"I feel so emotional, while very proud of our history and what China has gone through so far" and "I have so much to say but I cannot because I'm moved to tears" are reflective of online comments about a documentary that has deeply resonated with countless Chinese: The Story of China's Reform and Opening-up.

The person who wrote the script and hosted the documentary is Michael Wood, a renowned historian and filmmaker from the UK. With five episodes in total, The Story of China's Reform and Opening-up differs from some previous Western documentaries on the topic. It calmly tells the story of China's 40 years of reform and opening-up, covering topics from China's high-speed railway to the changes in the educational system, from the e-commerce of Alibaba to Westlake University.

As a historian, Wood also wants to get to the root of something that the Western world has always wondered: How did China come out of nowhere in just 40 years?

"I first visited China in the 80s. When I went to small towns in the country, everyone rode bicycles and wore gray, blue or green Chinese tunic suits. Though I could feel their hospitality, they looked as if they were having a hard time," he recalled.

"But now everything is changed," he said.

In Wood's eyes, the greatest contributing factor in the reform and opening-up policy is "the Chinese people themselves. They are patient, collective... They're cooperative..." He also noted Chinese are very proud their history as well as very knowledgeable about it.

"While we shot the Du Fu documentary and the reform and opening-up films, almost every Chinese we met could tell the related history for hours, which surprised me," Wood recalled.

With his fascination with China remaining undiminished, Wood and his team have a wealth of future plans about making documentaries about the country.

"One idea that we have now is making a documentary about the celebration of the beginning again of diplomatic relations between China and the UK. We've also been talking about doing a film about 1793, when the British sent a mission to Emperor Qianlong. And I'm thinking about naming it 'The Dragon and the Lion,'" said Wood.

"After several months of shooting films in the latest series The Story of China, a friend of mine said 'You must be tired', but I said 'No! I want to visit China again!'" he added, underscoring just how fascinating China has always been to him.

Check out the video, to watch China Daily's interview with Michael Wood.