Original subtitles

- (theme tune plays)

NARRATOR: Our first mystery place is located in Tanzania.

Here the last true hunters of Africa live.

We're meeting Hadzabe Mudi who lived with the Hadzabe

in the bush for ten years.

Today he lives in a village and has learned to speak English.

- How can I say hello in the Hadzabe language?

Can you teach me?

- Yes. Normally you have to say "Mdana".

- Oh. - Yeah.

- With click click.

- Mdana. Mdana.

- (clicks) - Yeah.

- (clicks) Mdana.

- Mdana.

- Mdana.

- Something like that. Yea. - OK. I'm trying my best.

NARRATOR: And action! - (clicks) Mdana.

(clicks) Mdana.

NARRATOR: We are the first strangers that are allowed to live

with this group.

Basically this is a congregation of currently 30 friends

who have been roaming the bush for years.

The strongest in the village is the boss.

- And he is chief because he is the one

who killing a lot of animals. - Oooh!

NARRATOR: The leader decides the daily chores

of his fellow tribe members. But there is no pre-planning.

The Hadzabe don't know the concept of time

and don't have a calendar either.

- (speaks Hadzabe )

NARRATOR: Hadzabe live in the here and now.

Maybe the reason why they seem to be smiling the whole time.

This is the Hadzabe camp.

What looks like overturned birds' nests are the makeshift huts

of the bush people built out of branches and grass.

As we said, they only have to stay up for a while.

- How long do they stay in a place like this?

- They stay just like this for one or two months and then they move.

- Why? - Because they go finding wet

and getting water and the food.

NARRATOR: A hard life... always on the move.

We are asked inside one of the huts of the village.

This one is built with a little more attention to detail.

The inside: spartan.

There is no furniture at all... only hunting utensils.

Then it is time to find some food.

And this means going into the savanna. On foot.

A habitat that the Hadzabe share with lions, hyenas and elephants.

Just the thought of fighting a lion armed only with a bow and arrow

is not very pleasant.

But here they find everything that they need to survive.

But what we will be having today is still unclear to us and the Hadzabe.

On special offer today: wild honey.

It is hidden inside the cavities of the trees.

Honey is the only currency of the Hadzabe,

besides animal hides,

and also makes a very special change to the regular diet...

- I hope there is a lot of honey inside to get my energy back.

NARRATOR: Backbreaking work for a few drops of honey.

- Is this honey? The yellow thing? - (speaks Hadzabe)

NARRATOR: Honey is one of the staples in the diet of the Hadzabe.

It is also their medicine for a sore throat and when they have a cold.

Also it is the only available sweet in the bush.

For a kilo of honey, they can buy a metal arrow peak

from passing traders. A handsome price.

But today the find is so small that it is immediately eaten up.

- Phew. It is hard work... collecting honey.

NARRATOR: To make up for it there is also some Mbuyu,

the fruit of the monkey bread tree.

They are bone dry and very sour but contain ten times as much Vitamin C

as oranges.

- What is this that you are wearing? What is this from?

- (speaks Hadzabe)

NARRATOR: Translated this means:

it is a trophy from when he killed a baboon.

While the boys are still discussing their bow and arrow skills

the others are already preparing for the hunt.

Bushman Nnuna is collecting poison for the arrows.

The pith of this plant is deadly.

But it only kills if it is in a high concentration.

Therefore Nnuna boils the juice down for multiple hours

until only a black mass is left...

the distilled poison.

If only a small amount were to enter the bloodstream

it would be life threatening.

But still Bushman Nnuna processes it with his bare hands.

- Is there a difference if it gets into human blood or animal blood?

- (translation)

NARRATOR: But for the Hadzabe it is the only possibility

to get hold of larger quantities of meat.

Only lions and wildebeests are hunted with poisoned arrows.

In smaller animals the poison would spread too quickly

throughout the whole body and the meat would become inedible.

In bigger animals it is sufficient to cut out the bit

where the arrow struck.

But today it is too late to go and hunt. This means: no dinner.

- Are you going to sleep here, too?

- Yes. I am going to sleep in here, too.

Because in the Hadzabe camp you never sleep by yourself.

