'Starting from Shibadong' TV series focus of Beijing seminar

The TV series "Starting from Shibadong", which shares stories about targeted poverty alleviation, was the focus of a seminar held in Beijing on Tuesday and also co-sponsored by the China Communication Research Center and Hunan Broadcasting System.

Shibadong, a village of the Miao ethnic group in the Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture in the west of Hunan province, has witnessed tremendous changes over the past seven years. The remote, impoverished and undeveloped village has been transformed into a national demonstration area of targeted poverty alleviation.

Many experts and scholars supported the TV series at the seminar.

The TV series uses a new format to tell the stories of poverty alleviation heroes, giving the reality show a unique look, said Zhang Yiwu, professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Peking University.

Zhang Zhijun, deputy editor in chief of China Education Television, said the TV show tells touching stories, enabling people to have a deeper understanding of targeted poverty alleviation.