Great Museums

China's remarkable history and culture will be an added attraction during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Explore nearly 40 centuries of Chinese art on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. This prestigious institution houses one of the greatest Chinese collections in the world, including wall hangings, calligraphy, sculpture, textiles and clothing. Works include a 13th-century painting documenting China's naval exploration of the Eastern world nearly two centuries before the voyage of Columbus.

China: From the inside

This series of documentaries explore China through Chinese eyes to see how their history has shaped them — and where their present is taking them. Few programs have gone beyond China's economic miracle to deal with the issues that this series takes on. Filmmaker Jonathan Lewis was granted access to regions deep inside China where few, if any, Western journalists have been permitted.

Power and the People

How does the Communist Party exert control over 1.3 billion Chinese? Are village elections a chance for people to take a share in power? Can the party end the rampant corruption and keep the people's trust? Chinese people, from farmer to minister, speak frankly about the problems the country faces and the ways forward.

Women of the Country

China's women have one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Now many are beginning to fight for their rights and their futures. This hour shows discrimination against Xinjiang's Muslim women, various hardships faced by Tibetan women and the status of some of those who have left the countryside for factory work in the cities.

Shifting Nature

China's environment is in trouble, but solutions often seem as harsh as the problems. A third of the world uses water from China's rivers, but rapid industrialization and climate change have led to bad air, polluted rivers and dire water shortages. One "solution" that has received considerable media attention in the West is the channeling of water in the biggest hydraulic project in world history. While it has benefited nearly half-a-million people, relocation from dam areas is causing mammoth social upheaval.

Freedom and Justice

Religious worship in China is problematic for Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics separated from Vatican influence, the 40 million adherents of China's unofficial churches and the Falun Gong. Civic problems include forced evictions, government cover-up of AIDS, corruption and land grabbing. Filmed in Tibetan temples, newspaper offices and a labor camp, this final episode asks: What are the limits of freedom - and the threats to stability?

The Real Olympics

Thursday, August 07, 2008, 10:00 - 11:00 pm

Sunday, August 10, 2008, 11:00 pm - 12:00 am

This special explores the dramatic contrast between ancient reality and modern mythology and features a reconstruction of the major events of the ancient Olympic Games - from chariot racing to combat sports. This episode reveals how the ancient games have been appropriated and reinvented in the modern era by ideologues of all stripes and persuasions, including the Victorian upper classes and the Nazis. The program

A Touch of Beijing

Tuesday, August 08, 2008, 9:00 -10:00 pm

Sunday, August 10, 2008, 5:00 - 6:00 pm

This special looks at the old and new. From the Summer Palace and The Forbidden City to the new five star hotels that now blanket the city, A Touch of Beijing leads the viewer into every part of a city that has seen war, drought and famine. In addition to showing the viewer the historic palaces, temples and the world famous Great Wall, this program features the main Olympic venues and an Olympics spokesperson. The film will also introduce leaders of both the Chinese business and art world to viewers. Hosted by Jackie Chan

Olympic Dreams

This special follows a team of talented but inexperienced young track stars as they pursue a common dream: to represent Sierra Leone in the 2004 Summer Games and give it hope for a better future. Filmed over two and a half years, the program follows Sierra Leone's attempt to build another Olympic-caliber team in time to compete in Athens. Recently recovered 11 years of civil war, the athletes contend with inadequate training facilities, the corruption of their national sports officials and desperate poverty.

China Prep

As the world’s attention turns to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, WIDE ANGLE reports on how the next generation of Chinese leaders is being molded. Follows four Chinese students through their final high-pressure year at an elite high school in Sichuan Province, where a class of 1,800 teenagers is competing for 59 spots in China’s top two universities.

The Real Olympics

Thursday, August 14, 2008, 10:00 -11:00 pm

Sunday, August 17, 2008, 11:00 pm - 12:00 am

This episode makes the opposite point. Although the ancient and modern games were conceived in different societies, respecting different gods and separated by almost three thousand years of history, there are powerful human connections, linking past and present. The most astonishing discovery of all is that the more the modern games have developed, the closer they have come to the ancient.

Out of Left Field: The Making of the Chinese Olympic Baseball Team

A remarkable glimpse into this world, is a first-of-its-kind opportunity to see the emergence of a sport in a nation that once considered baseball “cultural pollution.” Jim Lefebvre, former player and coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is in charge of turning Chinese players with limited skills into Olympic-caliber athletes. Along with a handful of other retired pros — and with the cooperation of major league baseball — they are helping to bring America’s game to a nation with one-fifth of the world’s population.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING: THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

Wednesday, August 20, 2008, 8:00-9:00 pm

Sunday, August 24, 2008, 6:00-7:00 pm

The U.S. Open is the climactic final event of the U.S. Synchronized Swimming season. This program follows two teams of ambitious and athletic girls - and one very determined teenage boy - through their intense training and team bonding until they meet in a spectacular display of churning water and synchronous limbs. For these future Olympians, the perfect make-up, the colorful costumes and those permanent smiles mask the fierce competitive spirit each needs to win.