China Central Television (CCTV) said Wednesday it will next year launch a new documentary channel, CCTV-9, to showcase Chinese history, culture and society.

The documentary channel will broadcast 24 hours per day in both English and Chinese.

The channel is China's first documentary channel to reach a global audience, Liu Wen, director of the CCTV-9 said.

A nature documentary on China's natural history co-produced by the BBC and CCTV will the first program shown on the new channel.

The documentary, Wild China, was screened in Britain on BBC Two in 2008.

The documentary has six parts: Heart of the Dragon; Shangri-La; Tibet; Beyond the Great Wall; Land of the Panda; and Tides of Change.

"We want Chinese to feel proud of their country and wildlife and to care about it. We also hope to redress the negative view of China's environment propagated in the Western media," said one of the series' producers, Phil Chapman, writing in BBC Wildlife magazine.

(CCTV.com December 24, 2010)