This article contributes to research into representations of China in current China-UK co-produced transnational documentary films. It examines Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth (2016) from the perspective of cinematographic styles and filmmaking techniques to demonstrate how this film frames a powerful image of China through a cultural lens, based on festive traditions and folk customs. The paper draws on Bill Nichols' theory of participatory documentary and develops the discussion via the philosophical thinking of Mikhail Bakhtin on carnival. It argues that this film provide...