Story of China

Preview: Silk Roads and China Ships (Episode 2)

Explore China’s first international age under the Tang Dynasty as Michael Wood travels Silk Road deserts; sails the Grand Canal; describes the coming of Christianity in the streets of old Xi’an; and goes back to school in a dusty Chinese town!

Preview: Silk Roads and China Ships (Episode 2)

30s

  • The Age of Revolution: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Age of Revolution

    S1 E6 - 55m 18s

    Michael Wood visits Hong Kong's Peninsula Hotel, jewel of the Jazz age, and follows Mao on the Long March to Yan'an, the base of the communist revolution. He meets a survivor of the Japanese massacre of Nanjing, describes the communist victory, and ends with Mao's death and the boom time of the last thirty years. The series ends as it began at home with the warmth of the Chinese family.

  • The Last Empire: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Last Empire

    S1 E5 - 55m 48s

    In the 18th century China was the biggest economy in the world, and with that prosperity came a fabulously rich culture. From China's favourite novel, to opera and storytelling houses, and all-women's mosques, it's an age full of surprises. But then came the fateful clash with the British in the First Opium War, the beginning of the end of the empire.

  • The Ming: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Ming

    S1 E4 - 56m 48s

    In Nanjing Michael Wood sees the building of a huge replica of a Ming ocean-going junk. In Suzhou the 'Venice of China', he explores the silk industry, ceramics and lacquer-making, and visits one of China's most beautiful gardens. Then in Macao, the arrival of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci begins China's fateful modern exchanges with the West.

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.