Blue Planet II is so popular in China that it 'caused the internet to temporarily slow down'

Viewers said the show was so 'beautiful' it had moved them to tears 
Global hit: David Attenborough might be the most-watched person on the planet after his nature documentary
BBC
Aime Grant Cumberbatch13 November 2017

Blue Planet II is so popular that it reportedly caused internet problems in China when millions of viewers tried to stream it at the same time.

According to The Sunday Times, David Attenborough could be the most-watched individual on earth after 80m viewers tuned in to see his new nature documentary on marine life at the weekend.

And so many Chinese fans downloaded the programme on the country’s online Tencent Video channel that the internet temporarily slowed down.

On Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, users described the show as ‘beautiful’, and said they had been affected by Attenborough's ‘appeal to protect the environment’.

Muchu Jun, a film blogger from Beijing, wrote: “I watched with my mouth hanging open. Blue Planet contains a profound humanistic appeal to protect our environment.”

Fankucha Zhendi, also from Berlin, echoed the sentiments, commenting: “I’ve been crying all the time… it’s just so beautiful.”

BBC Worldwide’s manager for China, Kelvin Yau said he felt the show helped people ‘reconnect with the natural world’.

“With the fast growth of cities, many Chinese, especially younger generation, want to reconnect with the natural world,” he explained.

The most recent episode of the BBC documentary focused on coral reefs, demonstrating the alarming rate at which the living habitats are bleaching and dying due to warming sea temperatures.

Blue Planet II has proved a hit among viewers at home too, with its launch episode being watched by an average of 10.3 million people, beating both the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing shows that aired on the same evening.

Blue Planet II - In pictures

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Blue Planet II continues Sunday, October 18 at 8pm on BBC One.

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