China is a land of myth and mystery,
almost inconceivably vast and diverse.
From the eastern coastal plain...
..through mountain ranges and forests...
..to the high plateau of Qinghai.
From this magnificent landscape
are born countless lives...
Each of them part of a much larger story...
An all-encompassing circle of life
that is fuelled by the love,
the losses, and the hopes,
of many different creatures.
Our story takes place far from the bustling cities
we often think of as China.
It is a story of cranes,
pandas,
antelope,
monkeys,
and leopards...
All of whom call China their home.
CRANE TRUMPETS
Among all the creatures in Chinese mythology,
the crane holds a very special place.
A symbol of longevity and good fortune,
it is one of the oldest
and most prominent figures in Chinese art,
dating back thousands of years.
It is said that when a crane takes flight
it carries along the spirit of a departed creature...
..from this world to the next.
The Qinghai Plateau in western China
is the highest mountain plateau on Earth,
and here, the elusive snow leopard
rules the range.
This is Dawa...
..and this incredible dreamscape is her home.
At an altitude of 14,000 feet above sea level,
the climate here is too cold for most mammals...
..but Dawa thrives here.
Every part of her body is designed for this unique terrain...
From her exceptionally long tail
that helps her maintain balance,
to her grey, dappled fur
that provides the perfect camouflage
in these rocky surroundings.
Dawa is at the top of her food chain
and at the top of her game.
She knows every crag and cranny of this mountain.
This is her turf.
But she's picked up a scent...
An unwelcome visitor.
DAWA GROWLS
The intruder knows she's in Dawa's territory,
but challenges her, nonetheless.
LOW GROWLING
They face off in a chilling test of nerves.
Dawa must convey strength
or risk a full-on battle.
SNARLING
The intruder finally submits.
Dawa retains her supremacy...
..for now.
Dawa is not a feline to be messed with,
and, right now, nothing could shake her resolve.
After all, it's not just her hunting grounds
she's protecting.
CUBS YELP
To her, these two little cubs
are the most important things on Earth.
Providing for them and keeping them safe
is her life's mission.
Far to the east of Dawa,
in the Sichuan mountain valleys of central China,
a mere 8,000 feet above sea level,
golden snub-nosed monkeys run wild.
Monkeys have long been figures of rebellion and mischief
in Chinese folk tales.
One of the most mischievous monkeys
on this mountain is Tao Tao.
He's the class clown of his troop
and an aspiring kung fu master.
At two years old,
Tao Tao no longer needs to be overseen by his parents,
but he still likes to come home to his father's side
after a long day of adventuring.
SQUEAKING
Tao Tao just loves his dad.
His dad, however, isn't big on showing affection...
..leaving Tao Tao feeling a little unappreciated.
Oh, well.
He can always count on his mother to shower him with attention...
BABY MONKEY SQUEALS
..but the recent arrival of a new baby sister in the family
has spoiled some of that maternal magic on the home front.
While monkey families only have one father,
they each have several mothers,
who all help one another care for their young.
Tao Tao misses the days
when he used to be the centre of attention.
Despite the danger involved...
..he's quickly coming to the realisation that he's no longer
the darling of his family.
This new little bundle of joy has taken his place.
It seems so unfair,
when all the comfort and acceptance you've got used to
is suddenly stolen from you.
"Fine, forget it, then!"
This is exactly the kind of thing
that makes a monkey turn to mischief.
Right next door to Tao Tao,
in a lush bamboo forest on the other side of the mountain,
life is decidedly less stressful.
This is Ya Ya...
A giant panda.
Pandas are basically the opposite of monkeys.
They're not interested in stirring up trouble.
They just want to be left alone to eat...
..and relax...
..and scratch...
..various, different areas.
Once Ya Ya has completed her morning chores,
she returns to her real focus in life,
her newborn daughter, Mei Mei.
Outside of raising cubs,
adult female pandas live almost completely solitary lives.
