This episode focused on the rapid development of the People's Republic of China in modern times, and also introduced several Chinese cities (Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong), the improvement of rural communities (Longshen, Taizhou) and the lives of various ordinary Chinese people (a rice farmer, a Shaolin monk and his students, a Mongolian horseman, a gymnast who is an Olympic hopeful, an Imperial bowmaker, an architectural millionaire, a window washer, a girl tempted by cosmetic surgery and a policewoman).

Among the people followed include a female soccer player struggling to play in what is considered a man's sport, a helicopter pilot in São Paulo, a rancher taking part in his first rodeo, and a dancer in preparation for Carnival.

Profiled is a young Zulu schoolgirl and her teacher, a man working thousands of feet underground in the world's deepest gold mine, a wildlife veterinarian and her team working to preserve South Africa's unique wildlife, the Khoisan bushmen battling to keep their traditional way of life, a young colored woman in a leadership role in the South African Army, and an ambulance driver in Johannesburg, one of the world's most violent cities.

From sports like free running and urban climbing, to unexploded munitions removal, to more traditional events like eating and watching fireworks, the French are setting new trends in many different aspects of life.

The episode follows the lives of a geisha in training, a tuna fisherman, a group of Ama divers, two trend setting schoolgirls, a family competing in robotics fighting, and a tattoo artist.

We follow the lives of nomadic reindeer herders in Siberia, a family of carpet-makers in the Caucasus Mountains, a fashion magazine executive in Moscow, a volcanologist in the Kamchatka Peninsula and a 17-year-old COOL aspiring circus performer in Kazan.

Interspersed with these stories is footage of breathtaking scenery from around Russia, including Lake Baikal and St. Petersburg during summer twilight The initial four episodes were released on Blu-ray and HD DVD in high-definition on 30 January 2007.