介绍:
The wildlife and the scenery of the African Continent is a gold mine for the Chinese mass media - it never gets old among Chinese people.
There are numerous popular TV documentaries in China that have influenced one generation to another.
Now people who crave experiencing wild Africa as their imaginary retreat from the busy city life can have another more intimate look at the Continent from a book - Into Tanzania by Chen Jianxing.
(Chen Jian Xing, Male Mandarin)
"I started to know Tanzania when I was very young. I watched that TV show Animal World on a black-white TV set. Every time I heard its theme song, I danced with it. I love all kinds of animals including cattle and I really wanted to go there and live with them. That is always my dream."
And his dream came true. Chen Jianxing now works for the Tanzania National Park. Before that, he was an employee of the Chinese embassy in Dar es Salaam. He has been in the country for eight years and got the honorary pass of the national park - he is one of three foreigners to recieve this document in the past decade. No wonder some media reports dubbed him China's lion king.
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete says in the preface he wrote for the book that he has never found a young person like Chen who has been loyal to his wildlife dream since childhood.
Here is a paragraph read out by Zhao Zhongxiang, veteran TV host of the Animal World, the documentary series Chen Jianxing had mentioned as his inspiration.
(Zhao Zhongxiang, Male Mandarin)
"Here comes the summer monsoon season. Suddenly 20 new borns joined the big lion family. It is enormous. When most family members go out for a hunt, there are always one or two lionesses looking after the cubs. The lion king Pia'no looks confident. He often stands alone on the big rock platform known as the Glorious Stone at dawn, looking the earth beneath him. Though he usually stays alone, every night he cruises along the Selous River, watching out for the entire family."
As a wildlife enthusiast himself, Zhao Zhongxiang admits many of the pictures in the book look more stunning than those of TV shots.
(Zhao Zhongxiang, Male Mandarin)
"I think he represents how us Chinese people embrace other civilizations. He is a pride of the country. The book is beautifully designed. I can assure you that so many pictures in the book are way better than my Animal World."
How are they better? Let's put it this way. If you like the movie and the musical Lion King, then you won't be disappointed. There is a real Lion King story in the book - A young male lion lost the battle for ruling the family after his father, the previous leader, died at the beginning, while he came back with another two allies years later and took over the control of the tribe with 42 members, which is a huge number for a lion family.
Chen Jianxing says the lion is the kind of animal which represents the good qualities human beings cherish.
(Chen Jianxing, Male Mandarin)
"Their family bond is very strong, particularly between brothers - they fight together, they share pride together, they endure hunger together. Also the courage when a lion is trying to protect his homeland is always touching."
Chen also says the generous and caring lionesses could also be the model for human beings as they not just care for their children but all other cubs in the family.
Chen is a diehard lion lover. He often spends several days and nights in a row following the trace of lion families.
Chen Jianxing says many wild animals on the African Continent are nothing like what people usually think.
(Chen Jianxing, Male Mandarin)
"There was a female leopard who was of course afraid of me at first because you know leopards sometimes can be very shy. But after a while, she was not afraid. And one day she brought her cub to the bush near my place, left the cub there and turned away going for a hunt. At dawn, she came back and brought the cub away with her. That is all because she thought my place was safe - her cub wouldn't be hunted by hyenas or some other perpetrators."
Chen Jianxing now works for the Tanzania National Parks' new project in the Selous Game Reserve - one of the largest mammal reserves in the world and is home to about 4,000 lions.
(Chen Jianxing, Male Mandarin)
"There were some 450 thousand lions on the Continent half a century ago. Now there are less than 20 thousand left. Also elephants just had their worst time in the last decade in 2013. Now there are less than 100 thousand of them on the Continent. There used to be over a million living here."
Chen says he is now working on some preservation projects including fundraising for the national park to recruit more park rangers to watch for elephant poaching.
(Chen Jianxing, Male Mandarin)
"Both humans and other animals are creatures of the nature. We are equal. We all know protecting them is protecting ourselves. It is difficult to rebuild the ecological system once it is broken. So I think the preservation work is critically important."
And that is the best way Chen Jianxing has found to express his passion for the love of his life.
For Studio+, I'm Xiong Siqi.
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