So, for Ya Ya,
this is the most treasured time of her life.
BLEATING
These two will be spending the next several months
snuggled up here inside this den.
But then, they'll step out into the world...
..and the real journey will begin.
Up in the higher elevations of western China,
a very different kind of family roams the plateau.
Chiru antelope are worshipped as sacred creatures in this region.
They are the living embodiment
of nature's back-and-forth, seasonal cycle.
Every spring, thousands of female chiru
embark on an epic journey,
but it's a bittersweet occasion.
They must bid farewell to the males
who will not see them again for several months.
ANTELOPE BELLOWS
In the meantime...
..these bucks will have to make do on their own.
SNORTS
The migration of these revered creatures
washes across the mountain plains of western China
like an ocean tide.
Their destination?
The legendary Zhuonai Lake
in the remote uplands of the Qinghai Plateau.
RASPING MEOW
Dawa's cubs are now old enough
to venture outside their cave into the sunshine.
To them, this vast mountain range
is just one big, rocky playground.
Like pandas,
adult snow leopards live very solitary lives,
so with no-one infringing on her territory,
no competition for Queen of the Mountain,
she can focus all her attention on her young.
Dawa could not be more content.
Nothing compares to being loved by the ones you love most.
PURRING
And while Dawa would love nothing more
than to just sit back and watch them climb and play,
she has other responsibilities.
She needs to hunt.
These yaks offer a bounty of meat
but are far too powerful and dangerous.
She considers this marmot.
SHARP TRILL
No, she doesn't.
But these glorious creatures?
This is what dinner looks like.
Bharal sheep are Dawa's main prey.
Her intimate knowledge of her home terrain
helps her locate her prey and manoeuvre them
into rocky narrows and steep slopes
where they are more vulnerable to attack.
Like Dawa, these sheep are built to survive in these mountains.
Their blanched fur is the ideal camouflage
and their strong legs make them remarkably fast and nimble...
SHRILL CHIRP
LOUD BLEATING
..but Dawa is smarter.
Her cubs will go to sleep with full stomachs tonight.
This one meal could tide them over for an entire week.
In Dawa's world,
you must take life to give life.
Tao Tao has become increasingly dejected
and has been spending a lot of time
just trying to avoid his little sister, and his family.
But today, he's come across some interesting neighbours
who could change all that.
These are the Lost Boys,
a gang of young, male outcasts,
some of them as young as Tao Tao.
These guys know all about rejection.
Being a Lost Boy is sort of like running away to join the circus,
except with fewer rules.
These kids don't seem to have a care in the world.
This is Rooster...
..the leader of the Lost Boys.
He's been in a lot of battles.
You see that eye?
Tao Tao's father had a hand in that.
He's certainly taken notice of Tao Tao.
Maybe Tao Tao reminds him of himself at that age...
..or maybe he just stares at stuff a lot.
In any case, if Tao Tao has been looking
for a way to vent his frustrations
he's come to the right place,
because on this sunny afternoon,
the Lost Boys have invited him.
to play an ancient traditional monkey game
called Let's Break Branches.
# You told us and you told us twice
# Burn this city to the ground
# We're gonna burn this city to the ground
# We're gonna burn
# He's gonna burn
# Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. #
PLAYFUL SQUEALING
This is exactly what Tao Tao needs right now!
Some of their shenanigans, however, go a little too far for Tao Tao.
Like stealing a baby,
for kicks?
But hey, it's not like it's his sister.
Being mischievous troublemakers
is exhausting work.
For Tao Tao, though,
life with the Lost Boys seems pretty sweet.
Until...
Goshawks are virtually the only natural predators these monkeys have
and they're always on the lookout for abandoned babies.
FRIGHTENED SQUEAK
In the blink of an eye, Tao Tao's world is turned upside down.
SHRILL SQUAWK
"That came out of nowhere.
"Why wasn't anyone keeping an eye out?"
THUNDER CRACKS
It's a harsh dose of reality for Tao Tao.
