XINHUA is the official news agency of the People's Republic of China

BEIJING (Aug. 14) XINHUA - China Central Television (CCTV) is preparing to televise the "Dalai Lama", a 90-minute TV documentary featuring major historical incidents in China's Tibet from the 1930s to the 1950s.

The Chinese version will be aired by the CCTV Overseas Service on August 24, with the English version scheduled for August 31.

The documentary features more than 20 eyewitnesses of historical incidents, including fellow villagers, relatives, cooks and serfs of the 14th Dalai Lama (Dainzin Gyaco), as well as officials of the former Tibetan local government, religious figures, historians and elderly men who worked with the Dalai Lama.

The eyewitnesses provide narrations of personal experiences and stories about the 14th Dalai Lama, including how Dainzin Gyaco, son of a farmer, was selected as one of the candidates for the soul boy of the 13th Dalai Lama.

Other accounts depict enthronement ceremonies, and how the 14 Dalai Lama became the leader of old Tibet's feudal serf system which integrated religion with politics under a meticulous and strict system based onto Tibetan Buddhism.

In addition, the documentary explains how the Dalai Lama ratified the agreement signed with the central government on peacefully liberating Tibet; how he maintained close cooperative relations with the central government from 1954 to 1956; and how he later embarked on the path of splitting the motherland.

The documentary provides a detailed explanation of the origins of the title of the Dalai Lama and reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism, as well as relevant historical conventions and religious protocols.

A large segment of materials used in the documentary will be made public for the first time.