Search

HeXi Corridor: The Disconnection between Expression and Communication in a Cross-cultural Context

Author(s)

Yu Liu

Affiliation(s)

Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China

Abstract

It has been ten years since the large-scale CCTV documentary “Hexi Corridor” was launched in China, creating a certain level of influence. Beyond factors like its omnimedia marketing approach, this is also due to its subject matter resonating with the social context of national cultural promotion – following the comprehensive initiation of the Silk Road revival plan, positioning, organizing, integrating, and promoting Silk Road culture has become a key theme for officially guided artistic creation. However, numerous fractures in the process from expression to communication cause "Hexi Corridor" to slide towards traditional approaches, seemingly struggling to shoulder the task of international cultural communication for the Silk Road.

Keywords

Hexi Corridor; Documentary; Expression; Communication; Cross-cultural Context

References

[1] (NL) Mieke Bal. Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative. Translated by Tan Junqiang. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1995: 167. [2] (FR) Roland Barthes. "Introduction to the Structural Analysis of Narratives.". Beijing: China Social Sciences Press, 1989: 29. [3] Sun Li. Documentary Image and Historical Representation: A Study of Historical Documentaries. Xi'an: Shaanxi Normal University Press, 2014: 47. [4] Wang Qiang. The Dual Construction of Narrative Identity: An Analysis of the Narrative Identification Mechanism in Historical Documentaries. China Television, 2025(04), 78. [5] Zhou Lan. Documentaries: The Communication of History through Images. Chengdu: Sichuan University Press, 2010: 112. [6] Wenyan Shao, Yang Han. Historical Documentaries: Constructing "Dialogue" Between Present and Past. China Television, 2022(09), 23. [7] (CA) Colin Hoskins, et al. Global Television and Film: An Introduction to the Economics of the Business. Beijing: Xinhua Publishing House, 2004: 45. [8] Tianpeng Yao, Hu Xun. International Communication Strategies of Chinese Humanities and History Documentaries from a Cross-Cultural Perspective. Media Observation, 2024, S2, 39. [9] Sun Li. On the Definition of Historical Documentaries. China Television, 2012, (1): P.3. [10] Cui Li. On Historical Truth and Cultural Imagination in Historical Documentaries. Modern Communication, 2023 (11), 108.