Empire Builders China

How did the great imperial dynasties of China including the Zhou Han Tang Song and Ming impact China today We explore the origins of the Silk Road and what these dynasties left behind and visit great sites including the Terracotta Warriors the Great Wall of China the Buddha of Leshan the Grand Canal and the Ming Tombs

The 19th and early 20th centuries saw the decline of China The Opium Wars Taiping and Boxer Rebellions led to western domination and many Chinese people leaving the country The last imperial dynasty the Qing expanded the empire to its greatest extent presided over the Chinese Enlightenment and left behind iconic sites such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven But with its collapse and

This episode explores the period from the birth of the Chinese republic in 1911 to the civil war bloody Japanese occupation the coming to power of Mao and the Communist Party the Cultural Revolution and up to the present day We visit Tiananmen Square the booming skyscraper cities of Shanghai and Beijing and President Xis Belt and Road How has the tumultuous last 100 years impacted Communist