Ten years ago, when director Takeuchi Ryo was filming the documentary "The Yangtze River: A Grand Journey" for NHK, he had a regret: he failed to film "the first drop of water at the source of the Yangtze River". Ten years later, having moved to Nanjing, China, he was determined to make up for this regret. After two years of careful preparation, he embarked on another 6,300-kilometer journey along the Yangtze River in 2021, reuniting with old friends. In Takeuchi Ryo's lens, there are not only magnificent natural scenery, but also the simple smiles of ordinary people and touching stories that bring tears to the eyes. He captured the local customs and real life of people along the Yangtze River, showing the great changes achieved in the past decade in China, after its economic take-off. As a foreigner who has lived in China for nearly ten years, while fulfilling the ten-year promise, Takeuchi Ryo also hopes to let the world see the real Chinese people and the real China. The film version, re-edited by Takeuchi, was released in Japan and other places, bringing a new audio-visual experience to the audience.

Premiered in Japan in April 2024, The Yangtze River topped the box office for Japanese art films, achieving outstanding results. It also won high praise from Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. Lin said “Through his masterful filmmaking, Ryo Takeuchi showed the huge changes in the Yangtze River regions over the past decade, which served as an epitome of China’s economic and social development in the new era. The director and the protagonists overcame the limitations of time, space, languages and ethnic differences with sincerity and kindness, bringing the audiences to tears.” In addition, The Yangtze River also received the following accolades: • Top 10 Feature Documentaries at the 28th China Documentary Academy Awards • Finalist at the 12th China Documentary Academy Awards • Nominee for Best Documentary at the 37th Golden Rooster Awards • Recommended Work for International Communication at the 3rd Chinese Documentary Film Conference