1 00:00:05,871 --> 00:00:08,431 I'm seven weeks into a five-month journey 2 00:00:08,607 --> 00:00:12,168 to discover 80 of the world's greatest cultural treasures. 3 00:00:12,611 --> 00:00:16,377 Ahead of me lie the oriental delights of Japan and China. 4 00:00:16,682 --> 00:00:19,708 They're two of the most important civilisations in history, 5 00:00:20,085 --> 00:00:22,713 and I want to find out if their ancient traditions and mysteries 6 00:00:22,888 --> 00:00:26,449 have survived into the modern technical age. 7 00:00:51,116 --> 00:00:56,349 So far, I've travelled through the Americas, Australia and South-East Asia. 8 00:00:58,357 --> 00:01:01,190 From Cambodia I have flown to Japan. 9 00:01:36,328 --> 00:01:41,891 I'm in Tokyo, one of the most modern and vibrant cities in the world. 10 00:01:42,134 --> 00:01:44,932 But all is not what it seems. 11 00:01:45,137 --> 00:01:49,039 This modernity is little more than skin deep, superficial. 12 00:01:49,208 --> 00:01:52,200 Below are deep roots of tradition. 13 00:01:52,511 --> 00:01:54,945 I'm entering a secret world. 14 00:02:05,691 --> 00:02:07,556 My first treasure in Japan is ancient, 15 00:02:07,726 --> 00:02:09,887 yet is still made today. 16 00:02:11,296 --> 00:02:15,096 It can be found in ordinary-looking factory buildings like this one near Tokyo. 17 00:02:16,001 --> 00:02:18,299 It's one of Japan's most mystical objects, 18 00:02:18,470 --> 00:02:22,031 a deadly weapon, and a sacred work of art. 19 00:02:30,516 --> 00:02:34,850 It all begins with a prayer at a shrine dedicated to one of the deities of Shinto, 20 00:02:35,020 --> 00:02:40,424 the ancient belief in the power of elemental nature spirits and the ancestors. 21 00:02:54,740 --> 00:02:57,709 Temperature change one thousand and three hundred. 22 00:02:57,876 --> 00:03:00,174 Very hot, very hot, very hot. 23 00:03:01,446 --> 00:03:03,846 The sword is made of two different types of steel: 24 00:03:04,016 --> 00:03:07,213 hard on the outside, so it can have a razor-sharp edge, 25 00:03:07,386 --> 00:03:11,345 and soft on the inside, so it's flexible and doesn't shatter in combat. 26 00:03:12,124 --> 00:03:14,649 Do you want the hard steel on the edge, the outer? 27 00:03:14,826 --> 00:03:18,284 - Yes, it is very strong. - Yes. 28 00:03:18,630 --> 00:03:21,690 - So that it's not breaking. - Not breaking, because... 29 00:03:21,867 --> 00:03:23,266 And it's very sharp. 30 00:03:23,435 --> 00:03:24,902 You want both things. Soft and hard. 31 00:03:25,070 --> 00:03:25,798 Yes. Soft and hard. 32 00:03:25,971 --> 00:03:28,132 - Yes, first we have temperature. - Yeah. 33 00:03:28,307 --> 00:03:29,205 Okay. 34 00:03:33,078 --> 00:03:35,239 the hot steel is fantastic. 35 00:03:53,065 --> 00:03:56,899 The steel is beaten time and time again, until the sword takes shape. 36 00:03:57,703 --> 00:04:00,763 The making of a sword takes 100 days. 37 00:04:01,173 --> 00:04:02,504 - Okay. - Okay. 38 00:04:04,276 --> 00:04:07,040 Ritsuo meticulously applies clay to the sword. 39 00:04:07,212 --> 00:04:10,511 This hardens the steel and gives the blade a sharp edge. 40 00:04:11,016 --> 00:04:15,009 According to Shinto beliefs, it also helps give the sword spiritual meaning, 41 00:04:15,187 --> 00:04:18,179 because clay or earth is one of the four elements. 42 00:04:28,333 --> 00:04:33,168 So the steel covered with clay is being heated in the forge, 43 00:04:33,338 --> 00:04:38,298 the colour being watched. And this will now be plunged into water. 44 00:04:38,477 --> 00:04:43,540 This is all part of the process of giving it this razor edge. 45 00:04:45,083 --> 00:04:49,645 If the next stage is botched, all will be wasted. Time is crucial. 46 00:04:49,821 --> 00:04:54,417 Ritsuo is waiting until the sword is the colour of the moon in August. 47 00:04:58,697 --> 00:04:59,061 One chance only. 48 00:04:59,231 --> 00:05:00,630 - One chance only. - Okay, one chance. 49 00:05:00,799 --> 00:05:02,289 Not two times. 50 00:05:06,271 --> 00:05:10,264 A critical moment, this. This is where the sword makes it or doesn't make it, right or wrong. 51 00:05:10,642 --> 00:05:13,475 All the work wasted, in which case broken down and start again, 52 00:05:13,645 --> 00:05:17,172 or one gets a piece of perfection. 53 00:05:20,585 --> 00:05:22,951 - Soon I go. - Okay, wow. 54 00:05:42,441 --> 00:05:44,341 Can you tell if it was right? 55 00:05:46,311 --> 00:05:49,542 - Have success. - Have success? - Okay. 56 00:05:50,015 --> 00:05:52,711 - Congratulations. - Thank you. 57 00:06:00,525 --> 00:06:02,789 Accompanied by a symphony of cicadas, 58 00:06:02,961 --> 00:06:06,658 a samurai warrior is about to test the new sword. 59 00:06:06,965 --> 00:06:10,924 Would it shatter on impact, or would it cut like a razor? 60 00:06:26,618 --> 00:06:33,751 Now the samurai's going to cut bamboo, which is the toughest test yet. 61 00:06:33,925 --> 00:06:38,294 Hard. This is where we see what the blade's made of. 62 00:06:39,965 --> 00:06:45,096 Cutting bamboo is apparently the next best thing to slicing human flesh. 63 00:07:15,834 --> 00:07:20,100 A clean, pure, sharp cut. 64 00:07:20,505 --> 00:07:27,308 And to cut bamboo like this takes force and sharpness. The surface is very hard. 65 00:07:27,612 --> 00:07:34,415 I'm told this cut is equivalent to cutting through two human bodies. 66 00:07:34,820 --> 00:07:37,584 So clearly the blade is good. 67 00:07:45,464 --> 00:07:46,726 An incredible object. 68 00:07:46,898 --> 00:07:54,828 Here we see a lotus, which is emblematic, of course, of Buddha. 69 00:07:57,309 --> 00:08:01,769 And here a dragon. 70 00:08:02,347 --> 00:08:07,944 A dragon represents the essential quality of the sword, the alchemy of the sword, 71 00:08:08,119 --> 00:08:12,249 the transformation of base metal, really, into a spiritual thing, 72 00:08:12,424 --> 00:08:18,693 because the dragon seems to represent the four elements: fire, water, air, earth. 73 00:08:18,864 --> 00:08:20,331 It comes from a cave. 74 00:08:20,499 --> 00:08:26,995 This is saying this sword, the quintessence of the elements, quintessence of nature, 75 00:08:27,172 --> 00:08:31,575 represents the nature spirits, the nature gods of Shinto. 76 00:08:31,943 --> 00:08:36,846 I'm holding in my hands the soul of Japan. 77 00:08:44,256 --> 00:08:46,417 The samurai sword may seem light years away from 78 00:08:46,591 --> 00:08:50,288 Japan's great technological treasure, the bullet train. 79 00:08:50,662 --> 00:08:54,428 But both are born from the same yearning for precision in all things. 80 00:08:54,699 --> 00:08:57,361 In Britain, the bullet train is considered state-of-the-art, 81 00:08:57,536 --> 00:09:00,767 but it's been around in Japan for 40 years. 