China Collection

China Collection

Documentaries exploring the history of China.

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China Collection
  • Beijing Central Axis: China's Medieval Wonder

    The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Drum and Bell Towers - all of these architectural wonders stand on a line that runs like a spine through the centre of Beijing.  It is known as the Beijing Central Axis, a World Heritage site containing a spectacular array of ancient buildings that together t...

  • The First Emperor of China

    In March 1974, one of the most astonishing archaeological discoveries in history was made in the heart of China: the Terracotta Warriors. These incredible clay statues were built and buried over 2000 years ago - but who made them? And why?

    Dan Snow comes face to face with the warriors and heads...

  • Silk Road: Destination Xi'an

    Dan Snow heads to China to one of the oldest and most historic cities in the country - Xi’an. It’s a city that is now home to 10 million people, a modern metropolis, but it’s a city that wears its heritage proudly. This was the capital city of China’s most dynamic and important dynasties, the Tan...

  • Dunhuang: A Silk Road Oasis

    The Silk Road was a historic trading network that linked East to West. But this trade network exchanged far more than objects, through this route came a trade of knowledge, culture and religion. One of its most important stopping points was the Chinese city of Dunhuang. This centre held an import...

  • The Silk Roads with Peter Frankopan

    In the East Meets West season, this is the starting point. Frankopan's rightly lauded book has done what it said on the cover: created a new history of the world. For way too long we Westerners have been espying history through the lens of our own success. But truth is, Britain only had its momen...

  • Michael Scott on Classical Connections

    When one thinks of the Ancient World you would be forgiven for instantly thinking of either the cultural glories of ancient Greece or the military might of the Roman Empire. Yet the Mediterranean and the Near East was just one part of a much larger, interconnected ancient world. In India and Chin...