Broadcast journalism in China is hard because of stiff censorship. Most things you try don’t work and you need a strong team to get anything done. The BBC team are the best. They never give up and never forget to laugh. These behind the scenes snaps won’t win awards, but I hope they give you a sense of the kind of people who make the BBC great.
Beijing March 2017
Tiananmen Square after filming at China's parliament across the road. Left to right: Xiqing, Ashley, Curtis. Ashley was over from our Washington DC bureau so we'd been introducing her to a different style of politics!
Southern Xinjiang March 2017
China's 'terror frontline’. We’d got past six police checkpoints to the scene of a recent attack and the locals were puzzled to find us there.
Hong Kong July 2017
Kathy and Joyce wouldn’t wield umbrellas to keep Matt dry but the TV camera and kit… that’s different.
Dunhuang July 2017
Xinyan, never change!
Beijing March 2017
Chairman Mao’s former secretary on his 100th birthday. 'Feisty' doesn't do him justice. Li Rui survived prison and everything else China’s turbulent 20th century could throw at him.
Urumqi March 2017
With Ablajan aka Xinjiang's Justin Bieber.
Qinghai Tibet plateau December 2015
Just about everything had gone wrong here. The cameraman had grit embedded in his eye. We’d failed to find the nomadic herders we wanted to film. And we urgently needed to get Xinyan to the other end of China for her wedding. But when the going gets tough, call for Maria and Xinyan.
Beijing August 2014
Curtis and I filming a news live with Joey the War Horse. The National Theatre's hit show was about to take China by storm.
Southern Xinjiang March 2017
Police hold us for five hours and erase some of our footage. All in a day’s work reporting from Xinjiang.
Almaty, Kazakhstan May 2017
While filming for the new Silk Road. Kathy is running a mind-bending production schedule and impossible logistics but she’s still smiling.
Beijing October 2017
The red flags on the roof tell you it's Xi Jinping's big day at Communist Party Congress. But it’s also a big day for us.... Zhou Wei (centre frame) is producing her last Beijing story before taking all that talent to the Hong Kong bureau.
Taipei July 2015
Interviewing President Ma Ying-jeou.
Portsmouth January 2015
Chinese patriots in a British port to greet their visiting naval ships. (I've lost that hat now....perhaps that's a good thing.) Tony Dolce on camera. I've really enjoyed working with some of the home crews whenever China stories come to the UK.
Hong Kong November 2014
Waiting for democracy protestors to wake up during the Umbrella Movement. Their encampment dominated the city centre for 3 memorable months, a protest movement complete with recycling, homework clubs and tiny gardens planted in tins.
London October 2015
The Queen and President Xi are about to drive past in a carriage on their way from Horse Guards to Buckingham Palace. I can’t ask them to go round again so I will get one chance only to deliver my PTC ‘piece to camera’ with carriage behind me. And breathe!
White Horse Village 2015
In 2015 we made a series about the destruction of a farming village to make way for a city. Following the story for a decade meant we filmed Xiao Zhang’s children Yangyang and Peipei almost from birth. It makes for a special bond. And that’s the awesome Lily Lee (centre right between Maria and Matt).
Beijing December 2015
Bad air day.
Beijing October 2017
BBC goes CPC. China does a party conference like no one else. Our coverage team for the 2017 congress included colleagues from London and watching their moments of bafflement was often more entertaining than the speeches from the podium.
Beijing June 2015
Toasting the end of a Newsnight series and TV documentary. We’d spent a fortnight of 12 hour days in this small cell of an edit suite.
Essex, UK April 2017
Kathy and Matt earned these scones. For our new Silk Road series, we filmed along a 7000 mile journey between China, Kazakhstan, Poland and the UK.
Beijing October 2017
Anxious moment for producer and cameraman…. a problem connecting Beijing to London for a live interview on a national bulletin. I did nothing useful except observe the moment.
Wuxi, south west China June 2015
Who needs a studio audience when you can have a game of grandmother’s footsteps with school kids curious about your radio piece?
Wuzhen November 2014
Left to right Maria, Curtis and Sissi. They were filming me....and I was filming them because they looked so damned glamorous gliding by like that!
Chongqing November 2016
Bikers Zhou Wei and Maria. We were about to give the surveillance team on our tail a challenge while recording for the podcast Murder in the Lucky Holiday Hotel.
Hong Kong September 2014
Maria capturing radio sound during the Umbrella Movement.
Chongqing November 2016
Radio sound again!
Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province
January 2015
Curiosity is mutual.
Beijing January 2015
Best ever office space. The Forbidden City had been emptied for Prince William's tour and once he'd moved on, we had it to ourselves. Maria mixing sound on a radio report for the Today Programme.
Beijing January 2015
BBC China Editor 'band on tour'. If Matt, Maria and I added up the weeks of our lives spent waiting for delayed flights in Chinese airports…
White Horse Village April 2015
Radio/TV rivalry. Maria needs to get close for the best sound and Matt needs a shot without a red head producer in it.
White Horse Village April 2015
No shortage of assistants to look through the view finder and assess the shot.
Beijing February 2017
There is nowhere Matt won’t try to fix a camera.
Southern Xinjiang March 2017
Police bosses check junior officers have erased all sensitive footage. But we made a copy before any of them arrived.
Beijing November 2017
Katie and Kevin from Sky News are supposed to be the enemy, but we can’t help liking them.
Turfan May 2017
A rare moment of stillness filming for the new Silk Road. We felt awe at the grandeur of the landscape and sensed the spirits of an ancient city whispering on the wind.
Hong Kong June 2017
Long day into night editing news films in a hotel room. Left to right: Joyce, Kathy (on the floor), Xiqing, Joey. None of them ever complain....I think they're indestructible.
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