82 00:09:16,087 --> 00:09:21,719 It's exhilarating as I head for my next destination at speeds of over 180 miles an hour. 83 00:09:38,410 --> 00:09:41,709 Himeji is much like any modern Japanese industrial city, 84 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,280 but it possesses a very special treasure 85 00:09:44,449 --> 00:09:50,718 which opens a door to a medieval world of shogun warlords and their samurai warriors. 86 00:09:51,990 --> 00:09:56,051 I've come to Himeji to see a building that's full of secrets, 87 00:09:56,227 --> 00:10:01,062 that combines delicacy of detail with a violent function 88 00:10:01,232 --> 00:10:04,565 that possesses a frightful beauty. 89 00:10:14,245 --> 00:10:18,375 Himeji Castle is one of the most beautiful castles in the world. 90 00:10:19,217 --> 00:10:21,685 It was rebuilt more than 400 years ago. 91 00:10:21,853 --> 00:10:25,118 I've always wondered how this romantic fairytale palace 92 00:10:25,290 --> 00:10:29,420 could also serve as a stern and daunting fortress. 93 00:10:32,030 --> 00:10:36,091 Don't be deceived by its pretty, almost fragile exterior. 94 00:10:36,635 --> 00:10:39,570 The little roofs are made of timber and tiles. 95 00:10:40,205 --> 00:10:44,164 Its walls too look delicate, but they're built of compressed earth 96 00:10:44,342 --> 00:10:47,436 and thick enough to withstand shot and shell. 97 00:10:51,149 --> 00:10:53,674 So how impregnable is the castle? 98 00:10:53,918 --> 00:10:58,014 There's only one way to find out. I'm going to put it to the test. 99 00:10:58,757 --> 00:11:02,887 Ah now, this is splendid. Defence in depth. 100 00:11:03,094 --> 00:11:07,030 I've got through the outer defences, the outer walls of the castle, the outer moat system, 101 00:11:07,198 --> 00:11:13,137 through this great fortified gate, into the castle proper. 102 00:11:16,708 --> 00:11:20,235 Yes, this is the way - ah, yes. 103 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:25,875 Again typical. Attackers would get through this gate and be confronted, 104 00:11:26,051 --> 00:11:30,818 not by another gate but by a wall with loopholes. 105 00:11:35,093 --> 00:11:36,651 They'd be confused here, 106 00:11:36,828 --> 00:11:40,286 because the path divides this way or that way. Where do they go? 107 00:11:40,598 --> 00:11:43,965 Confusion is death, of course, because it's time consuming. 108 00:11:45,236 --> 00:11:46,430 One goes up. 109 00:11:48,273 --> 00:11:50,104 Ah, fantastic. 110 00:11:53,311 --> 00:11:56,337 All the time under attack. Ah. 111 00:11:59,117 --> 00:12:09,516 So I've now reached, in a sense, the heart of the castle the great tower. 112 00:12:11,296 --> 00:12:15,062 If I try to clamber up here which I might be able to do, 113 00:12:15,233 --> 00:12:23,504 possibly, I then discover, from that slit, a frightful cascade of filthy material, 114 00:12:23,675 --> 00:12:25,973 probably boiling oil or just the contents of a latrine. 115 00:12:26,144 --> 00:12:28,169 I don't know what's worse really. 116 00:12:31,316 --> 00:12:34,683 Now, I don't know what's in store for me now. 117 00:12:37,188 --> 00:12:38,951 ... the attacker here. 118 00:12:40,658 --> 00:12:46,062 Ah, I see. I'm being enticed forward. All seems well. 119 00:12:48,533 --> 00:12:51,559 Loopholes there. Inwards. 120 00:12:53,738 --> 00:12:54,966 Crikey. 121 00:12:55,573 --> 00:13:02,001 Here we'll have to bow down, offer our back really to get through. 122 00:13:02,247 --> 00:13:05,808 That's humiliating, of course, to bow to your enemy. 123 00:13:05,984 --> 00:13:08,748 And also it makes you very vulnerable to bow through 124 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:13,653 and fight through here, with missiles and everything - oh dear. 125 00:13:16,461 --> 00:13:23,094 Ah, well this is it really. I've made it to the wall surrounding the main tower, 126 00:13:23,268 --> 00:13:26,999 to the last of my great gates. 127 00:13:27,672 --> 00:13:31,369 Incredible. It's clad in metal, 128 00:13:31,876 --> 00:13:35,471 I suppose to prevent people trying to burn their way in. 129 00:13:35,947 --> 00:13:37,847 The timber protected. 130 00:13:38,316 --> 00:13:39,943 So I'm in. 131 00:13:44,689 --> 00:13:51,322 Well, inside, but this is a - another world really. 132 00:13:51,763 --> 00:13:55,790 It's dark, confusing, more frightening, more sinister. 133 00:14:16,487 --> 00:14:19,285 The upper levels of the tower are like a labyrinth. 134 00:14:19,457 --> 00:14:22,949 There's no clear route. The stairs go this way and that. 135 00:14:23,127 --> 00:14:28,724 The passageways meander. The attacker would be entirely baffled by the place. 136 00:14:36,407 --> 00:14:39,240 The castle employs psychological warfare. 137 00:14:39,744 --> 00:14:42,304 It's a fortification of the mind. 138 00:14:43,281 --> 00:14:46,944 All is deception here. Nothing is quite what you think. 139 00:14:47,418 --> 00:14:50,649 There are plenty of secret and savage defences. 140 00:14:58,463 --> 00:15:02,991 I'm standing on the top floor of the main tower of the castle, 141 00:15:03,167 --> 00:15:07,968 and from here I can see the castle's defensive system: 142 00:15:08,139 --> 00:15:12,439 the gates the walls, the moats, the towers. 143 00:15:12,610 --> 00:15:16,011 I can see my route of attack the gate I entered by, 144 00:15:16,180 --> 00:15:21,948 and the way I had to wind around and between these walls and through these gates to get here. 145 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:27,114 But I'm standing where no real attacker ever stood. 146 00:15:27,292 --> 00:15:29,988 This castle was never taken by storm. 147 00:15:30,161 --> 00:15:32,891 Indeed, it was never besieged, never attacked. 148 00:15:33,064 --> 00:15:37,160 Now, that may seem odd and that all of this was a waste of time and money, 149 00:15:37,335 --> 00:15:41,431 but not at all. The point is, it was a deterrent. 150 00:15:41,606 --> 00:15:46,441 The fact the castle looked so strong stopped people even attempting to attack it, 151 00:15:46,611 --> 00:15:49,512 and that was the great secret of success for castles, really. 152 00:15:49,681 --> 00:15:51,273 They shouldn't be attacked. 153 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:57,644 As the sun sets on Himeji, 154 00:15:57,822 --> 00:16:02,225 a performance of Noh theatre gets under way in the shadows of the castle. 155 00:16:03,461 --> 00:16:05,929 Noh theatre is beguiling and mysterious. 156 00:16:06,464 --> 00:16:10,298 The performance is sparse, yet strangely mesmerising. 157 00:16:11,336 --> 00:16:13,429 It's quintessentially Japanese. 158 00:16:13,604 --> 00:16:17,040 Every detail is precise, every movement perfect. 