Stories of Chinese travellers Fa Xian, Hieun Tsang to be aired on Doordarshan soon

NEW DELHI: Tracing the journey of the earliest Chinese travellers -Fa Xian and Hieun Tsang -to India could be taken up as a joint production by state broadcasters Doordarshan and China Central Television (CCTV) in a growing sign of India-China bonhomie.

The two countries are expected to sign an agreement with exchange of content through TV programmes, ar chival content and training in the forthcoming visit of PM Narendra Modi to China.

Sources said that the agreement will seek to leverage archives and exchange TV programmes on culture, education, science, agriculture, entertainment, sports, news and current affairs. DD has similar agreements with Australia and Germany for ex change of programming.

Officials said content exchange will be on a gratis basis and allow for deeper understanding of the two cultures. “Buddhism is a significant thread that binds the two cultures and programmes to promote the religion, tourism in the two countries and better understanding of the diaspora could be looked at,“ a senior official said.

The two broadcasters will also have joint productions on areas of mutual interest of which documentaries on trav els of Fa Xian and Hieun Tsang are among the top priorities. This ties in with the deep symbolism of the Modi visit.