-state battery technology — from groundbreaking research to efforts to bring innovations into real-world applications. His journey reveals how Beijing is nurturing the ideas and breakthroughs that could shape the future.
The production team also invited Nigeria’s renowned vocal group The Epoch House to create and perform an original English version of the series’ theme song, Where the Spring Breeze Blows Gently. With its catchy melody, upbeat rhythm, rich harmonies and powerful vocals, the song captures the character and vitality of Beijing as a megacity. The music video surpassed 100 million views within 36 hours of release and is now being rolled out across major streaming platforms in China and overseas.
Through the eyes of international participants, Where Spring Breeze Blows (Season 2) offers a window for the world to better understand China. By telling stories rooted in everyday life and capturing the experiences of ordinary people, the series bridges cultural differences and invites global audiences to see how Chinese modernization is unfolding from the ground up — with people at its heart and and high-quality development as its goal.
Contact: lei Lin
Email: linlei@brtn.cn
Website: www.btime.com
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