"The Great Shokunin 2" sets a new benchmark for internet documentaries

Jointly produced by Youku, Cicada Modern and China Radio International Online, the current season of internet documentary "The Great Shokunin 2" has come to a close, reports Youku.

Themed "beauty of the East," this season has focused on the ingenuity of Asian craftsmanship.

This season of "The Great Shokunin 2" has highlighted the makers of Sichuan brocade, ancient paper, mortise and tenon joints, pine soot ink and other inventions unique to East Asia.

Hu Defu, dubbed the father of Taiwan folk music, sings the theme song. Lin Chi-ling appears again as the "sharer."

A screenshot of "The Great Shokunin 2" [Photo: Youku]

Compared with the first season, the second has been available through live streaming and sale online, giving the producers more revenue to produce higher-quality programs.

"The Great Shokunin 2" has been viewed at least 130 million times on Youku and mentioned nearly 800 million times on Weibo. Receiving a score of 8.7 on Douban, the program has won 12 awards and has been praised by China's leading newspaper, the People's Daily.

A publicity poster for "The Great Shokunin 2" [Photo: Youku]

Youku says it intends to continue its cooperation with Cicada Modern to produce "The Great Shokunin 3," as well as other programs in the future.

A photo shows another program jointly produced by Youku and Cicada Modern. [Photo: Youku]