How did ancient China protect the enviro...

Why has the snake, often feared, been revered in Chinese culture and become one of the 12 zodiac animals? How is it portrayed in artifacts, and what does it symbolize in China compared to other cultures? In this episode, we explore the serpent's evolving meanings in Chinese civil ... Show More

Like the finest wines, the best inspiration for poetry is brewed and vivified, if served in the right vessel. In this episode, we present a phoenix-headed tricolor ceramic wine vessel from the Tang Dynasty, some 1200 years ago. In what ways did it influence the development of Chi ... Show More

How did the water dropper help artists enter the right creative mindset for traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting using the color of black only? In this episode, we present the "Yandi" from the Yuan Dynasty about 900 years ago. How did Chinese green ware gain world recogni ... Show More

Say one thing about Mao's communist China, they could kill some sparrows. Learn why and how in today's episode.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

For decades, China was the go-to for low-cost manufacturing, but now it's a global leader in advanced industries. How did China leapfrog the competition, and what does this mean for the global economy? We explore the rapid rise of Chinese industry and its implications for the fut ... Show More

In May 1980 China allowed capitalist activity for the first time since the Communist Revolution, in four designated cities known as the Special Economic Zones. The most successful was Shenzhen, which grew from a mainly rural area specialising in pigs and lychees to one of China's ... Show More

How did we get the set of Chinese words we have today? John and Jared talk about how the Chinese language has evolved, adapted, innovated, and borrowed to create the language it is today. 

This series has shown how China is barrelling ahead with new infrastructure and new strategies to import the latest industrial technologies But China's leaders want Chinese ideas and innovation to drive their economy. This programme follows people at the leading edge of that effo ... Show More

<p>In this episode, we discuss the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s latest publication<i>, The circular economy</i>: <i>A 'triple play' solution for achieving China's climate objectives</i>. We’ll explore how adopting a comprehensive circular economy framework can play a pivotal role ... Show More

<p>It took alcohol 200 years to go from scientific discovery to industrial revolution, but tech innovator Xu Hao says we can’t afford to wait that long to tackle the climate crisis. He explores why most climate solutions are still stuck in labs — despite breakthrough science that ... Show More

As a beautiful young TV star in the 1990s, Gulchehra Hoja was important to the Chinese state: the acceptable face of China's Uyghur Muslim minority. Then in 2001, Hoja did an about-turn, fleeing to the United States and working with Radio Free Asia, reporting on human rights abus ... Show More

What would an average ancient Egyptian citizen's relationship have been with the pyramids? Why did they wear gooey wax cones on their heads? And what was it like to attend an Egyptian religious ritual? In this third episode of our series Ancient Egypt: the big questions, Emily Br ... Show More