159 00:16:22,013 --> 00:16:26,382 The highly trained actors are known officially as 'living treasures'. 160 00:16:53,444 --> 00:16:59,679 The ancient city of Kyoto is famous for its temples, sacred gardens and shrines. 161 00:17:04,022 --> 00:17:06,513 Japanese gardens are the stuff of romance. 162 00:17:06,791 --> 00:17:10,887 With their quaint bridges, soothing ponds and picturesque temples, 163 00:17:11,062 --> 00:17:13,724 it's like walking into a traditional painting. 164 00:17:17,235 --> 00:17:21,934 Japanese-style garden buildings were immensely popular in 18th century Britain. 165 00:17:28,479 --> 00:17:32,506 My treasure in Kyoto is a garden, but a very different kind of garden, 166 00:17:32,683 --> 00:17:36,642 one that I hope will help me on my journey around the world. 167 00:17:50,234 --> 00:17:57,936 Well, I'm into the seventh week of this world tour, 168 00:17:58,109 --> 00:18:02,876 and it's just gone 6:30 in the morning. 169 00:18:04,816 --> 00:18:11,380 I've come to the Ryoanji temple in Kyoto, 170 00:18:11,556 --> 00:18:18,462 famous for its early 16th century Zen Buddhist garden. 171 00:18:22,467 --> 00:18:27,370 The garden is a tool for meditation, a means of enlightenment. 172 00:18:42,553 --> 00:18:47,320 But my first impression is disconcerting. It all looks so arid. 173 00:18:47,558 --> 00:18:50,686 Nevertheless, I focus my mind on the rock sand gravel 174 00:18:50,862 --> 00:18:55,060 to find that intuition, that flash of awareness called satori 175 00:18:55,233 --> 00:18:58,600 which lies at the heard of Zen Buddhist belief. 176 00:19:18,756 --> 00:19:24,160 My mind wants to make this look like something else, analogy. 177 00:19:24,662 --> 00:19:27,688 You want to make it look like a landscape. 178 00:19:27,932 --> 00:19:29,399 These are islands. 179 00:19:32,336 --> 00:19:35,863 The gravel's the sea, raked to look like waves. 180 00:19:40,511 --> 00:19:43,480 And the wall, the mud wall, with this oil, 181 00:19:43,714 --> 00:19:49,949 you begin to see it as a setting sun, as a landscape too. Again very pleasing. 182 00:19:50,121 --> 00:19:55,286 Your mind is imposing, translating images, abstract images, 183 00:19:55,459 --> 00:19:58,189 making them into pictures you've seen elsewhere, you know before, 184 00:19:58,362 --> 00:20:00,830 but you must see this as it is. 185 00:20:03,834 --> 00:20:09,136 Then you begin to see the rocks, count the rocks. 186 00:20:10,908 --> 00:20:12,307 There are 15. 187 00:20:12,577 --> 00:20:14,545 But no matter where you sit, 188 00:20:14,712 --> 00:20:18,512 you only ever seen 13 or 14 at one time. Interesting, that. 189 00:20:18,749 --> 00:20:23,083 You contemplate the shapes of the rocks, the different qualities, textures. 190 00:20:23,321 --> 00:20:24,948 Again, information. 191 00:20:25,156 --> 00:20:30,924 Then you see the space in between the rocks, the space becomes more important. 192 00:20:31,095 --> 00:20:32,790 Negative, positive. 193 00:20:39,437 --> 00:20:41,667 I know what should happen in the end. 194 00:20:42,173 --> 00:20:45,700 The whole thing with meditation is to free yourself from yourself, 195 00:20:45,977 --> 00:20:50,505 get out of your mind, get away from the ego, the I. 196 00:20:50,815 --> 00:20:53,648 And I guess in the end what should happen, 197 00:20:53,818 --> 00:20:59,723 in fact comes when you see this not as a landscape, not as a sea, not as a setting sun, 198 00:20:59,890 --> 00:21:02,154 stop counting the number of rocks. 199 00:21:02,426 --> 00:21:06,362 You just sit here and see 14 rocks, 200 00:21:06,530 --> 00:21:10,091 knowing that one rock is hidden. 201 00:21:10,635 --> 00:21:16,096 When you get to that point, your mind is free, you have enlightenment. 202 00:21:16,274 --> 00:21:17,002 I'm not there. 203 00:21:17,174 --> 00:21:22,305 But I feel that's my intuition, the way things ought to be. 204 00:21:51,809 --> 00:21:56,872 Japan is endlessly fascinating, just to observe. 205 00:21:58,449 --> 00:22:04,786 The relationship between modernity, new technology, new ideas 206 00:22:04,955 --> 00:22:08,322 and old, old traditions, always there, underpins everything. 207 00:22:08,492 --> 00:22:11,188 Absolutely gripping to watch. 208 00:22:11,362 --> 00:22:16,061 In clothes, in architecture, in attitudes really. In manners. 209 00:22:16,634 --> 00:22:22,163 It's always there, always one can see different permutations of the same relationship. 210 00:22:23,107 --> 00:22:28,409 I suppose in many ways it's rooted in the ancient religion, 211 00:22:28,646 --> 00:22:37,782 Shintoist belief in all things having a spirit all things living, 212 00:22:37,955 --> 00:22:40,822 all things part of the great soul of the earth, 213 00:22:40,991 --> 00:22:47,760 be they plants, trees, the moss I'm sitting on. 214 00:22:50,267 --> 00:22:53,395 Of course, the fish in the pond. 215 00:22:57,174 --> 00:22:59,938 Meanwhile back to my eel. 216 00:23:08,652 --> 00:23:11,917 From Japan I fly west to China. 217 00:23:13,891 --> 00:23:15,688 I'm full of anticipation. 218 00:23:16,060 --> 00:23:18,494 It's a country with a long and illustrious history, 219 00:23:18,662 --> 00:23:22,598 and boasts some of the greatest treasures in the world. 220 00:23:23,267 --> 00:23:26,031 It's also the first Communist country on my trip. 221 00:23:26,270 --> 00:23:27,931 But you wouldn't think so. 222 00:23:39,183 --> 00:23:42,414 Well, I'd heard Beijing had changed a lot in the last 20 years or so, 223 00:23:42,586 --> 00:23:44,645 but I hadn't realised how much. 224 00:23:51,829 --> 00:23:54,798 A great, modern, western, fabulous city. 225 00:23:54,965 --> 00:23:56,455 This is Beijing. 226 00:23:59,437 --> 00:24:02,133 So what became of the dreams of Chairman Mao? 227 00:24:02,740 --> 00:24:06,767 He smiles benignly over the notorious Tiananmen Square. 228 00:24:07,244 --> 00:24:08,609 A face from another age, 229 00:24:08,779 --> 00:24:12,545 robbed of meaning and now reduced to a pop art image. 230 00:24:13,484 --> 00:24:16,385 But my first impressions of modern China are deceiving. 231 00:24:16,554 --> 00:24:20,320 The ghost of Mao lives on - as I'm about to find out. 232 00:24:21,892 --> 00:24:26,761 I've come to see a treasure that was for 500 years one of the most hidden, 233 00:24:26,931 --> 00:24:29,923 indeed forbidden, places on earth. 234 00:24:51,021 --> 00:24:54,616 The forbidden city is the largest palace in the world. 235 00:24:55,192 --> 00:24:58,855 It was built by the mighty Ming dynasty 600 years ago. 236 00:24:59,463 --> 00:25:02,523 It was intended to be a vision of heaven on earth, 237 00:25:02,700 --> 00:25:06,727 but came to symbolise imperial corruption and decadence. 