Last Days of the Maya

In China, there exists an astonishing place. A burial ground to rival Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, where pyramid tombs of stupendous size are full of astonishing riches. In 221 BC, China's first Emperor united warring kingdoms into a nation that still exists today. To memorialise this achievement, he bankrupted the national treasury and oppressed thousands of workers to build one of the world’s biggest mortuary complexes. China's second dynasty, the Han, inherited the daunting challenge of building larger tombs to command respect and establish their right to rule without running the nation into the ground. Although no Han emperor's tomb has been opened, the tombs of lesser Han aristocrats have revealed astonishing things: complete underground palaces (including kitchens and toilets) and at least one corpse so amazingly well-preserved some believe Han tomb-builders knew how to "engineer immortality".

How the Silk Road Made the World 3 x 60' NHNZ/CCTV (China Central Television) The Silk Road is one of humanity’s greatest enterprises. For thousands of years across the vastness of Eurasia, a trade route linking east and west has deeply influenced history. Silk Road trade has helped to build and break empires, fed revolutions and profoundly affected civilisations. Humanity as we know it, and all we have created, owes much to the legendary Silk Road. This is true of objects as basic yet revolutionary as a piece of paper, to the complex metropolis of New York City. Travel through time to witness the evolution of ancient warfare, experience the horror of the Black Death, see the explosive impacts of innovations and live through radical social change. Embark on a dramatic historical journey throughout Eurasia and delve into the captivating tales of this world-famous trade route. Discover How the Silk Road Made the World.

Scientists perform an autopsy on the best preserved mummy ever discovered: that of a Han aristocrat named Lady Dai. More than 2000 years after her death her flesh is still resilient and the blood in her veins is still red. What can she tell us about life in ancient China?