Because you have to sleep with Hadzabe because protecting you

during the night. PRESENTER: OK.

What can happen in the night? - Anything can happen.

Maybe the wild animals such as a hyena can come. You know.

- They come into the village? - Yea. Sometimes they come

in the village so that's why you're sleeping with Hadzabe people.

- Huh!

Good.

NARRATOR: Under these circumstances, the lack of personal space

is not an issue at all.

And to make the hard ground more comfortable, there are Kudu skins

and a roll up matt.

One thing amazes us. We can't see any women anywhere.

But this is due to a simple reason.

Each sex has their place in the village community,

as well as set tasks.

The women are gatherers, the men are the hunters.

There are no marriages among the Hadzabe,

but everyone only has one partner at a time.

Every couple of years they switch to someone else.

The children can then decide where they want to sleep every day.

Then it is time for bed.

In front of every hut there is a fire.

It burns for the whole night.

This is supposed to substitute for the door and keep wild animals away.

A new day is dawning.

- (woman speaks Hadzabe)

Today we are accompanying the women.

This means picking fruit and fetching water.

- (women speak Hadzabe)

NARRATOR: Immediately we are handed our own "shopping basket".

- (woman speaks Hadzabe)

NARRATOR: For about 80% of the day, the women gather food.

Fruit and roots are always in existence in the bush.

They are a relatively secure food supply.

- This one? Ah, OK.

NARRATOR: Berries are ripe at the moment,

so there is no tiresome digging for roots.

The girls are pretty hungry. First it is time to eat, then to gather.

They only ever take as much as they need for one day.

The lower part of the tree is empty now but the Hadzabe ladies

grudge no pains to reach the rest of the berries, too.

With almost acrobatic skill.

About 1,000 Hadzabe still live in northern Tanzania.

There have never been any conflicts about food

as the Hadzabe only ever pick what they need.

They never exploit nature...

so there is always food available.

Storing supplies doesn't make sense to the Hadzabe.

Yes, it would save them long walks, but storing food

would also bind them to one place for longer periods of time,

and this is in complete opposition to their lifestyle.

In the dried out river bed, the women now dig for water.

Half a metre beneath the surface the sand starts to get moist.

But water, as opposed to food, is always scarce.

Especially during the dry season.

Therefore it is used exclusively for drinking

and once in a while for cooking.

For body care it is far too valuable to the Hadzabe.

PRESENTER: Ah, OK.

NARRATOR: Formerly the Hadzabe used to fill their water

into ostrich eggs.

Today they use a plastic cannister.

Their clothing too is not only made from animal hides anymore.

Fabrics and t-shirts are bartered for with passing traders.

Back in the camp the gatherers are already longingly awaited,

especially by the children.

They too eat the berries raw. Cooking rarely happens.

But despite the uncooked food and the hard physical work

the Hadzabe never suffer hunger.

Tomorrow it will be time to go and hunt.

But before that, the arrows need to be made.

And this takes hours.

The mouth functions as the tools.

First the wood is warmed by the fire.

Then bite by bite it is shaped.

In theory this looks pretty easy...

but it is not at all.

Unfortunately you can't aim with a crooked arrow

and this means no prey.

- (whistling)

NARRATOR: The spontaneous concert seems to be appreciated.

In the early hours of the evening the relaxed mood

is suddenly over with.

The reason are the herdsmen from the neighbouring Massai tribes

that keep entering the tribal territory of the Hadzabe...

their herds destroy the vegetation and scare away the wild animals...

especially the younger tribesmen are slowly losing their tempers.

NARRATOR: Because the Hadzabe are traditionally not warriors.

A dilemma.

- So can you imagine one day to have cattle and goats by yourself?

NARRATOR: Most of the Bushmen never learned to read or write

so there are slim chances to go to court over the territorial dispute.

While more and more nature reserves are created around them

for the animals, the Hadzabe are left with nothing.

No one fights for the protection of their territory.

The next morning...

it is time to go and hunt...

with the traditional headwear of the Hadzabe.

Normally no one may accompany the expert hunters on their expedition.

The hunters separate into groups.

Some have run into the thick bushes, others are on the watch.

- (whistling)

NARRATOR: By whistling, they communicate with each other.

