Zhang Ziyi is known around the world as the Beijing-born actress who made it big in filmdom, headlining some of the biggest hit flicks from Asia and Hollywood but yet, had very few lines in almost all the movies she starred in.

She made her mark as a commendable actress in Zhang Yimou’s The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 Berlin Film Festival. If you’ve watched the film, you too would remember falling for her character Zhao Di, a country girl who falls in love with a young teacher that came to her village during the 1958 Anti-Rightist Movement.

She also wowed many with her martial art skills in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000, the Ang Lee film that has won over 40 awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and three other Oscars, and was nominated for six other categories, including Best Picture.

Since then, Ziyi starred in many popular movies like Rush Hour 2 (2000), Hero (2002), Purple Butterfly (2003), House of Flying Daggers (2004) and of course, Memoirs of a Geisha (2005) as the lead character Sayuri. Her casting caused a slight controversy, especially in Japan, with some making an issue of a Chinese actress portraying a Japanese Geisha.

Zhang Ziyi is a star who still, after so many years, speaks more with her actions than words. So who would’ve thought that the Maybelline, Garnier and Shangri-la Hotel and Resort Group ambassador has now gone into hosting, a job that requires her to do a lot of talking?

Premiering on the National Geographic Channel (Astro 553) last Sunday, and repeating tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov 18) at 8pm, Zhang Ziyi Travel Series is an exciting travel series in which Ziyi will take us on a personal journey of discovery with the help of local guides and famous friends such as globally-acclaimed photographer Yu Tsai.

Originally created by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts and co-produced with National Geographic, Zhang Ziyi Travel Series unveils, among others, the exceptional landscape of Oman and Inner Mongolia, and shows us the determination of local people to nurture their heritage, culture, history, music art and preservation of Mother Nature.

In Episode One, the beautiful host joins Mohammed, resident turtle ranger from Shangri-La’s Barr Al Jissah Resort and Spa at sea, where they encounter hundreds of dolphins!

“I have seen dolphins in many sea parks and vacations, but I never imagined seeing thousands of them swimming right in front me,” said Ziyi excitedly.

“It was amazing! They would jump to the surface of the water, while the rest would be underneath the ocean.

That was definitely an unforgettable moment in my life. This is one of the most natural settings to learn more about wildlife in their natural habitats.” Then, on the beach, the duo watch baby sea turtles hatching and making their way to the sea.

“When we were waiting for the sea turtles to lay their eggs, we had no idea how long we would have to wait. So while we were waiting in the desert at night, we could only use an Resortsinfrared light so we wouldn’t scare the sea turtles. That was really interesting because we were studying their reproduction habits, which made us really anxious to see them lay their eggs,” said the actress, reminiscing the moment.

At the end of the episode, judge for yourself if this actress can dance, as Ziyi ventures into the Wahibi sands for an encounter with the nomadic Bedouin and their camels, and dances to the music their musicians perform for her.

“I would not have been able to get involved in this National Geographic project without the support from the Shangri-La group,” said the actress, who spent a year filming for the project.

Ziyi added that filming the documentary is quite challenging for her.

“The biggest difference in filming this project and acting is that you cannot retake your shots in a documentary because it will be unnatural. I also don’t have a script so I can say anything and ask any questions I like. Also, unlike a film where it is shot scene by scene, a documentary is continuous.

“The biggest challenge in being a host is having to interview many different people from various careers and education backgrounds,” she continued.

“I need to talk with them about nature and wild animals, which is not my usual role as an actor. But I have learned so much about those topics throughout the filming of this project. We have to prepare specific questions and topics to discuss during the interview. However, it always leads to many other related questions to further explore. That is great but the most challenging part is having to do it all in English, which is not easy for me.

“Honestly, this project would be a challenge even if it required me to speak Chinese.

The topics we explored and discussed are totally different from what we talk about in our daily lives. So I did a lot of preparation for this project, but it was definitely a challenge.”

• Catch Zhang Ziyi Travel Series: Oman at 8pm and Inner Mongolia at 8.30pm tomorrow on the National Geographic Channel (Astro 553). Repeats on Thursday at 9am/9.30am and 1pm/1.30pm.