That easily could have been his little sister.
The summer winds,
carrying the warm scent of fresh pastures,
have led the chiru to their sacred destination,
Zhuonai Lake...
..and the real purpose of their heroic journey...
now reveals itself.
The whole fantastic, continuous cycle
that is chiru existence
is built on this first moment of bonding
between a mother and her baby
sharing each other's scent.
Miraculously, baby chiru are able to walk
within 30 minutes of being born.
It's that "standing still" part that's so difficult.
Within a few days,
they can run like their mothers.
As mothers and their calves learn to identify each other by smell,
they're forming the essential, unbreakable connections
that bind the herd together
and allow it to survive its return migration.
Sometimes, it takes a while
for calves to figure out whose smell is whose,
and they're gently encouraged to keep sniffing.
The chiru will stay here until the calves are capable
of making their long return journey.
Then, their pendulum will swing back toward home
where they'll be reunited with the males they left behind.
BELLOWING
Up in the mountains of Sichuan
the turn of seasons unfurls
in a breathtaking kaleidoscope of colour.
BABY SNUFFLES
Ya Ya and her baby have finally emerged from their den of solitude.
It's time for Mei Mei to meet the world.
"Well, the baby's been fed...
"..and cuddled...
"..and put to bed.
"Time for lunch."
Pandas in the wild eat almost nothing but bamboo.
Up to 40lbs per day.
40...
..pounds...
..of bamboo...
..per day!
Mei Mei, however, has a belly full of mother's milk
and is fully rested...
..and there's a whole new world to explore.
Right...
She can't really go anywhere.
At this age, panda cubs have barely learned to crawl...
..but that doesn't diminish her fascination
with all these new sights and sounds...
Like this guy.
A red panda.
He's not really a panda at all.
He's actually closer to a raccoon.
Mei Mei doesn't care what he is.
She just wants to climb up there and say hello.
Red pandas spend almost all their time up in trees
which makes him a perfect role model for Mei Mei,
because climbing trees
is all baby pandas dream about.
There's so much beauty.
It's entrancing.
But behind the beauty...
..lurks danger.
MEI MEI SQUEAKS
"OK...?
"And here we go again..."
PLAYFUL SQUEAK
"Oh, my gosh.
"That was so embarrassing."
Mums are always there to pick you up when you fall down...
..and to drag you around by the neck afterward.
If she could,
Ya Ya would stay in this moment forever.
All she wants to do is hold on to her baby
and smother her with love...
MEI MEI SNUFFLES
..but Mei Mei has had a taste of freedom...
..and she likes it.
Pine nuts are only available in the fall,
and today, Rooster and the Lost Boys
have found a nice patch all to themselves.
And Tao Tao is making sure he gets his fair share.
"Whoops."
He's been spending almost all his time with the Lost Boys
ever since his cute little baby sister swallowed up his family.
But when Tao Tao's father shows up,
with the whole family in tow,
the festive mood changes...
..to less festive.
Rooster probably still has a chip on his shoulder
about that whole eye thing.
GROWLING AND SQUEALING
Looks like it's time for some long-awaited payback.
Tao Tao can't believe this.
Why is Rooster picking a fight with his father?
The females in Tao Tao's family rally around their man.
Rooster, however, is on his own.
The Lost Boys only look out for themselves.
With nobody to back him up
Rooster beats a hasty retreat.
AGGRESSIVE SQUEAKING
Tao Tao is torn.
These new pals of his
are turning out to be a bunch of self-centred brats.
Is there anybody in this crazy world you can actually depend on?
Up on the high plains,
the chiru have embarked on their journey back home
to rejoin the males...
..but the smell of young calves has attracted followers.
This wolf tests the herd,
trying to separate the little ones.
By now, luckily, those baby legs are strong and fast,
just like their mothers'.
The chiru are united.
The bonds between mums and babies hold strong,
each calf glued to its mother's scent.
The herd is many...