Suddenly everything happens very fast.

The Hadzabe have their prey in their sights.

Almost anything that they find is regarded as prey,

be it a baboon, a lion, or an elephant...

everything except hyenas.

This is because the Hadzabe don't bury their dead,

they place them in the savanna.

And as hyenas are scavengers, the Hadzabe think

that if they ate them they would not only be eating hyena meat

but also their ancestors.

It's hard to see if it was a hit.

On a hunt it is all or nothing.

If nothing is caught, there is no food.

A squirrel. It was hit but it isn't dead yet.

Small animals are hunted with un-poisoned arrows.

The arrow is removed...

- Who shot this? Did you shoot it?

- (speaks Hadzabe) PRESENTER: Unbelievable! Yeah!

- (speaks Hadzabe)

NARRATOR: But the hunt isn't over yet.

Maybe they will be able to make the big catch.

We continue deeper into the savanna...

But before we can put tension on our bow...

the next animal has already been caught.

PRESENTER: Yea! He got it!

NARRATOR: It is a bush baby, a kind of monkey.

But for the moment it is still stuck in the tree.

The shooter has to climb up.

In situations like these, accidents often happen.

More than ten people from this group have died while hunting.

The next hospital...

a couple of days walk away.

The Hadzabe themselves only know traditional medicines.

Immediately a fire is made.

A part of the prey is always eaten right away

because hunting is exhausting and the men need energy.

And they don't lose any time while cooking either...

not even the fur is removed.

But the catch today is so small that not even the women will get a share.

- (man speaks Hadzabe)

- What will the women say when you come without meat?

- But this is a lie! - (both laugh)

- Yeah! But, yeah!

NARRATOR: Meat is a nice protein bonus,

but isn't necessary for survival to the Hadzabe.

First the successful hunters get the best pieces.

Then what is left goes to the rest of the group.

Big prey such as buffalo or wildebeest

is only caught every two to three weeks by the Bushmen nowadays.

Soon nothing will be left of this camp.

The Hadzabe will move on to a new area.

They themselves worry very little about the future.

If you have no concept of time and don't live by a calendar,

you don't plan ahead by a couple of years...

it is all about the now.

And at the moment they are fine.

We leave the Hadzabe and travel on to the USA.

To a place near Colorado Springs.

Here, probably the most important U.S. military base is located...

the Cheyenne bunker.

Countless myths surround this place.

Supposedly the U.S. President would come here in a worst case scenario.

Even aliens are said to be hidden here.

Although we are still a whole mile away from the bunker entrance,

security seems to know about every single step we make.

We have an appointment, but we are not allowed to film

in front of the barrier.

Then we are issued a pass and may enter.

From the Cheyenne Bunker the U.S. Airforce monitor

the security of the United States, but how?

Will we be able to make it to the U.S. Airforce's

most secret room in the end?

In front of the entry gate we are meeting Commander Steven Rose,

the director of the Airforce.

We are excited to meet this powerful man who also has access

to the most secret room in the mountain.

Only accompanied by him are we allowed to continue.

OK... we were expecting someone a bit more impressive

but Commander Rose is our key to the most secret room in the mountain.

He has been working for the military for 30 years

and began his career at the U.S. Ministry of Defense,

The Pentagon.

Here in the Rocky Mountains the U.S. Airforce

has a very specific mission:

to monitor the security of the United States.

Never before was a camera team allowed to enter

their most secret room: the control centre.

But that is exactly what we want to get to see.

The way of getting there is complicated.

- Let's go in and do our security processing now,

so we'll have to stop filming because we're going through

such a high... - We cannot continue filming here?

- No. This is a top secret facility.

It's high security procedure so we're going

to have to stop cameras and do the right thing

for our security. NARRATOR: Security check...

we're familiar with those by now.

And then we find ourselves in front of probably

the most secure entry gates in the world.

Since the Cold War they have always been open. With one exception:

the 11th September 2001.

And today Commander Rose makes a special exception for us.

- You should experience it. So good luck.

NARRATOR: Meaning we are going to be locked in

in between the 46 tons of steel of the gate.

There's no going back now!

