SHANGHAI Media Group’s Yunji Media will cooperate with overseas and domestic production studios to co-produce high-quality documentary programs.

Officials made the announcement yesterday at the ongoing 23rd Shanghai TV Festival.

Fox and National Geographic will jointly produce with Yunji Media “the world’s first reality documentary series about the exploration of the universe.”

The series titled “Mars 2033” will follow six Chinese celebrities who will receive all-around astronaut training sessions at NASA in the United States, and in Morocco and the Arctic.

Discovery Channel will collaborate with Yunji Media on the second season of the documentary-style reality series “Absolute Wild” — about outdoor adventures featuring British adventurer Bear Grylls and Chinese stars. Grylls and the Chinese will embark on adventures and challenges in remote wild areas.

Yunji Media will also produce a series about traditional Chinese culture “The 24 Solar Terms” with Huafeng Meteorological Media Group. The series will explore the secrets of the 24 solar terms, which were created by farmers in ancient China to guide the agricultural affairs and farming activities.

The composer and conductor Tan Dun, choreographer and dancer Yang Liping, and contemporary artist Cai Guoqiang will share their own opinions about Chinese culture and art in a documentary series on Chinese aesthetics.

Yunji media will also present real-life stories on hospice care, health and the lives of ordinary Chinese people.

Last year around 3.42 billion yuan (US$503 million) was invested in the production of Chinese documentaries. The total output value of domestic documentary industry exceeded 5.2 billion yuan in 2016, up 10 percent on 2015.

Later this year a series of high-quality Chinese documentary series including “The Tale of Chinese Medicine” and “The Legend of Fruit” will air on the country’s major satellite TV channels and video-sharing websites.