The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006)

There are 75,000 children in China orphaned by AIDS (2004). In Yingzhou District, impoverished farmers sell their blood for 53 yuan (slightly less than $7) and some cake. The plasma is removed from the blood, and the remainder re-injected into the donors, so that they can recover quicker to donate again. Infected blood has given AIDS to 10% of the population of some villages.

The Blood of Yingzhou District chronicles the lives of several orphans: and also documents the efforts of Chinese and foreign relief workers to help the children, even though the challenge appears overwhelming.

BBC - China in DR Congo aid deal (2008)

Newsnight's Tim Whewell reports on China's multi-billion pound aid for minerals deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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• China in DR Congo aid deal

Also visit BBC Newsnight's special focus on China for more documentaries/news.

Channel 4 - Dispatches: Undercover in Tibet (2008)

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A timely report on life in Tibet under Chinese occupation as Tash Despa returns to his homeland after eleven years in exile, accompanied by award-winning director Jezza Neumann. For three months the pair risked imprisonment and deportation as they tried to uncover the true extent of the so-called 'cultural genocide' described by the Dalai Lama. Their film reveals that the nomadic existence of native Tibetans is being eradicated and that freedom of expression is increasingly tightly policed.

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• Dispatches: Undercover in Tibet
  

BBC - A Year in Tibet (2008)

Unaccompanied by Chinese authorities for the first time, BBC cameras offer an insight into the daily lives of Tibetans and reveal the significance of Buddhism within society.

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• BBC - A Year in Tibet
  

BBC Newsnight - A Great Leap Forward? (2008)

China's economy is, by any measure, a success story. Eleven per cent economic growth, rising wealth even among the poor and it's all set to be showcased spectacularly at the Olympics. Amid the celebrations, it's hardly been acknowledged that this is the 50th anniversary of the Great Leap Forward - Chairman Mao's failed attempt to modernise China the first time round. In Paul Mason's powerful presentation on China he asks what few in that country's media are prepared to: What are the parallels between then and now? We'll also be getting Lord Patten's analysis of how China is faring economically. Fifty years on from Mao's Great Leap Forward, BBC Newsnight's Paul Mason finds a country haunted by fears of a financial bubble, environmental disaster and struggling to come terms with the political injustices of half a century ago.

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• BBC Newsnight - A Great Leap Forward?
  

The New Workers Revolt (2003)

Angry workers in China are defying government orders and taking to the streets to protest about mass redundancies and corruption.

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• Journeyman Pictures - The New Workers Revolt
  

Santa's Workshop

Santa's Workshop takes you to the real world of China's toy factories. Workers tell us about long working hours, low wages, and dangerous work places. Those who protest or try to organize trade unions risk imprisonment. Low labour costs attract more and more companies to China. Today more than 75% of our toys are made in China. But this industry takes its toll on the workers and on the environment.

The European (and American) buyers blame bad conditions on the Chinese suppliers. But they say that increasingly hard competition gives them no option. Who should we believe? And what can you do to bring about a fairer and more humane toy trade?

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• Santa's Workshop