- (alarm buzzing)

- (presenter laughs)

PRESENTER: That's scary. (laughs)

NARRATOR: It only takes 45 seconds for the doors to be completely shut.

The location and the place are perfectly chosen:

the maximum distance to all coasts.

Enemy bombers would have a long way to go.

In case of an emergency this would mean:

enough time to batten down the hatches.

- And as you see around us here is the most homogenous piece of granite

that they found in the Rocky Mountains.

Big enough and solid enough to drill into.

It's solid granite all the way around us.

NARRATOR: On our tour through the bunker

we are being followed every step of the way.

The three guards on the right hand side of the frame

are watching whom and what we are filming.

Apparently 500 people work inside the complex,

but we see almost nobody.

Who specifically works here is supposed to be kept a secret.

In case of an emergency all the employees

would have to move into the bunker.

But what about the rumours that the military is hiding aliens here?

PRESENTER: Is this where the aliens are?

- See if you can see through a secret cage where we keep him!

- Oh! It's green! You are fooling me!

NARRATOR: So, to our total surprise, no aliens in the bunker(!)

Instead, in a worst case scenario, there would be 500 employees

who would have to be taken care of.

For this reason there is a special central water supply system

in place here.

PRESENTER: (gasps)

(laughs)

- I told you you would see a lake.

Sometimes people will say that there is no water in the lake,

so I bring a little stone. Because, you see the reflection,

it looks like it is empty.

- The fresh water lake... COMMANDER ROSE: Yeah?

- ..how long would it last if there were is an emergency case?

- Uhhh! We would be able to replenish that drinking water

with the chemicals, the chlorine that we keep on hand,

because we have an unending supply of fresh water

coming into the mountain.

PRESENTER: For how many people?

- That number is classified. I cannot share that number with you.

PRESENTER: Can you give me a tip!

- Several hundred.

- Several hundred, OK Would you be here inside then?

- Yes. - You'd take the family with you?

Is that allowed? - Inside the mountain? No.

- That’s hard, isn’t it? - Sorry, friends and family

not allowed through when the doors are shut. I guess any time

you serve in the military, um,

you plan for the worst and you hope and pray for the best.

Sometimes when you plan for the worst...

it does put a heavy burden on your shoulders sometimes

to think about if it should ever happen for real.

NARRATOR: Apart from the water supply,

electricity is the most important thing for the work in the mountain.

We carry on to the heart of the mountain.

Step by step we are getting closer to our goal.

We finally want to see what happens in the top secret control room

at the most inside point of the mountain.

- I see it is amazing in here, but still I don’t know what

is so important to protect it like that.

COMMANDER ROSE: Yes.

We can talk about some of them.

NARRATOR: In this place the bunker is brought to life.

All the electronics, from lightbulbs to computer networks

are supplied with power from here.

- Power is the lifeblood of the mountain.

It is what we do in here is watch those computers

And without the power...

it's dark.

As a matter of fact our technicians like to say that without power

it is just a cave.

NARRATOR: In order to make sure that the computers will work

under any circumstances, there are a whole eight generators here.

NARRATOR: In case of emergency, the generators would take over

the entire electricity supply within five minutes.

NARRATOR: On our way to the command centre,

the brain of the mountain we discover something unusual.

- To allow these buildings to bounce.

PRESENTER: ..if there would be a blast...

OK. It looks like a huge trampoline.

- Yes, so over 1,300 of these springs throughout the complex,

underneath these buildings.

And then as you can see looking down both directions of this cave...

the buildings never actually touch the granite walls.

NARRATOR: They absorb vibrations caused by earthquakes

or atomic bombs and keep the building

in a sort of "floating" state.

- Just like a ship at sea, these would ride out the waves

as it shakes and the mission then would continue.

NARRATOR: A mission in which the American Air Force decides

about the safety of the United States from here.

But where exactly is the secret command centre

that we are looking for?

On our way we also find very everyday things...

- This is a supermarket! - This is our supermarket, yes.

- You don’t need nothing anymore from the outside.

You can just, you could be here for ever.

NARRATOR: During everyday life there are mainly snacks

on offer here. In case of an emergency,

calorie rich astronaut food would be stocked here.

- How long can an emergency case last?

- I can’t actually share that time with you, but it is several weeks.

