The Story of China
★ 7.8 · 2016 · 60m · Documentary
Michael Wood embarks on a great historical adventure, exploring the stories, people and landscapes that have helped create China's distinctive character and genius over four thousand years.
Episodes
1. Ancestors60m · Michael Wood joins the Qin family reunion as they gather to worship their ancestors.
2. Silk Roads and China Ships60m · Michael Wood looks at China's first great international age under the Tang Dynasty.
3. The Golden Age60m · Michael Wood looks at the Song dynasty era, including its art, inventions and cuisine.
4. The Ming60m · The tale of the Ming dynasty begins with the amazing story of Hongwu, a peasant rebel.
5. The Last Empire60m · The story of China's last empire, the Qing, which lasted from 1644 to 1912.
6. The Age of Revolution60m · Michael Wood investigates three cataclysmic revolutions which shaped modern-day China.More Like This
Legend of Martial Arts
2018
Wushu is one of the most representative symbols of Chinese culture. Today, hundreds of millions of people around the world are practicing martial arts, experiencing eastern wisdom and the true meaning of martial arts. So how did martial arts spread abroad? What opportunities and challenges do generations of martial artists face in their overseas promotion?
More info →
Untamed China
2011 · ★ 9.5
In new six-part series Untamed China, wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven explores the country's mountains and grasslands, crosses its greatest deserts and treks through its deepest jungles in search of the rare, little-known and extraordinary creatures that live there. Over half of China's plant and animal species live in Yunnan Province in the far southwest of the country. In episode one, Nigel goes there to explore the ancient city of Dali and the surrounding mountains and forests. He meets some bizarre and deadly reptiles and amphibians, goes on a very unusual fishing trip, enjoys the fairy-tale lifecycle of butterflies and gets up close to highly endangered Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys.
More info →
Made in China
2025
Filemon and Mark are building a life with Chinese webshop products and researching quality, safety, environmental impact and consumer behaviour.
More info →
Art of China
2014 · ★ 8.3
Andrew Graham-Dixon undertakes an epic journey to uncover the art of China.
More info →
Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School
2015 · ★ 6.7
In a unique experiment, five teachers from China take over the education of fifty teenagers in a Hampshire school to see whether the high-ranking Chinese education system can teach us a lesson.
More info →
Secrets of China
2015
Billie JD Porter finds out what it’s really like to grow up in China, the country with the highest population on the planet.
More info →
Faith of the Century: A History of Communism
1999 · ★ 8.5
Communism spread to all of the continents of the word, lasting through four generations and over seven decades. Hundreds of millions of men and women were affected by this political system, one of the most unjust and bloodiest in history. Using newly discovered propaganda films and archival photos, these four episodes explore the mysteries of this totalitarian political machine that lured its share of important followers into the fold. Known as the red church, communism seduced its ardent followers like some earthly religion.
More info →
Artifacts
2000 · ★ 6.8
How did an Indian Buddhist shrine influence a Japanese pagoda? How are Italian pigs and cowry shells related to porcelain? Why did the ferocious warriors of Mongolia wear silk underwear? And how did wood block printing bring about a revolution in Japan and in European culture? These intriguing questions are investigated in Artifacts, a series that explores the origins and hidden connections among the art and artifacts of the great cultures and belief systems across Asia - on a journey through time and across continents from India to Thailand, China and Japan - to understand the impact of calligraphy, porcelain, architecture, metallurgy, wood block printing and silk on Asian history and on the history of the world in general.
More info →
Along the Banks of the Yangtze
2016 · ★ 8.2
A six-part series in which photographer Ruben Terlou travels from Shanghai, the most westernized part of China, to the much more traditional Tibetan city of Shangri-La. Through the stories of people he meets along the 6,300-kilometre river, Ruben discovers the real China, forty years after Mao’s death.
More info →