238 00:25:06,937 --> 00:25:11,033 It's a miracle it survived Mao's Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and '70s, 239 00:25:11,208 --> 00:25:14,200 when much of China's heritage was destroyed. 240 00:25:18,082 --> 00:25:22,109 Getting access to the Forbidden City is a bureaucratic nightmare. 241 00:25:22,286 --> 00:25:26,552 Finally, I've been granted the privilege of being allowed into part of the vast complex 242 00:25:26,724 --> 00:25:29,022 before it opens to the public. 243 00:25:31,896 --> 00:25:34,364 But as I approach the Hall of Supreme Harmony, 244 00:25:34,532 --> 00:25:38,298 the doors behind me are opened and the hordes surge in. 245 00:25:42,673 --> 00:25:47,110 Suddenly all harmony disappears and the magic is lost. 246 00:25:55,719 --> 00:25:58,153 I can explain the situation more clearly, I think. 247 00:25:59,023 --> 00:26:05,019 We were given half an hour to film the Forbidden City before the gates were opened. 248 00:26:05,896 --> 00:26:09,332 Because of the atmospheric condensation our cameras didn't work until the last five minutes. 249 00:26:09,500 --> 00:26:12,901 So we had about two minutes to film. 250 00:26:13,437 --> 00:26:19,000 Then the gates opened and the hordes rushed in. Absolutely fascinating. 251 00:26:21,579 --> 00:26:22,944 It's been made clear that I can't enter 252 00:26:23,113 --> 00:26:27,743 any of the Forbidden City's 9,999 rooms. 253 00:26:28,185 --> 00:26:30,346 It's a struggle just getting close. 254 00:26:35,993 --> 00:26:37,893 The horror, the horror. 255 00:26:41,432 --> 00:26:45,801 Clearly the Chinese are fascinated by their imperial history. 256 00:26:45,970 --> 00:26:50,771 Virtually everyone here is Chinese. Very few western tourists. 257 00:26:51,175 --> 00:26:55,305 Thronging. And there is the - the - the imperial throne, or one of them. 258 00:26:56,847 --> 00:27:00,613 Once the punishment for entering the Forbidden City uninvited was death. 259 00:27:00,784 --> 00:27:04,652 Now it attracts more visitors each year than anywhere else in the world. 260 00:27:04,822 --> 00:27:06,915 Seven million, to be precise. 261 00:27:07,124 --> 00:27:09,319 And most of them seem to be here today. 262 00:27:13,163 --> 00:27:16,690 Fantastic. The fight for a view. 263 00:27:18,135 --> 00:27:21,502 I'll get stuck in. Oh, warm bodies. 264 00:27:25,542 --> 00:27:26,941 Glorious throng. 265 00:27:30,080 --> 00:27:33,481 And there is the throne. Everyone clicking away. 266 00:27:33,851 --> 00:27:36,581 A mere second a passing glance. 267 00:27:37,221 --> 00:27:39,849 Throne of the last emperor, and indeed many before him. 268 00:27:42,593 --> 00:27:43,617 Made it. 269 00:27:46,730 --> 00:27:49,130 I'll take my picture. I've deserved it. 270 00:27:50,567 --> 00:27:55,766 I shall practice my Zen moment of calm. That's the thing, isn't it? 271 00:27:56,006 --> 00:28:00,238 Find Zen enlightenment in the most unlikely places. 272 00:28:14,291 --> 00:28:16,156 I feel bitterly disappointed. 273 00:28:16,694 --> 00:28:18,662 Much of the city is a building site, 274 00:28:18,896 --> 00:28:22,457 as the authorities renovate their greatest tourist trap. 275 00:28:23,333 --> 00:28:26,268 The sun is fighting a losing battle against the pollution, 276 00:28:26,437 --> 00:28:28,735 evidence of modern China's helter-skelter... 277 00:28:28,906 --> 00:28:30,373 economic growth. 278 00:28:32,276 --> 00:28:37,771 Yet the dead weight of Communist bureaucracy still hangs as heavy as the smog. 279 00:28:38,282 --> 00:28:42,013 The mandarins here have given me just two hours to visit the Forbidden City, 280 00:28:42,186 --> 00:28:45,849 all 720,000 square metres of it. 281 00:28:50,828 --> 00:28:52,420 But there is beauty here. 282 00:28:52,629 --> 00:28:57,259 Beauty in abundance in the intoxicating exotic style of the architecture. 283 00:28:57,568 --> 00:28:58,535 In the muted light, 284 00:28:58,702 --> 00:29:01,694 the mellow colours of the buildings with their terra cotta roofs... 285 00:29:01,872 --> 00:29:03,339 look wonderful. 286 00:29:04,374 --> 00:29:06,808 The city's countless courtyards, temples and palaces 287 00:29:06,977 --> 00:29:10,913 have charming names like Harmony, Tranquillity and Peace, 288 00:29:11,081 --> 00:29:14,050 though the descriptions now seem ironic. 289 00:29:15,786 --> 00:29:21,520 This is where the empress and the concubines lived around this courtyard, 290 00:29:21,692 --> 00:29:29,224 in these charming, delicate pavilions. Hard to imagine it now, 291 00:29:29,700 --> 00:29:34,467 with this throng of walking masses, that's including me. 292 00:29:35,105 --> 00:29:41,533 Once of course, one of the most hidden and secret places in this hidden empire. 293 00:29:43,614 --> 00:29:48,711 All too soon my time is up and an official tells me to make my way to the exit. 294 00:29:51,488 --> 00:29:53,115 There's more disappointment to come. 295 00:29:53,290 --> 00:29:56,350 I had arranged to see another treasure within the Forbidden City - 296 00:29:56,527 --> 00:29:57,551 Ming porcelain. 297 00:29:57,728 --> 00:30:01,164 Now, out of the blue, officials are saying no. 298 00:30:01,331 --> 00:30:04,698 There's nothing my guide An Dong can do about it. 299 00:30:10,641 --> 00:30:12,404 Today the problem is humidity. 300 00:30:12,576 --> 00:30:15,136 The humidity, too high. It's about 90 per cent, 301 00:30:15,312 --> 00:30:21,308 so we cannot - they cannot take that porcelain from underground store rooms. 302 00:30:21,485 --> 00:30:23,009 Because it could damage the porcelain or what? I don't really understand. 303 00:30:23,187 --> 00:30:27,681 Yeah, I think, damage because it's one thousand, even more than one thousand years old, antique. 304 00:30:27,858 --> 00:30:29,723 So we cannot take it out today. 305 00:30:29,893 --> 00:30:32,123 But we can try it another time. If you have time. 306 00:30:32,296 --> 00:30:34,161 So that we - we have time ... 307 00:30:34,331 --> 00:30:35,355 Yeah, you have time, we can do that. 308 00:30:35,532 --> 00:30:38,524 But you are too hurried, then maybe we miss it. 309 00:30:38,836 --> 00:30:41,498 Maybe tomorrow. We'll come back tomorrow and hope for the best. 310 00:30:41,672 --> 00:30:45,199 But if the weather's the same, then - then it'll be the same problem. 311 00:30:45,375 --> 00:30:48,367 - Yeah, okay. - Okay, and thank you. 312 00:30:51,448 --> 00:30:52,881 I have time on my hands, 313 00:30:53,050 --> 00:30:55,575 so I decide to go to a Beijing antique market to see 314 00:30:55,752 --> 00:30:58,778 if I can buy some porcelain to help me overcome my disappointment. 315 00:30:58,956 --> 00:31:00,821 Are you walking - are we following you? 316 00:31:01,391 --> 00:31:02,949 I've asked the chap about porcelain. 