PRESENTER: Several weeks? - And that is the unclassified

what I can say. PRESENTER: OK.

- But the actual time is classified.

- Why? - It goes towards our war plans...

number of people, how long. Those are all factors in what we can do,

our capabilities and that’s what our commanders

have classified that material, so the bad guys don’t understand

what our capabilities are. PRESENTER: OK.

NARRATOR: What he can tell us...

a suite for the U.S. President doesn’t exist in the bunker.

But instead there are a church, a gym and a restaurant

right inside the mountain.

- So where are we going next?

- We are going someplace really special now.

This is what we call the system centre.

It is a very very important centre here that brings all the data in.

We have to be very careful because real world stuff is going on.

If something important happens we may have to leave very quickly.

- Oh, OK.

NARRATOR: So now it is finally time.

We are allowed to access the most well secured part of the Bunker.

Hundreds of safety precautions and tons of stone

just to protect this one room!

And we are the first camera team to ever be allowed inside.

This is what Commander Rose promises us.

But only for a maximum of five minutes.

Then we have to leave again immediately...

without discussion.

- OK.

NARRATOR: We see screens, monitors and stern faces.

Civilian visitors have never been here before.

We meet the Head of Information.

- Mr Jeff Robertson.

- Why is it that important that you have to hide it in a mountain?

- It is like any computer network that you want to make sure

is always available.

You put it in a location that has the best electricity,

has the best protection so that you don’t have any down time.

You know, that there is no damage, natural disasters

or anything like that that could take that computer network off line.

It is always available.

NARRATOR: The information from hundreds of satellite images

and CCTV Cameras is collected here every second, 24 hours a day.

Due to our presence, the monitors are frozen at the moment.

Everything is top secret.

- So if we detected missile launches that threatened Europe

or any of those locations over there,

we'd share that information immediately of course

with NATO and our allies and our partners.

- So there is a phone you take and call?

JEFF: Yes.

NARRATOR: In times of terror and worldwide turmoil,

information like this can decide over war or peace.

After precisely five minutes we have to leave the command centre again.

But still, as the first camera team ever we were able to explore

the secret Cheyenne Bunker.

We leave the mountain and travel on to Piedras Blancas

in Costa Rica.

In the middle of the thick jungle our destination lies hidden:

the Finca Bellavista.

Mat Hogan and his wife Erica are the founders

of this unusual jungle village.

In 2007 the two Americans decided to emigrate to Costa Rica...

from rainy Colorado.

Once they had arrived they began looking for a small plot of land.

- When we discovered this property... it is a lot bigger

than what we really wanted or needed

but we wanted to save it from being clear cut.

So Erica said: "Do you remember that Ewok village on return of the Jedi?

"We could build something like that and our friends

will all want to come down and build tree houses"

and yada-yada-yada. And that’s how it all kind of came to fruition.

NARRATOR: The way to the tree house community leads us across bridges,

down steps and across 27 zip lines.

- This is my favourite part of the day.

My morning commute to the house.

Oh-oh-oh-ohhhh!

NARRATOR: At the moment there are 26 houses

in the Finca Bellavista. And the number is rising.

More and more people, from drop outs to billionaires,

want to fulfil their dream of their own treehouse.

- So this is the first tree house we built about four years ago.

And you can see the plumbing lines going in over here.

You can also see the artificial limb attachments

that show how we patched to the trees and support the weight.

And it still allows the three trees to grow

and allows the structures to move independently if there is wind,

it allows the trees to be trees.

NARRATOR: Many residents only live here

for a couple of months per year.

The rest of the time they are rented out to tourists.

Opposed to normal tree houses all comforts are available here,

from a fridge to ceiling lights...

just like at the Hogan's house.

- We create our hot water using an on demand propane heater

and here is our propane cylinder

and you can see where the gas lines are run.

We use that for cooking fuel for the oven

as well as creating hot water for a hot shower.

NARRATOR: The treehouse dwellers also use solar power

for energy production.

- The upstairs is my favourite part of the house.

Come on up and check it out.

One of the best perks of living in a treehouse

is being able to sleep up in the trees.

We have a 360 degree view of the jungle.