..but the herd is one.
The sheer beauty of China
manifests itself in so many different ways,
in so many remote corners.
It sometimes feels like another world.
Under Dawa's nurturing,
her cubs are growing into two impressive young cats...
..and she's just had a successful hunt,
which comes none too soon.
Her cubs are now fully weaned and hungry for some fresh meat.
They've been watching and learning the ways of the great hunter,
their mum.
But, suddenly, across the valley, the intruder has returned.
This time, with her three grown sons.
Scarcity of prey has brought them into Dawa's territory
and they are more than prepared to take all that is hers.
Dawa's old rival is much more emboldened
now that she has reinforcements.
She and Dawa both know
Dawa would never survive a fight against all four leopards.
SHE GROWLS
Dawa can't bring herself to abandon this precious food, though.
Her cubs must eat, and when it comes to their survival
Dawa would fight almost any foe.
The trade-off between life and death
is sometimes a very difficult calculation.
But then, the sons move in.
Outnumbered and out-fanged,
Dawa must retreat to guard her cubs.
Not satisfied with merely stealing Dawa's kill,
the interlopers now pursue her
to let her know they're here to stay.
To save her young,
Dawa must take them and leave the area.
Expelled from their own home.
When your baby is the cutest, fuzziest creature
this side of the Yangtze River,
it's not easy to just leave it alone.
PLAYFUL SQUEAKING
At six months old, Mei Mei is thinking
she's ready to move about on her own.
Her mother is thinking...
"Yeah, not so much."
That's a tall tree,
and Mei Mei is no expert climber...
..yet.
HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAKING
"Come on. Mum! I just want to...
"Argh!"
Being a helicopter mum can suffocate a cub's curiosity, though.
For young pandas, tree climbing is a rite of passage.
When a cub is able to successfully climb a tree
it means it can be safe from predators.
A cub that can climb a tree
is a cub that no longer needs its mother.
"Mum, relax. I got this."
SHRILL SQUEAK
On the plains of Qinghai
the male chiru stand guard on the home front,
awaiting the return of their far-roving females.
The females have travelled long and far
to be reunited with their partners.
Unfortunately,
after being away from each other for so long,
neither the males nor the females
have the slightest idea who their partners are.
But not to worry,
the males are more than happy to impress new females
and start new families.
They've spent the entire spring and summer bulking up
and vying with each other for supremacy,
and they're raring to show off their masculinity.
"Problems with wolves, ladies?"
"Fear not. I'll deal with this scoundrel!"
GRUNTING
One glance at that imposing male physique
and this scrappy little predator is soon sent on his way.
"Hey!
"Whoa!"
"It's all good."
"The ice causes a bit of a... Whoa!"
Regardless of how they accomplish it,
the herd always comes together again as one great big family...
..and the never-ending tide of chiru life flows on.
BLEATING
As the temperatures begin to plummet,
the once mighty Queen of the Mountain
hasn't made a kill in over a week.
Now, she's forced to share her unfamiliar, new territory
with more successful rivals.
She must survey the area constantly
to get the lay of the land
and re-establish her dominion with scent markings...
..but she's been spotted by this area's male.
AGGRESSIVE SNARLING AND SPITTING
She defends her ground bravely,
but is forced to retreat back to her cubs.
Those playful days of summer
seem very far away to Dawa right now.
If only a family's love could determine its fate.
SNUFFLING AND SQUEAKING
Ya Ya's instinct is to keep her cub safe...
..but she can't protect Mei Mei forever.
At some point,
she's going to have to let go.
WHIMPERING
Just...maybe not today.
Winter turns the dense forest
into a majestic, crystal fantasy land.
This is the first snowfall Tao Tao's sister has ever seen.
Her pure amazement is a welcome distraction
from the hardships of winter.
"What is this stuff?"
EXCITED SQUEAKING
"Whatever it is, it's cold.
"Must get to higher ground!"
Yes, snow is a bummer...
