In the 1980s, China’s then-leader, Deng Xiaoping, had a vision of a megacity; 40 years on, it’s one of the most futuristic metropolises in the world. In the first part of a three-part series, presenter Reggie Yates visits Shenzhen – former fishing village now home to 12.53m. In Huaqiangbei, the Silicon Valley of China, he meets two strikingly young inventors bringing science-fiction to life.

Beijing, China’s capital and home of President Xi Jinping. Presenter Reggie Yates asks how his upbringing in the shadow of Mao informs his ideals of Communism and capitalism. Here, Western social media such as Facebook is banned – but China’s Weibo is not beyond scrutiny. And to try to understand the ‘Chinese Dream’, he meets a millionaire who takes him around the city in his McLaren supercar.

Reggie lands in Shanghai, China’s largest city, and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. Meeting rappers Al Rocco and Blow Fever, he learns about the fine line between creative expression and censorship. Can hip-hop help fill the cultural void left by Mao’s Cultural Revolution? And in Chengdu, he visits a ‘marriage market’ where parents advertise sons and daughters as future marriage material.