NARRATOR: Erica's favourite place is the veranda.

Here she observes toucans, monkeys, sloths...

a private zoo in her front garden.

Matt and Erica are visiting their new neighbours...

the Tippies from Colorado only moved in a few weeks ago.

And what is the new life 30 metres above the ground like?

- Oh, absolutely love it. It is interesting though.

You wake up when the forest, or the jungle, wants you to wake up.

Not when you choose to wake up.

It can be a little noisy at night.. - Yeah.

- ..with the monkeys and the parrots.

NARRATOR: But that's what it's like in the jungle.

The next exceptional village takes us to Scandinavia.

We are travelling through Lapland.

30 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle,

the village of Batsuoj is located.

It consists of five tent-like wooden houses, so-called Lavvus.

Each Lavvu is living room, bedroom and dining room at the same time.

The Sami, the natives to northern Europe live in them.

Lotta Svensson and her husband Tom founded this village 20 years ago.

They also own the herds of reindeer that have secured the survival

of the Sami for 3,000 years.

- So every morning I have to feed the reindeers.

It is very important for us to do it

because we have so much from them:

the skin, the fur, the bone, the meat.

NARRATOR: Originally the Sami were nomads

and travelled through Scandinavia.

Today they only switch between their summer and their winter camp.

- In our territory we have about 2,000 reindeers.

Now my husband is out collecting them because now we are going

to the coast with them for the winter.

NARRATOR: What looks like an over dimensional birdhouse

is the "Njallo". A kind of village fridge.

Traditionally everyone stores their food here

in order to protect it from bears and to keep things cool.

Inside Lotta's wooden Lavvu there is only one single room.

It is the bedroom, living area and the kitchen at the same time.

- (indistinct chatter)

- This goahti is made of wood...

and on the floor we have...

..the branches from the birch covered with the reindeer skin

to keep us warm and dry.

NARRATOR: Each Sami village traditionally houses multiple

generations of a large family.

- This is Suowa.

It is smoked and a little bit cold

and it is typical for Sami.

NARRATOR: The fire in the middle of the room

is the cooking area and the only source of warmth

at the same time.

The smoke leaves the area via a closable hole in the roof.

Lotta is one of about 15,000 Sami in the whole of Sweden.

Almost all of them live in regular houses now

and the culture of the Sami is being forgotten.

And that is exactly what Lotta and her family want to prevent...

..an ambitious plan, as the traditional lifestyle

of the Sami is not very lucrative and full of deprivation.

- Suowa?

NARRATOR: Traditionally the whole family congregates around the fire

in the evenings.

- Yeah, dinner is the most important part of the day,

when we can sit together.

We can calm down and we can feel

the cosy, the warm inside.

(sings in local language)

NARRATOR: From the Arctic Circle we are continuing to Puno in Peru.

At 3,800 metres, the highest shippable lake in the world

is located... Lake Titicaca.

Here the descendants of the ancient Uro people live on an island village

made out of reeds.

Depending on the size, ten to twelve families live together

per village community.

Alfredo Mamani has also built an island with his friends. Its size:

500 square metres. That's about the size of two tennis courts.

- (translation)

NARRATOR: The Uros pass their knowledge on to their children.

Building a house takes one month.

From the walls to the roof... everything is made of reeds.

Alfredo collects the building material

for the reed village twice a week.

He doesn't have a motor boat so he rows up to six kilometres

along Lake Titicaca in order to harvest the canes.

Because of small air pockets inside of them,

severed reeds have a very high buoyance.

Alfredo's ancestors discovered this quality of the plant

thousands of years ago and already back then built boats

and villages out of reeds.

NARRATOR: It takes the Uros six months to build the unusual

village out of reeds.

After a few weeks in the water the reed base begins to rot.

Gases come to exist, which give the island buoyance.

NARRATOR: The Uros cut the root blocks of the reeds

to a height of about 30 centimetres.

With ropes they fasten the blocks together.

After about three months they then become one big root.

In order for the construction not to float away, stones act as anchors.

The floor: two metres of reeds.

About one ton of weight is pressing down.

One metre's worth sinks down into the water and begins to rot.

Then, every three weeks, fresh reeds are placed on top.