..and it's really cold on your hands.
The one upside is,
it's a perfect excuse to walk like this.
The cold and scarcity of winter
has brought the various groups within the troop together again.
They're so hungry...
..they'll eat anything.
LOUD GRUNTING
Rooster certainly isn't giving Tao Tao any hand-outs...
..or warmth...
..or support.
This is what you get
when you're hooked up with the Lost Boys.
Whoa!
Rooster is scrapping over food again...
..and the hostility is spreading.
Before you know it, Tao Tao gets drawn into the fray.
Even his little sister gets caught up in it.
She tries to help her brother and stop them from fighting
but there's just no reasoning with these animals.
Tao Tao's father wants nothing to do with it.
There's barely any food here to fight over, anyway.
He packs up his family and heads off
to lower, warmer territory.
With the cold biting at his bones,
Tao Tao is longing for some comfort.
For someone, anyone, to just keep him warm.
He misses his family.
Up until now, he's resisted going back to them.
Maybe he's still bitter about his sister.
Maybe he's trying to prove something to his father.
Who knows?
Right now, he needs warmth.
He abandons the Lost Boys...
..and follows his family.
His sister welcomes him back...
..but life isn't always that simple.
His father won't let him in.
Tao Tao has no-one to turn to.
He's run out of options.
Between winter's wrath
and plain old bad luck
Dawa's hunting successes have been few and far between.
But these sheep, seeking shelter from the weather,
have just moved within range.
Something terrible happens, though.
The snow has concealed jagged rocks
and Dawa has injured her paw.
Dawa knows if she and her cubs are to survive,
she must be in top physical condition to hunt.
It looks like Tao Tao has finally
been allowed to rejoin the family furball...
..or more like cling onto the outside of it.
As long as he's willing to help protect the family against the cold
his father will let him stay.
It's better than freezing all alone.
At least his little sister looks happy to see him.
Maybe Tao Tao is finally learning
the true value of family...
..or maybe he's just really cold.
In China,
some believe the panda to be the living embodiment
of the yin and yang concept,
the curved black-and-white patterns of its fur
mimicking the symbol itself.
This duality of opposing forces exists everywhere in nature...
..but perhaps nowhere more so
than in the mounting relationship between Ya Ya and Mei Mei.
The push and pull between freedom and protection
is coming to a head.
HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAK
Ya Ya wants so badly
to hold on to her precious daughter and keep her safe...
..but Mei Mei has an uncontrollable,
evolutionary urge to just climb.
MEI MEI BLEATS
And yeah, sure, the kid has some issues with gravity...
..but so what? Life is risky.
She's going to fall down...
..and then, she'll get back up...
..but at some point, she has to do it on her own...
..and today is that day.
CONTENTED BLEATING
As deep as Ya Ya's love for her daughter is,
there is a force that is stronger...
A force of nature...
..and it's pulling them apart.
She's going for it.
The day you climb a tree on your own...
..without falling out of it...
EXCITED SQUEAK
..is a big day.
Ya Ya may be a slightly overprotective mother,
but she's raised one extraordinary little panda.
She also knows
it will soon be time to say goodbye.
The joy a mother receives
from raising a cub from birth, however,
is worth a thousand farewells.
Springtime means more food...
More fleas...
..and more babies...
..which, in turn, means...
..more baby fever.
HIGH-PITCHED SQUEALS
Though Tao Tao is getting along better with his family lately,
he's understandably been spending less time around his father...
..and a lot more time by himself.
Tao Tao's sister is growing up, too.
She's starting to show off her own personality.
She's at an age now where her mother can leave her alone
to go forage for food...
..or for someone else's baby.
But wherever there are little babies
goshawks are not far away.
Tao Tao spots the predator and sounds the alarm.
SHARP SQUEAK
The troop scrambles for cover.
All little ones are accounted for.
Except for one - Tao Tao's sister.
But Tao Tao has been keeping an eye on her
and leaps into action.