317 00:31:03,126 --> 00:31:04,889 I'm not sure he wants to show me any more. 318 00:31:06,864 --> 00:31:16,398 So do you - one of you. Obviously it's hot. 319 00:31:17,774 --> 00:31:18,866 Ming. 320 00:31:19,109 --> 00:31:22,135 The very words 'Ming porcelain' have a ring about them. 321 00:31:22,646 --> 00:31:24,511 One of China's great cultural treasures, 322 00:31:24,681 --> 00:31:26,205 and for centuries one of its... 323 00:31:26,383 --> 00:31:28,749 most lucrative exports to the west. 324 00:31:30,153 --> 00:31:33,281 Do you have porcelain? Porcelain. 325 00:31:33,457 --> 00:31:35,516 What - what age, how old? 326 00:31:36,326 --> 00:31:37,293 That's Chin. 327 00:31:38,262 --> 00:31:41,288 Chin? Chin? 328 00:31:41,932 --> 00:31:45,231 The best porcelain has a delicate, almost sublime quality, 329 00:31:45,402 --> 00:31:48,030 and is painted with exquisite detail. 330 00:31:48,205 --> 00:31:49,433 Lovely. 331 00:31:50,574 --> 00:31:51,973 Porcelain. Hello. 332 00:31:52,209 --> 00:31:53,608 About 200. 333 00:31:54,011 --> 00:31:55,273 Oh, porcelain. 334 00:31:56,046 --> 00:32:01,006 But how it was made was a closely-guarded secret and a mystery to Europeans. 335 00:32:01,184 --> 00:32:02,913 How - how much is this then? 336 00:32:05,289 --> 00:32:06,916 Lovely, lovely piece. 337 00:32:08,458 --> 00:32:09,720 How much is that? 338 00:32:11,461 --> 00:32:12,359 Wait a minute. 339 00:32:12,529 --> 00:32:14,360 Is that the best price you do here. 340 00:32:14,531 --> 00:32:16,396 No, no, no. Much too much, much too much. 341 00:32:22,639 --> 00:32:24,630 Oh - hang on, you've gone up again. 342 00:32:24,908 --> 00:32:26,341 Oh, that's a much better price. 343 00:32:28,078 --> 00:32:30,945 For ten pounds I have a little slice of Chinese history. 344 00:32:31,281 --> 00:32:32,976 But I can't pretend it's a treasure. 345 00:32:33,583 --> 00:32:35,073 I can only pray it's less humid tomorrow 346 00:32:35,252 --> 00:32:37,550 and I can see the best examples. 347 00:32:38,255 --> 00:32:40,416 Money well spent. Bye. 348 00:32:40,991 --> 00:32:45,189 She can't stop laughing. Well, okay, okay. 349 00:32:46,964 --> 00:32:49,330 The next day the weather is still humid, 350 00:32:49,499 --> 00:32:53,868 so I put off the porcelain and go in search of another treasure near Beijing. 351 00:32:54,471 --> 00:32:57,998 It's one of imperial China's most extravagant legacies. 352 00:33:01,611 --> 00:33:05,069 For centuries the Summer Palace's huge park was a royal haven, 353 00:33:05,248 --> 00:33:08,274 with its lake and ornamental buildings. 354 00:33:08,819 --> 00:33:12,949 Now it's a much loved public park and retreat for the people of Beijing, 355 00:33:13,123 --> 00:33:17,355 who brave the pollution to take their daily constitutionals. 356 00:33:57,034 --> 00:34:00,094 I cut short my dance after reminded that the bureaucrats 357 00:34:00,270 --> 00:34:03,330 had given me just two hours to visit the whole park. 358 00:34:04,574 --> 00:34:06,235 I've chosen the Summer Palace as my treasure 359 00:34:06,410 --> 00:34:12,110 because it's a fascinating barometer of China, past and present, for better and for worse. 360 00:34:12,816 --> 00:34:15,114 This garden was created in the mid-18th century 361 00:34:15,285 --> 00:34:19,881 and was - I think remains - a spectacular affair. 362 00:34:20,057 --> 00:34:26,519 But its history in the 19th and early 20th century was very turbulent 363 00:34:26,830 --> 00:34:34,236 and it tells us much about China's difficult relationships with western nations. 364 00:34:34,538 --> 00:34:38,531 This garden was invaded in the 1860s by Anglo-French troops 365 00:34:38,708 --> 00:34:42,508 who came here to avenge a diplomatic slight, 366 00:34:42,679 --> 00:34:48,015 and also damaged during the Boxer rebellion of 1900, 367 00:34:48,185 --> 00:34:56,149 when again, European forces came through here to relieve diplomats besieged in Beijing. 368 00:35:15,345 --> 00:35:19,213 All around me, of course, still is the garden, 369 00:35:19,382 --> 00:35:26,151 which was, I'm told, very badly damaged when western forces stormed through here. 370 00:35:26,323 --> 00:35:28,757 Even some of the bronzes were looted. 371 00:35:29,025 --> 00:35:31,687 But all seems to be more or less repaired now. 372 00:35:32,062 --> 00:35:38,968 Ah, now, another stage of my journey has been reached. We're about to land. 373 00:35:45,876 --> 00:35:50,643 The park is enormous, spreading out over 290 hectares, 374 00:35:50,814 --> 00:35:53,305 three quarters of which is lake. 375 00:35:54,351 --> 00:35:59,584 For centuries it was a private playground for China's mighty and ruthless emperors. 376 00:36:00,657 --> 00:36:03,148 The sheer luxury of the park is staggering. 377 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:08,823 Everywhere you look there are temples, pavilions and pagodas. 378 00:36:09,666 --> 00:36:13,363 There are over a hundred ornamental structures in the garden. 379 00:36:13,537 --> 00:36:17,132 Just look at this delightful little pagoda. 380 00:36:17,374 --> 00:36:22,505 Structures like this fuelled a fashion, a passion for all things Chinese in Europe, 381 00:36:22,679 --> 00:36:25,170 starting with some, well, chinoiserie, 382 00:36:25,348 --> 00:36:29,910 which becomes a great dominant force in European design from the 1750s. 383 00:36:34,124 --> 00:36:37,116 The covered walkway is an art gallery in its own right. 384 00:36:37,861 --> 00:36:41,820 It's decorated with fascinating paintings telling romantic tales from the past 385 00:36:41,998 --> 00:36:44,432 and heralding victories in battle. 386 00:36:54,945 --> 00:36:59,939 Perhaps the most eccentric and revealing relic of imperial China is the marble boat. 387 00:37:00,517 --> 00:37:03,918 It's pure folly, it doesn't actually float, 388 00:37:04,087 --> 00:37:06,749 because it's built on the lake bed. 389 00:37:09,292 --> 00:37:14,457 The marble boat was created in 1755 by the Emperor Ch'ien Lung 390 00:37:14,631 --> 00:37:16,997 It was a birthday present for his mother. 391 00:37:17,167 --> 00:37:23,265 But it had a greater meaning than that. It was a symbol of the Chinese empire - 392 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:28,241 the boat was unsinkable, as was the empire itself. 393 00:37:29,980 --> 00:37:32,107 The marble boat may have been unsinkable, 394 00:37:32,282 --> 00:37:39,188 but it did contribute to the humiliating defeat of the Chinese navy in 1894 by a Japanese fleet. 395 00:37:39,356 --> 00:37:45,386 The powerful Empress Dowager T'zu His diverted money earmarked for modernising the navy 396 00:37:45,562 --> 00:37:51,592 to the restoration of the symbolic boat and gardens, after the attack by Anglo-French troops. 