The semester has been underway for quite a while. I believe that you, as a beginner in GIS, have already settled into your studies after military training and the National Day holiday. Many people may still feel lost after so many days of classes: what exactly can you do after studying GIS? Today I would like to introduce a documentary. It is fair to say that, apart from changing careers, almost all career paths for GIS majors are covered in this documentary.

This documentary is the series Smart Mapping China, currently airing in the Nature China segment on CCTV-1. The documentary has five episodes, each with one theme. It ranges from the history of surveying and mapping to BeiDou satellites, and from archaeology and cultural heritage protection to smart cities. It can be said to systematically introduce both the "old foundations" and the "new frontiers" of the surveying and geographic information industry. If you are also confused about the career paths available after studying GIS, you might want to spend some time watching these five episodes.

Episode 1: "Laying the Coordinate Foundation"

Episode 1 begins with measurement techniques used by Chinese people a thousand years ago, such as Yu the Great's flood control, Zhang Heng's armillary sphere, Pei Xiu's "six principles of cartography", and Zheng He's star navigation. It then moves to China's modern national surveying and mapping datum and geodetic coordinate framework, and introduces the Qingdao Levelling Origin. It also covers the height measurement of Mount Everest. I previously introduced detailed information about this in "The surveyor's film 8848.86 is here". The second half also features remote sensing desert control in Ordos and the 3D real scene of the Pinglu Canal.

Corresponding career paths:

  • The Ministry of Natural Resources system, provincial and municipal surveying and mapping institutes, geographic information centers, etc., maintaining national-level reference stations and basic surveying and mapping
  • Companies in geodesy, engineering surveying, and CORS reference station construction and operation/maintenance

Episode 2: "Maps Benefit People's Livelihood"

This episode discusses how maps move from specialized outputs into daily life. It introduces the Ministry of Natural Resources' Tianditu, which provides 24 categories of natural resources and satellite imagery, with base maps applied across various industries. It also introduces a paper-cut map by the Qingdao Surveying and Mapping Research Institute that won an award at the International Cartographic Conference.

Corresponding career paths:

  • Internet map and location-based service companies: Amap, Baidu Maps, Tencent Maps, etc.
  • Map production and cartography positions: data collection, map production, map review
  • Companies building livelihood applications around maps: tourism, transportation, emergency response, etc.

Episode 3: "Ancient Sites Reborn"

This episode discusses how surveying and mapping are used in archaeology and cultural heritage protection. It introduces the application of satellite remote sensing and digital elevation models to water conservancy remains at Liangzhu, as well as millimeter-level 3D replication of Beijing's Central Axis and the digitization of murals at the Dunhuang Mogao Caves by Wuhan University.

Corresponding career paths:

  • Archaeological surveying and mapping and digital cultural heritage protection: cultural and museum institutions, and companies specializing in 3D laser scanning and UAV aerial surveying;

Episode 4: "Digital and Intelligent Life"

This episode discusses how surveying and mapping enter travel and daily life. It introduces Hunan's low-altitude intelligent network as a single network for emergency surveying and mapping, and drone food delivery and autonomous driving pilots in Guangdong. It also introduces 3D real scenes and the application of the "one map" for territorial spatial planning in smart cities.

Corresponding career paths:

  • GIS platforms (SuperMap, Esri China, etc.), GIS development and solutions engineers
  • IT service providers: working on the Third National Land Survey, national land change surveys, one-map systems, etc.
  • Smart city/digital twin integrators, and information technology departments in design institutes.

Episode 5: "Weaving a Satellite-Ground Network"

This episode discusses the BeiDou satellites in the sky and reference stations on the ground. It introduces BeiDou-3, completed in 2020, and the "one network" formed by the Ministry of Natural Resources in 2024 from nearly 7,000 reference stations across China. It also introduces Tianjin gas inspection vehicles detecting leaks and unmanned agricultural machinery operations.

Corresponding career paths:

  • GNSS satellite navigation and positioning: hardware, algorithms, and data processing positions
  • CORS reference station construction and operation/maintenance, high-precision maps, and autonomous driving;

Where to Watch (Official CCTV Website)

CCTV-1 live entry (click to watch directly):

https://tv.cctv.com/2026/08/04/VIDE3Xkmqdll9eqjCzpBKG3U260804.shtml

You can also download the Yangshipin app to watch.

Final Thoughts

This documentary basically covers all directions of the surveying and geographic information industry, from traditional to cutting-edge. Of course, there are still many paths available to those who study GIS, and I cannot guarantee full coverage. For example, in the MalaGIS group, there are quite a few people who collect rent, sell antiques, and so on.

After watching it, do you feel uninterested? Thinking of changing careers? ... That really is not in the documentary. After all, it is a promotional film for our industry (manual doge).