After finalizing the guide, mapping out the route, conducting location scouts, and securing filming permits from the local government, the fourth season of PPTV’s travel channel documentary series "To Hell with You, Tribe"—"To Hell with You, Ethiopia"—officially began filming on May 20 in this magical land of Ethiopia. The camera will follow explorer Dream Explorer and his team, fully capturing the mysterious culture and customs of the border tribes between Ethiopia and Kenya.
Preparing for a Journey to Document Authentic Human Culture
Dream Explorer and the PPTV "To Hell with You, Tribe" production team flew out of China on May 8. After a 33-hour flight, they arrived in Ethiopia’s capital to officially begin pre-production. After meeting with two local tour guides, “Could we find an old guide as extreme and adventurous as Huan from 'To Hell with You, Amazon 2'?” became the most important question for Dream Explorer, the unconventional protagonist of PPTV’s "To Hell with You, Ethiopia." In cafes, hostels, and markets, relying on intuition and sharp eyes to strike up conversations with kind and reliable locals, Dream Explorer happened upon cameraman Kamura, who was shooting a program with two South Sudanese TV personnel. It was through Kamura’s introduction that Dream Explorer finalized the expedition guide for this trip and mapped out three filming routes. "To Hell with You, Ethiopia" got off to a smooth start.
Shortly after, at 5 a.m. on May 11, Dream Explorer and his team set out for a pre-filming location scout, driving 2,400 kilometers to explore 16 tribes in the Ethiopia-Kenya border region and applying for filming permits from local authorities. This location scouting was anything but easy—to ensure safety, the crew not only rented two highly capable Land Rovers but also hired a local security guard armed with an AK-47 for protection. Wild Africa, the enigmatic Africa, revealed itself vividly.
Surprises Along the Expedition
The journey for "To Hell with You, Ethiopia" seemed extraordinary from the very beginning. In preparation for the shoot, Dream Explorer barely slept on the way to Ethiopia, and upon arrival, the sight of Chinese national flags and promotional banners made the African air both foreign and familiar. The production team just missed the grand occasion of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit. On the road from the airport to Ethiopia’s capital, the driver talked non-stop upon seeing the yellow-skinned crew—apparently, there’s a high-speed elevated railway built with Chinese assistance. Beyond that, "To Hell with You, Ethiopia" pursues the most perilous journeys, the most primal tribes, and the most extreme adventures, adding more surprising and thrilling anecdotes to the location-scouting journey: the most authentic locally handmade “red potatoes,” camping on the mountainous Ethiopian border, enjoying breakfast while watching the sunrise over the East African Rift Valley, and being surrounded by dozens of gaping crocodiles on Crocodile Island deep within the rift valley. All of this will be updated in real time by PPTV’s travel channel, documenting the rarely seen raw charm of this land.
"To Hell with You, Tribe" is China’s first wilderness reality show, featuring countless scenes never before seen or even imagined: who has feasted on barbecued piranhas in crocodile-infested rivers? Who has personally experienced large-scale jungle ayahuasca ceremonies, witnessed girls’ coming-of-age rituals proving their innate responsibilities through physical endurance, tasted bizarre alcohol beer brewed with saliva, or toured a frontline police patrol station with the commander of Bogotá’s military district? Dream Explorer, along with "To Hell with You, Amazon," "To Hell with You, Papua," and "To Hell with You, Amazon 2," has time and again recorded the people and stories of the world’s most magical lands in a uniquely Chinese way, allowing audiences to experience different civilizations. This African expedition delves once again into untraveled tribes, taking the exploration further, deeper, and more arduous. After two months of filming, "To Hell with You, Ethiopia" will premiere simultaneously on Travel Channel TV and PPTV’s travel channel in late July.