397 00:37:51,868 --> 00:37:55,770 She extravagantly transformed the boat into a modern paddle steamer. 398 00:37:57,240 --> 00:38:01,643 There you see a great cog-like machine. Futuristic emblem. 399 00:38:01,811 --> 00:38:11,345 So the empire is saying their great ship of state, the celestial timeless image of the empire, 400 00:38:11,521 --> 00:38:14,854 has been given modern wheels. 401 00:38:16,526 --> 00:38:18,153 Lovely, actually. 402 00:38:25,602 --> 00:38:30,164 I had been hoping to board the marble boat, but it appears to be a problem. 403 00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:34,606 I must wait while negotiations take place behind the scenes. 404 00:38:39,516 --> 00:38:45,318 So precious is the marble boat, so sacred almost, as a national shrine, 405 00:38:45,488 --> 00:38:47,979 that no ordinary people are allowed on it. 406 00:38:48,158 --> 00:38:50,285 And we have had great trouble - 407 00:38:50,460 --> 00:38:56,922 only I, after much negotiation, am allowed to go past this point. 408 00:38:57,100 --> 00:39:02,333 I alone can enter this great monument. 409 00:39:02,839 --> 00:39:06,866 And that, I'm told, is a huge privilege. 410 00:39:21,024 --> 00:39:25,518 Standing here, on this unlikely craft, 411 00:39:25,695 --> 00:39:28,721 the old world survives. 412 00:39:29,099 --> 00:39:32,193 I'm in a sort of time bubble, a capsule really. 413 00:39:36,306 --> 00:39:41,903 And I see the dining room in which the Dowager Empress presided by herself. 414 00:39:42,078 --> 00:39:47,744 So grand was she, she could dine with nobody apart from herself. And to keep herself company, 415 00:39:47,917 --> 00:39:52,980 she had a mighty mirror, so she could see herself reflected as she dined. 416 00:39:54,824 --> 00:40:02,230 This creation says so much about the old China, the old empire. 417 00:40:02,799 --> 00:40:05,461 It's emblematic of it in many ways. 418 00:40:05,702 --> 00:40:11,971 But strangely and wonderfully really, it's also venerated by the new China. 419 00:40:12,142 --> 00:40:15,839 So here we have it, this one creation, old and new, 420 00:40:16,012 --> 00:40:19,345 history, modernity, the future and the past combined. 421 00:40:19,516 --> 00:40:22,576 It's a incredible relic. 422 00:40:29,726 --> 00:40:32,661 All too soon, my visit to the Summer Palace is over. 423 00:40:33,363 --> 00:40:37,231 I'd like to have seen more, but I'm ushered away. 424 00:40:43,673 --> 00:40:46,233 From the Summer Palace I head back to the Forbidden City, 425 00:40:46,409 --> 00:40:49,936 to find out if I can see the Ming porcelain today. 426 00:40:50,213 --> 00:40:54,582 The weather's cheered up and I'm hopeful of finding my treasure at last. 427 00:40:56,386 --> 00:41:00,288 No luck. Apparently too much humidity in the air. 428 00:41:00,457 --> 00:41:03,722 Quite how humidity damages porcelain, I don't know. 429 00:41:03,893 --> 00:41:06,361 But - and no one's explained - but there we are. 430 00:41:06,529 --> 00:41:14,026 I can't see the objects, items that I'm dying to see. Frustration, yes. 431 00:41:23,613 --> 00:41:28,915 For supper, I decide to sample the delicacies on offer in the streets of Beijing. 432 00:41:31,688 --> 00:41:33,212 Bugs, that's what I want. 433 00:41:33,590 --> 00:41:37,082 Once one starts eat insects, it's a bit addictive. 434 00:41:39,262 --> 00:41:41,696 They're so good, insects... 435 00:41:41,865 --> 00:41:45,494 Now this stall looks very promising. 436 00:41:47,704 --> 00:41:51,504 Yea, one. Not quite what I'm looking for. 437 00:41:52,141 --> 00:42:00,571 I want something more - Ah, now this is - is this cooked, ready? 438 00:42:01,451 --> 00:42:02,509 This is a challenge for me. 439 00:42:02,819 --> 00:42:06,915 I revere I love silkworms, and now I'm going to eat one. 440 00:42:07,156 --> 00:42:09,181 Yeah, absolutely, one - one silkworm. 441 00:42:09,626 --> 00:42:16,122 Oh - oh yes, well, snake, yeah, well, all right. Yes. 442 00:42:19,269 --> 00:42:20,497 A bit rubbery. 443 00:42:27,577 --> 00:42:30,239 The silkworm was an early stage of its life, 444 00:42:30,413 --> 00:42:33,871 before the little devil had had a chance to produce silk. 445 00:42:43,493 --> 00:42:48,658 A strong taste. Not without flavour, actually. 446 00:42:55,271 --> 00:42:56,863 They're telling me I make a great mess. 447 00:42:57,974 --> 00:43:00,499 They're right, I am. In more ways than they realise. 448 00:43:00,777 --> 00:43:01,869 Thank you. 449 00:43:05,448 --> 00:43:07,313 For my next treasure, I head three hours 450 00:43:07,483 --> 00:43:10,782 north-east of Beijing to Jinshaling. 451 00:43:23,633 --> 00:43:27,228 I leave behind Beijing feeling a mixture of relief and regret. 452 00:43:27,837 --> 00:43:30,806 I love the city's frantic energy and its friendly people, 453 00:43:30,974 --> 00:43:36,412 but I'm frustrated by the faceless bureaucracy that is answerable to no one. 454 00:43:43,186 --> 00:43:45,984 I'm heading for the largest structure ever created by man, 455 00:43:46,155 --> 00:43:48,487 that is, in its Asian vast scale, 456 00:43:48,658 --> 00:43:54,722 a potent expression of the continuity and sophistication of China's ancient civilisation. 457 00:44:02,672 --> 00:44:06,836 Work began on the Great Wall of China around 220BC. 458 00:44:07,043 --> 00:44:12,037 It was the creation of the first emperor, Chin Shi Huangdi. 459 00:44:20,323 --> 00:44:24,817 The wall's a tremendous piece of military engineering, 460 00:44:24,994 --> 00:44:27,428 but of course it's a lot, lot more than that. 461 00:44:27,697 --> 00:44:35,729 Just look at the way it relates to the landscape, snaking over the land, over the mountains. 462 00:44:35,905 --> 00:44:41,434 Unbelievably beautiful. Unbelievably difficult to build. 463 00:44:41,678 --> 00:44:44,146 What an act of will and determination. 464 00:44:44,313 --> 00:44:51,082 What a revelation about a civilisation that can organise the construction of such a thing. 465 00:44:52,588 --> 00:44:54,886 The Great Wall winds its way across China 466 00:44:55,058 --> 00:44:56,923 from the Gobi Desert in the north-west 467 00:44:57,093 --> 00:45:00,028 to the Bo Hi Sea north-east of Beijing. 468 00:45:01,864 --> 00:45:06,164 The Great Wall stretches for over four thousand miles, 469 00:45:06,335 --> 00:45:13,605 and was last substantially rebuilt in the late 14th century during the Ming dynasty. 470 00:45:14,143 --> 00:45:18,546 It's said that 300,000 men were used to make this wall 471 00:45:18,715 --> 00:45:25,382 and many died, their bodies mixed into the clay of the bricks. 