"A Bite of China 2" has eight episodes, namely "Footsteps", "Heart Biography", "Season", "Family Life", "Secret Realm", "Meetings", "Three Meals" and "Highlights".

Each dining table witnesses the birth, growth, gathering and parting of life. Through delicious food, people can tastefully understand the ancient oriental country.

"A Bite of China" won unanimous praise from domestic and foreign audiences for its series that traces the traditions of Chinese food culture.

Now, CCTV has filmed a sequel, but this time the response from Chinese audiences was not as enthusiastic as the previous one.

In Season 2, the show's producers seem more interested in tugging at viewers' heartstrings than their taste buds.

The makers and eaters of the food become the protagonists, rather than the food itself, which seems to take the spotlight away from the guest.

"A Bite of China II" is broadcast every Friday night on CCTV-1, and you can also watch the video online.

The first episode exhaustively showcases a variety of uniquely Chinese delicacies, from honey shortening and stewed mudskippers to Leishan fish sauce and Quanzhou radish rice.

(Quanzhou radish rice rolls).

But the real focus is the stories behind these treats.

In the first episode, a Tibetan young man went into the mountains to look for raw materials in order to help his brother make butter and honey.

In order to collect the honey he needed, he spent 4 hours climbing a 40-meter-high tree without using any safety equipment.

According to the film, ghee honey is one of the favorite foods of local families.

The film also went to southern Zhejiang Province for filming and tells the story of a fisherman who spent two years researching how to catch jumping fish, something his daughter had been looking forward to for a long time.

The jumping fish is a rare fish.

In Sichuan, a couple traveled all over the country selling honey and used the money from selling honey to pay for the education expenses of their two sons.

Another Miao couple returned home after working as migrant workers for a year.

In order to make up for the time they could not spend with their children, they carefully prepared Leishan fish sauce, which is made from small fish that are very difficult to catch and dried in the sun.

Another section of the film tells the story of an overseas Chinese who returned to his hometown of Quanzhou, Fujian Province from the United States.

The first thing he did when he returned home was to invite his fellow villagers to taste a traditional Quanzhou delicacy - Quanzhou radish rice, which is made of radish, pork, fish and rice.

After the first episode was aired, many Chinese viewers questioned CCTV, pointing out that "A Bite of China II" seemed to have become a patriotic education program rather than a pure food documentary.

Many users on social media expressed their disappointment with the second season.

Some people believe that the film attempts to elevate personal emotions to a political level, especially with the intention of using food to promote national harmony.

What values ??are they trying to promote, one asks?

Others said the film seemed to be biased.

One Weibo user wrote that most of the content in the film was filmed in border areas or related to ethnic minority dishes, but Han food was ignored.

It may not be surprising to say that the film contains elements of political propaganda, not so subtly.

After all, the producer is China's state media CCTV.

At the Season 2 premiere earlier this month, CCTV director Hu Zhanfan used many words and phrases commonly found in propaganda speeches.

He used the term "Chinese Dream" often spoken by the President of the People's Republic of China to preach. The Chinese Dream on the tip of the tongue is the Chinese people's pursuit of happiness and perfection, their optimistic attitude towards life, and their simple emotions for harmony and nature behind the food.

According to the film's official website, the second season will also cover topics such as education, Foxconn and single-parent families.

How these relate to food is unknown.

What the audience praised about the play was that it evoked people's nostalgia for their hometown and childhood.

A Weibo netizen wrote that "A Bite of China II" gave him a lot to say, mainly because the film reminded him of his parents and grandma. He remembered that his father started learning fishing when he was a child, and also called him

I haven't been home for a long time, so I decided to go back in a few days.

Does the film mark a new form of political propaganda?

Or is it just a drama that stirs up excitement and brings tears to eyes rather than mouth-watering?

In any case, as the old saying goes: food is the most important thing for people.

There will definitely be a lot of people watching this documentary.

For a viewer living in the United States, just thinking about all the Chinese food is enough to fill her with nostalgia.

The viewer wrote on Weibo that even if she glanced at the film, just reading the online comments was enough for someone like her who pretends to be high-end, cool and cosmopolitan to reveal her true patriotic sentiments.