We travel on to Fuzhou in China.

There, we find a pretty unusual house.

- (fanfare music playing)

It looks like the Chinese version of the Enterprise...

The galactical building costs: 90 million dollars.

The spaceship is the headquarters of one of the biggest

Chinese companies.

But who would build something like this

and what does it look like from the inside?

We are greeted by the boss's assistant.

First we enter... well... an empty open space office.

- So what is happening inside here, inside this office?

- (translation from Chinese)

- And how many people work here in this "Enterprise office"?

NARRATOR: In case you were wondering:

we are allowed to enter the spacecraft.

But only on a Sunday.

In China too, Sunday means that there is no work going on anywhere.

Normally the newest Chinese video games are programmed here.

The employees are even allowed to make their own hours.

- There's a lot of activities. Also for you as a worker,

are you allowed to use them?

NARRATOR: The Boss's idea: the employees are supposed to live

in the complex with their families and feel comfortable here

in order to be even more efficient and creative in their work.

To realise his idea, he has created a real fun park

on China's east coast.

For all this, his big inspiration is Google.

In the normally strictly hierarchical country of China

this is a rare company concept.

The anticipation of meeting the boss in person is growing.

We are allowed to go into his office by ourselves.

Not even the employees may do this.

Every man's dreams comes true here.

Electronics and other gimmicks

worth tens of thousands of dollars everywhere.

And another surprise awaits us.

Because this is not all of his office yet.

We discover a cinema!

For his "Enterprise HQ" he especially bought the rights

to the design from the owners.

This place is not plagiarism made in China.

Everything is authorised.

But what does China's Captain Kirk look like?

A young and hip start -up type? Or simply a games nerd?

In any case he is a Chinese business man worth billions.

In the evening he actually grants us one of his rare interviews!

We are given 30 minutes with Liu Dejian.

- I have been a fan for Star Trek for a long time.

- He has-he has many different episodes, I mean,

different scenes, and I think I almost watched every episode.

So, Star Trek, I love it.

NARRATOR: His dream for the future is also of galactic scale.

- Well, if we are speaking of big dreams,

you know, sometimes people ask me:

"Hey Dejian! Do you want to make more money?"

And I say: "Yes! I say yes." And they say: "Why?"

"How can you spend all of it?" I say: "No problem!

I am thinking about building a space station."

If you think about that then you know I don’t have enough money

to get it started. Yet.

The important thing is that if you start doing something

it gives you a small chance at least of doing something wonderful.

NARRATOR: And he has definitely proved this with the Chinese version

of the Enterprise!

Then we find another mysterious picture.

Circular shapes right in the middle of a lake?

Our research leads us to India.

Already from the plane we can see that we have come

to the right place.

Directly on the border to Myanmar.

But then suddenly the government takes our filming permit back...

without giving us a reason.

So we need a Plan B, as large parts of the lake

are under military guard.

- But the boat is ready. Shall we go?

PRESENTER: Yep. OK, let's jump in. - - Yes, please.

NARRATOR: Nieve, our local contact, wants to take us there somehow

unnoticed. This means that we have to go out onto Lake Loktak

for over an hour.

We learn that the government has officially banned fishing

as well as living on the lake.

The reason: it pollutes the nature reserve.

Therefore OUR image from above looks different.

From the plane we saw restricted military areas and we won't be able

to go there.

The circles used to be used as fish traps.

Once they had swum into them there was no escape for the animals.

NARRATOR: But many residents refuse to leave

and live far off from civilisation on so called Phumdis.

All naturally occurring, they consist of vegetation,

soil and other organic matter.

New islands keep developing so to speak, out of tiny shreds of grass.

This phenomenon is unique in the world.

NARRATOR: Suman's family has been living here for two years.

Their source of income used to be fishing. The government ban:

a shock for them.

(translation)

NARRATOR: Suman built the house himself from bamboo.

A semi stable construction...

But despite everything he won't give up fishing.

However he doesn't use the classic round traps anymore.

He has switched to a net.

So that is the reason for our picture looking like this

from above.

The circles don't exist here anymore.

And maybe the last inhabitants will even have to move away soon.

- (theme tune plays)

Subtitles by Sky Access Services