472 00:45:25,588 --> 00:45:27,522 These bricks, the old bricks here. 473 00:45:28,291 --> 00:45:31,419 For that reason it's called the Wall of Tears. 474 00:45:32,295 --> 00:45:36,095 The longest graveyard in the world. 475 00:45:38,334 --> 00:45:40,302 The human sacrifice was great, 476 00:45:40,470 --> 00:45:45,100 but for centuries the wall stood between China and its most fearsome enemies: 477 00:45:45,274 --> 00:45:48,107 barbarians and nomadic tribesmen. 478 00:45:48,745 --> 00:45:52,442 To them, it must have looked more like the work of gods than of man. 479 00:45:53,583 --> 00:45:55,517 Now, this is fantastic, ingenious. 480 00:45:55,852 --> 00:45:57,877 There's defence in depth within the wall. 481 00:45:58,054 --> 00:46:04,152 If attackers scaled this portion of the wall, got up here and stormed along here, 482 00:46:04,327 --> 00:46:08,320 the defenders, forced to retreat, would go up towards a little fortress at the top. 483 00:46:08,498 --> 00:46:12,434 But what they would do, they'd fight wall by wall, 484 00:46:12,602 --> 00:46:16,470 so what happened is the attackers come up here, the defenders shoot bows, 485 00:46:16,639 --> 00:46:21,201 I guess, dodge behind here, they'd also shoot from here at the attackers down there. 486 00:46:21,377 --> 00:46:26,713 Now, if the defenders are still under pressure, forced back, they simply go back to the next wall, 487 00:46:26,883 --> 00:46:32,617 fighting, raining blows down here on the attackers who are at a disadvantage. 488 00:46:32,789 --> 00:46:35,189 The defenders then pop round here, fire again, 489 00:46:35,358 --> 00:46:39,021 and then, still under pressure, they go back to the next wall and, 490 00:46:39,195 --> 00:46:41,891 if they have to, retreat wall to wall to wall, 491 00:46:42,064 --> 00:46:44,555 back to the little fortress right at the top there. 492 00:46:59,115 --> 00:47:04,451 And this little fort reveals another of the defensive tricks of the Great Wall. 493 00:47:04,620 --> 00:47:08,613 If the defenders are forced back to take refuge and they just slam the door - 494 00:47:08,791 --> 00:47:14,058 and push the bar across, and the attackers possess the wall down there, 495 00:47:14,230 --> 00:47:16,630 then this part of the wall can be isolated. 496 00:47:16,866 --> 00:47:20,393 The attackers can't run down the whole length of the wall. 497 00:47:20,803 --> 00:47:22,737 This little fort bars their way, 498 00:47:22,905 --> 00:47:27,933 with the defenders in here attacking the chaps down there. 499 00:47:43,559 --> 00:47:49,464 The Great Wall is just as spectacular as I thought it would be, as I hoped it would be. 500 00:47:49,932 --> 00:47:54,028 The scale is amazing. And the way it relates to the landscape. 501 00:47:54,503 --> 00:47:58,337 Just look at it over there, the silhouette of the towers, 502 00:47:58,507 --> 00:48:01,067 the ridge of the world really. 503 00:48:02,311 --> 00:48:04,973 The hills, this great mist coming down. 504 00:48:11,721 --> 00:48:15,919 I say, look at this mighty work and tremble. 505 00:48:33,342 --> 00:48:36,140 My next treasure has close associations with the Great Wall, 506 00:48:36,312 --> 00:48:42,842 but to find it I must travel more than 600 miles to the ancient Chinese capital of Xian. 507 00:48:43,352 --> 00:48:44,944 Xian is a strange city. 508 00:48:45,321 --> 00:48:50,224 Its beautiful historic towers are overwhelmed by nondescript modern buildings. 509 00:48:51,761 --> 00:48:52,819 I don't hang around, 510 00:48:52,995 --> 00:48:57,295 because just outside Xian lies one of the great cultural wonders of the world, 511 00:48:57,466 --> 00:49:00,629 a treasure that lay hidden for two millennia. 512 00:49:08,811 --> 00:49:14,408 This formidable army of terracotta warriors was discovered by chance in 1974. 513 00:49:15,117 --> 00:49:19,486 It was one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries ever made. 514 00:49:21,023 --> 00:49:26,928 Like the Great Wall of China, it's a legacy of the first emperor, Chin Shi Huangdi. 515 00:49:28,331 --> 00:49:32,062 The first emperor died just over 2,200 years ago, 516 00:49:32,234 --> 00:49:36,466 and his burial must have been an extraordinary affair. 517 00:49:36,639 --> 00:49:42,271 His body was placed in a mighty mausoleum, stretching all the way around, 518 00:49:42,445 --> 00:49:44,140 a couple of square miles. 519 00:49:44,347 --> 00:49:50,115 This was a - an underground world, a subterranean city, a city of the dead. 520 00:49:50,419 --> 00:49:54,583 And this city included an army of figures, 521 00:49:54,757 --> 00:50:02,994 nearly eight thousand, over life size, terracotta soldiers arranged in different divisions. 522 00:50:03,165 --> 00:50:05,292 An army ready to battle, 523 00:50:05,468 --> 00:50:07,333 to battle for the emperor, 524 00:50:07,503 --> 00:50:10,301 to conduct his warfare in heaven. 525 00:50:12,441 --> 00:50:14,432 The army once bristled with weapons: 526 00:50:14,610 --> 00:50:17,875 swords, crossbows and spears made of wood and iron. 527 00:50:18,047 --> 00:50:22,074 Sadly, these have long since rotted or rusted away. 528 00:50:22,451 --> 00:50:26,649 The empty hands of the soldiers continue to grasp their invisible arms 529 00:50:26,822 --> 00:50:28,790 and they still look menacing. 530 00:50:38,734 --> 00:50:41,032 To look into the eyes of these warriors - 531 00:50:42,271 --> 00:50:46,799 they're all individual, their faces, their features. 532 00:50:47,009 --> 00:50:52,242 They're all people. They're people that have lives and histories. 533 00:50:52,415 --> 00:50:54,246 It's an incredible experience. 534 00:50:54,750 --> 00:50:58,186 This is the power of the art of these terracotta figures. 535 00:50:58,521 --> 00:51:02,582 They were meant to represent living soldiers and they still do. 536 00:51:02,758 --> 00:51:04,248 They are still alive. 537 00:51:05,694 --> 00:51:12,896 These are the men that garrisoned the Great Wall of China when it was first constructed. 538 00:51:17,106 --> 00:51:21,770 You can see regional and ethnic differences in the style of hair and facial features. 539 00:51:28,651 --> 00:51:32,951 About 85 master craftsmen were responsible for this vast army. 540 00:51:33,522 --> 00:51:36,491 They made the heads, probably portraits of individuals, 541 00:51:36,659 --> 00:51:41,756 while hundreds of workers produced the hands and bodies, moulding the clay by hand. 542 00:51:43,499 --> 00:51:47,196 The different elements were then assembled and fired in kilns. 543 00:51:48,270 --> 00:51:51,364 Look at the craftsmanship. They're little works of art, each one, 544 00:51:51,540 --> 00:51:53,667 they're a sculpture. 545 00:51:55,644 --> 00:52:00,047 They would have been brightly coloured originally. That was the idea. 546 00:52:00,216 --> 00:52:02,548 Very few traces of colour have been found. 