He reaches her just in time.
LOUD SQUAWK
Tao Tao has never felt so valued.
He acted on pure instinct to protect his sister,
and that brave act has made him realise...
..that he's grown up,
a lot.
His dad is definitely happy to have him back in the fold.
The young outcast without a care in the world
has grown up into the family hero.
He's certainly a hero in his sister's eyes.
Back up on the high plateau,
the winter snow lingers well into spring...
DEEP PURRING
..and Dawa is still fighting to provide for her cubs.
The injury to her foot has greatly hampered her hunting ability
and she no longer has the speed to chase down prey
as fast as these wild sheep.
But an opportunity arises.
In springtime, domesticated yaks are released
to graze in the higher elevations.
These beasts are ten times as heavy as Dawa
and one blow from those powerful horns could be fatal.
Going up against a whole herd is like attacking an army...
..but her cubs are relying on her.
It's now or never.
TENSE DRAMATIC MUSIC
The calf's mother rallies to save her baby.
Dawa refuses to let go.
She knows this is her last chance...
..but a yak mother's will to protect her young
is just as strong as Dawa's.
The yak strikes Dawa hard with her horns.
Dawa is injured badly.
One mother's brave rescue of her baby...
..is another's tragic failure to feed hers.
LOW GRUNTING
STIRRING ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
MELANCHOLIC VIOLIN MUSIC
LOUD WHOOPING
In Chinese mythology, when a life ends
a crane carries that soul
to rejoin the cycle of birth and rebirth.
From the end to the beginning...
..time pushes this cycle ever forward.
The young become adults...
The adults grow old...
..and the old are reborn.
Death is not the end.
It is merely a waypoint in a circle that continues endlessly.
SOFT SNUFFLING
TRUMPETING
HIGH-PITCHED SQUEAKING
CRANES WHOOP AND TRUMPET
SQUEAKY YAWN
Every creature plays its part
in this great cyclical symphony.
Each life lived
is just one beat in the larger, beautiful rhythm.
This vast land breeds both love and hardship...
..but in the hardship...
..there is hope.
RAUCOUS SQUEAKING
This is where they live.
This is where they die.
This is where they grow.
This is where they are born.
In China.
# I spent my whole life dreaming of a perfect world
# Where I thought you'd be Thought you'd be
# I spent my whole life waiting for a moment
# With you next to me Next to me... #
We tried to take some time-lapses of the landscape.
As you might see right now,
the light is not very interesting.
But the good thing is
the weather is changing every half an hour.
So, if you don't like the weather or the light
you just have to wait a little bit and everything changes again.
Got a snow leopard sneaking up on blue sheep.
It doesn't get any better than this!
# ..Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Cos you're my everything, everything
# Everything, everything... #
Now it's hailing.
Perhaps, in half an hour, it will be beautiful sunshine.
So, it's just a waiting game.
# ..I heard your name up in the sky above the trees
# When it came to me Came to me
# I spent my whole life trying to fill my heart
# When you're all I need All I need
# I pull you closer and closer
# Closer and closer
# I don't want to let you go
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Cos you're my everything, everything
# Everything, everything
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey... #
RADIO: Hello?
He's looking in to the monitor!
Oh! The camera moves.
# ..It took my whole life
# It took my whole life
# To fall back into you... #
OK, it's... Again, half an hour later,
and now it's snowing.
We have rolling mist
and a proper thunderstorm.
But I'm still convinced that if we wait another half an hour...
we will have best conditions for my time-lapse.
# ..Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Cos you're my everything, everything
# Everything, everything
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey... #
It's really wonderful getting so intimate
with the early family life of such a rare and beautiful bird.
# ..It took my whole life
# It took my whole life
# To fall back into you
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Cos you're my everything, everything
# Everything, everything
# Hey yo, hey yo, yo hey
# I don't want to miss out
# No, I don't want to miss out
# I don't want to miss out on a single day
# Cos you're my everything, everything. #