BIG PRESENTATION: The 60-second promotional video Experience China is shown on the giant screens in New York's Time Square on January 17 (SHEN HONG)

China has just released a 17-minute long video promoting the country's national image. On February 3, the video titled China on the Way began airing on television stations in Asia, Europe and America.

The video is a sequel to a 60-second promotional video that has been flashing on screens in New York's Times Square once every four minutes since January 17, just before Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States.

The second video was also broadcast in Times Square after the first ended its run in mid-February.

The first video, Experience China, features 59 people of great achievements in their respective fields, including scientists, astronauts, business people and sports and movie stars.

The second video, containing 800 scenes, offers international audiences a glimpse into the daily lives of normal Chinese people.

"After watching the 17-minute video, every foreigner will know who we are, and what we are thinking," said Zhu Youguang, the videos' producer.

Representatives

The biggest challenge was how to show China to the world in such a short time, said Shen Zanchen, the videos' executive producer. Shen is CEO of Shanghai Lowe & Partners Advertising Co., which won the bid in 2009 to produce the national image videos.

Shen believes the people appearing in Experience China convey China's friendliness to the world.

"No government leaders appear in the video. It features scientists, journalists, artists and ordinary people, which is progress," said Larry H. P. Lang, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Deng Yaping, one of the most celebrated players in the history of table tennis is featured. Deng was world champion 18 times and won four Olympic gold medals between the ages of 15 and 24.

But Deng is more than just an outstanding athlete. After retiring at the peak of her career, she went to university. She started learning English, and eventually earned a doctorate from Cambridge University.

Zhang Zhengxiang, a farmer living on the side of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, southwestern Yunnan Province, appeared on the program for his devotion to protecting the environment.

In the 1970s and 80s, Zhang was quite well-off raising pigs and feeding fishes. In 1985, his annual income exceeded 50,000 yuan (about $17,024 by the exchange rate at that time), which was very high for a Chinese farmer back then.

Zhang has guarded his local lake against polluters. Over 30 years, he spent more than 2 million yuan ($300,000 by today's exchange rate) on environmental protection. He was reduced to poverty and was in debt.

Zhang suffered two divorces, and his three daughters all left him. His young son, terrified by threats from polluters, developed mental illness.

Despite this, Zhang never gave up and his efforts paid off in 2004 when the government closed down all polluting quarries around Dianchi Lake.

The video also features people such as Alipa Alimahun, a woman in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, who has adopted 20 orphans from 10 ethnic groups, Li Ling, a rural teacher caring about children of migrant workers, and Zhai Mo, a painter-turned-sailor who completed a solo voyage around the world in a sailboat.

"I believe the celebrities and ordinary people from all walks of life represent a true picture of China," Shen said.

Zhu said the video was meticulously designed. Early in the designing stage, foreign staff members at his company went to Europe and solicited input on the video clips from people of various occupations and ages.