547 00:52:03,119 --> 00:52:09,149 Imagine that ranks upon ranks, brightly coloured, lifelike figures staring into infinity, 548 00:52:09,325 --> 00:52:13,989 all looking east towards the rising sun, towards heaven, 549 00:52:14,163 --> 00:52:18,759 waiting to serve their godlike emperor. 550 00:52:19,368 --> 00:52:25,068 The presence of all of this is still here, is still here, still surrounds these figures. 551 00:52:26,542 --> 00:52:30,740 Beautiful individual works of art. 552 00:52:39,388 --> 00:52:44,325 There's a huge amount of work still to be done to restore all 8,000 soldiers. 553 00:52:45,194 --> 00:52:50,996 But even more tantalising is the thought that there is still much more to be excavated. 554 00:52:51,200 --> 00:52:55,159 What other treasures does the first emperor's tomb contain? 555 00:53:02,411 --> 00:53:04,936 Filming the terra cotta army was stimulating, 556 00:53:05,114 --> 00:53:10,347 but again I was frustrated by the bureaucratic attitude of the museum officials. 557 00:53:16,192 --> 00:53:20,185 Yet, among my guides there's a sense of restraint and powerlessness. 558 00:53:20,362 --> 00:53:22,660 When I query a seemingly illogical decision, 559 00:53:22,831 --> 00:53:25,732 they're quick to point out that China is a Communist country. 560 00:53:27,570 --> 00:53:31,336 Now they tell me it's impossible for me to see any Ming porcelain at all, 561 00:53:31,507 --> 00:53:34,635 and it was a treasure I'd been longing to get my hands on. 562 00:53:43,786 --> 00:53:46,914 I have one last chance, in Shanghai. 563 00:53:53,896 --> 00:53:56,592 Shanghai is China's largest and wealthiest city. 564 00:53:56,765 --> 00:53:58,733 It's nicknamed the dragon's head, 565 00:53:58,901 --> 00:54:03,167 because of the way it has led China's headlong rush towards a Capitalist economy. 566 00:54:04,340 --> 00:54:07,138 My first impressions are that it's a peculiar place. 567 00:54:07,309 --> 00:54:10,335 Everything seems sparkling, brittle and new. 568 00:54:11,013 --> 00:54:13,538 But not always ultra-modern and high-tech. 569 00:54:16,685 --> 00:54:21,452 Fortunately its museum boasts one of the finest Ming porcelain collections in the world, 570 00:54:21,624 --> 00:54:26,027 one which I am told surpasses even that of the forbidden city. 571 00:54:28,497 --> 00:54:32,092 Attitudes are more relaxed here, and we're allowed to film. 572 00:54:41,977 --> 00:54:46,437 This is a beautiful thing, made in the late 16th century, early 17th century 573 00:54:46,615 --> 00:54:50,881 during the Ming period for the emperor Yuan Li. 574 00:54:51,053 --> 00:54:55,217 That's what it says up there. Made in the reign of Yuan Li, that's the lettering. 575 00:54:55,524 --> 00:55:00,587 So, for the imperial household, as is revealed by the decoration. 576 00:55:00,863 --> 00:55:03,923 This dragon is an imperial symbol. 577 00:55:04,099 --> 00:55:08,900 Ornamentation here was not simply a thing of beauty and fashion, 578 00:55:09,071 --> 00:55:10,766 but it carried a meaning. 579 00:55:11,874 --> 00:55:13,364 Dragon imperial. 580 00:55:20,616 --> 00:55:27,283 Europe was mesmerised by Chinese porcelain when it appeared in quantity in the late 16th century. 581 00:55:27,456 --> 00:55:30,721 In fact, Shakespeare writes about it in Measure for Measure. 582 00:55:30,893 --> 00:55:34,090 He talks about Chinese dishes being of very high quality. 583 00:55:34,263 --> 00:55:36,493 That was in 1600. 584 00:55:36,665 --> 00:55:42,160 The thing was these objects were not only beautiful but technically advanced. 585 00:55:42,338 --> 00:55:46,240 The west didn't know quite what they were made of and how. 586 00:55:51,046 --> 00:55:54,106 This pot was made in the early 15th century. 587 00:55:54,283 --> 00:55:57,775 A lovely thing, and sort of translucent. 588 00:55:58,020 --> 00:56:02,354 The secret of porcelain is the material its made from. 589 00:56:02,858 --> 00:56:04,951 We call it in the west kaolin. Here it's called gowlin. 590 00:56:05,127 --> 00:56:08,290 It's a sort of clay, a very particular clay, 591 00:56:08,464 --> 00:56:12,400 with silicone oxide, aluminium oxide and iron oxide. 592 00:56:12,568 --> 00:56:14,900 This was mixed with other material, stone dust, 593 00:56:15,070 --> 00:56:18,096 to produce this very fine material. 594 00:56:18,407 --> 00:56:23,902 And when fired, it comes up with a - kind of almost, as I say, transparent quality. 595 00:56:24,079 --> 00:56:27,674 Very thin and delicate section through it. 596 00:56:28,384 --> 00:56:30,648 Also of course, the firing's important. 597 00:56:30,953 --> 00:56:36,983 Here the blue would have been painted on first of all, the blue pigment, as with the other pot. 598 00:56:37,226 --> 00:56:40,423 Then glazed, and then fired to a high temperature, 599 00:56:40,596 --> 00:56:48,002 so high that the kaolin, the - the body, the clay, mixes with the pigments, the glaze, 600 00:56:48,170 --> 00:56:51,833 becomes one object all fused together. 601 00:56:52,074 --> 00:56:58,479 That's part of the secret, that's part of the reason for this translucency and delicacy. Mmm. 602 00:57:36,952 --> 00:57:39,580 My short stay in China is almost over. 603 00:57:40,088 --> 00:57:40,986 It's a complex country, 604 00:57:41,156 --> 00:57:46,150 and for outsiders relationships and actions are hard to fathom. 605 00:57:47,996 --> 00:57:52,933 Modern China and Japan are the fruits of ancient civilisations. 606 00:57:53,101 --> 00:57:56,502 And even in China there's a cultural continuity stretching back, 607 00:57:56,672 --> 00:57:59,436 well, two and a half thousand years. 608 00:57:59,608 --> 00:58:03,601 But things are not maybe what that history suggests - 609 00:58:03,779 --> 00:58:07,647 but although it has this western aspect, 610 00:58:08,550 --> 00:58:13,010 one's become very conscious that Japan, particularly China, 611 00:58:13,188 --> 00:58:15,656 remain secret and hidden worlds. 612 00:58:15,824 --> 00:58:19,282 This was very much the case with my quest to see my treasures in China. 613 00:58:19,461 --> 00:58:22,692 Many things I longed to see where denied me at the last moment, 614 00:58:22,865 --> 00:58:25,527 became unavailable, last minute problems. 615 00:58:25,701 --> 00:58:31,867 So I failed to become as intimate with those treasures, as intimate as I'd hoped. 616 00:58:32,608 --> 00:58:36,567 A storm is building up, a typhoon is coming. 617 00:58:37,246 --> 00:58:40,215 This, I suppose won't change things dramatically. 618 00:58:40,382 --> 00:58:43,442 But I feel the elements are on my side, 619 00:58:43,619 --> 00:58:47,146 perhaps helping to blow the cobwebs away.