“Milele,” a popular TV series that showcases the story of a Chinese medical team sent to work in Africa, is now available. The Swahili-dubbed version of the show began airing in Kenya and Tanzania recently.
This series commemorates several important historical events, including the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the 60th anniversary of China’s first medical team dispatched abroad in the early 1960s and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Tanzania.
In Kenya, the drama, which features A-list Chinese actor Jin Dong, is broadcast on Citizen TV from Wednesday to Friday each week and is also available for streaming on Citizen TV’s new media platform, Viusasa. The series, partially filmed in Tanzania, will be shown on the country’s local TV channel, ST Swahili, starting Monday and re-air from Aug 22.
In addition, it will be aired by Tanzania’s public broadcaster, Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation. The show will also be available to stream on Azam, a new media platform that reaches many Swahili-speaking countries, including Malawi, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
The series aims to vividly portray the friendship between China and Africa over the years. To achieve this, 10 key specialists involved in the series travelled to Africa to conduct research and interview 31 Chinese doctors from three medical teams dispatched to Tanzania. After completing filming in China, the production crew, consisting of 178 members, travelled to Africa to capture scenes in various locations, such as the archipelago of Zanzibar and the city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.