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00:00:00I'm seven weeks into a five-month journey to discover 80 of the world's greatest cultural
00:00:10treasures. Ahead of me lie the Oriental delights of Japan and China. They are two of the most
00:00:17important civilizations in history and I want to find out if their ancient traditions and
00:00:22mysteries have survived into the modern technical age.
00:00:30So far, I've travelled through the Americas, Australia and South East Asia.
00:00:57From Cambodia, I've flown to Japan.
00:01:02I've flown to Japan.
00:01:09I've flown to Japan.
00:01:12I've flown to Japan, Russia and Australia.
00:01:16I've flown to Japan and Japan.
00:01:19Harajara is one year old from Japan.
00:01:22At the time, I'm home from Japan.
00:01:24I'm your host, Taiwan and I've flown to Japan.
00:01:28I'm in Tokyo, one of the most modern and vibrant cities in the world, but all is not what it seems.
00:01:48This modernity is little more than skin deep, superficial, below our deep roots of tradition, and entering a secret world.
00:02:09My first treasure in Japan is ancient, yet it's still made today.
00:02:15It's to be found in ordinary-looking factory buildings like this one near Tokyo, as one of Japan's most mystical objects, a deadly weapon and a sacred work of art.
00:02:26It all begins with a prayer at a shrine dedicated to one of the deities of Shinto, the ancient belief in the power of elemental nature spirits and the ancestors.
00:02:44Very hot. Very hot. Very hot. Very hot.
00:02:51The sword is made of two different types of steel. Hard on the outside, so it can have a razor-sharp edge, and soft on the inside, so it's flexible and doesn't shatter in combat.
00:03:04Do you want the hard steel on the edge, the outer?
00:03:19Do you want the hard steel on the edge, the outer?
00:03:22Yes.
00:03:23That steel is very strong.
00:03:25Yes.
00:03:26So it's not breaking.
00:03:28Not breaking, so it'll be flexible.
00:03:29And it's very sharp.
00:03:30You want both things, so it's soft and hard.
00:03:33Yes, both we have Japanese steel.
00:03:35Yeah.
00:03:36OK.
00:03:40Good.
00:03:41The steel is beaten time and time again until the sword takes shape.
00:04:06The making of a sword takes 100 days.
00:04:10OK.
00:04:11OK.
00:04:13Ritsu meticulously applies clay to the sword.
00:04:16This hardens the steel and gives the blade a sharper edge.
00:04:20According to Shinto beliefs, it also helps give the sword spiritual meaning, because clay or earth is one of the four elements.
00:04:27So the steel cover with clay is being heated in the forge, the colour being watched, and this will now be plunged into water.
00:04:48This is all part, I'd say, of the process of giving it its razor edge.
00:04:56If the next stage is botched, all will be wasted.
00:04:59Time is crucial.
00:05:00Ritsu is waiting until the sword is the colour of the moon in August.
00:05:05One chance only.
00:05:06One chance only.
00:05:07One chance only.
00:05:08One chance only.
00:05:09One chance only.
00:05:10One chance only.
00:05:11One chance only.
00:05:12One chance.
00:05:13Now, two at a time.
00:05:18Critical moment, this.
00:05:19This is where the sword makes it or doesn't make it.
00:05:21Right or wrong.
00:05:22All the work wasted.
00:05:23In which case, broken down, start again, or one gets a piece of perfection.
00:05:34OK.
00:05:35Wow.
00:05:51Can you tell if it was right?
00:05:58Perhaps success.
00:06:01Perhaps success.
00:06:02OK.
00:06:03Congratulations.
00:06:14Accompanied by a symphony of cicadas, a samurai warrior is about to test a new sword.
00:06:21Will it shatter on impact?
00:06:23Or will it cut like a razor?
00:06:42Now, samurai is going to cut a bamboo, which is the toughest test yet hard.
00:06:50This is where we see what the blade's made of.
00:06:55Cutting bamboo is apparently the next best thing to slicing human flesh.
00:07:00This is where we see what the blade is torn from.
00:07:03Now, the blade's made of the blade's made of the blade's' sword.
00:07:04This is where we see the Arrow
00:07:13A clean, pure, sharp cut, and to cut bamboo like this takes force and sharpness.
00:07:42The surface is very hard.
00:07:45I'm told this cut is equivalent to cutting through two human bodies, so clearly, the blade
00:07:55is good.
00:07:57An incredible object.
00:08:06Here we see a lotus, which is emblematic, of course, of Buddha.
00:08:16And here, a dragon, a dragon represents the essential quality of the sword, the alchemy
00:08:27of the sword, the transformation of base metal, really, into a spiritual thing, because the
00:08:33dragon seems to represent the four elements, fire, water, air, earth.
00:08:38It comes from a cave.
00:08:40This is saying, this sword is a quintessence of the elements, quintessence of nature, represents
00:08:48the nature spirit, the nature gods of Shinto.
00:08:51I'm holding in my hand the soul of Japan.
00:09:05The samurai sword may seem light years away from Japan's great technological treasure,
00:09:10the bullet train, but both are born from the same yearning for precision in all things.
00:09:16In Britain, the bullet train is considered state-of-the-art, but has been around in Japan for 40 years.
00:09:38It's exhilarating as I head for my next destination at speeds of over 180 miles an hour.
00:10:01Himeji is much like any modern Japanese industrial city, but it possesses a very special treasure,
00:10:08which opens the door to the medieval world of shogun warlords and their samurai warriors.
00:10:16I've come to Himeji to see a building that's full of secrets, that combines delicacy of detail
00:10:23with a violent function that possesses a frightful beauty.
00:10:31Himeji castle is one of the most beautiful castles in the world.
00:10:44It was rebuilt more than 400 years ago.
00:10:47I've always wondered how this romantic fairytale palace could also serve as a stern and daunting fortress.
00:10:54Don't be deceived by its pretty, almost fragile exterior.
00:11:01Its little roofs are made of timber and tiles.
00:11:05Its walls, too, look delicate, but they are built of compressed earth and thick enough to withstand shot and shell.
00:11:12So how impregnable is the castle?
00:11:19There's only one way to find out. I'm going to put it to the test.
00:11:24Oh, now this is splendid defence in depth.
00:11:28I've got through the outer defences, the outer walls of the castle, the outer moat system, through this great fortified gate into the castle proper.
00:11:40I guess this is the way, ah, yes.
00:11:50Again, typical, attackers would get through this gate and be confronted not by another gate, but by a wall of loopholes.
00:11:58Here, they'd be confused here, because the path divides this way or that way, where they go.
00:12:09Confusion is death, of course, because it's time consuming.
00:12:13One goes up.
00:12:17Ah, fantastic.
00:12:22All the time under attack.
00:12:23So, I've now reached the sense, the heart of the castle, the great tower.
00:12:41If I try to clamber up here, which I might be able to do, possibly,
00:12:46I then discover, from that slit, a frightful cascade of filthy material, probably boiling oil, which is the content of a tree, almost worse, really.
00:13:01Now, I don't know what's in store for me now.
00:13:07Eating for the attacker here.
00:13:09Oh, I see.
00:13:14I'm being enticed forward.
00:13:16All seems well.
00:13:20Loopholes there.
00:13:22Inwards.
00:13:25Crikey.
00:13:27Here, one has to bow down off one's back, really, to get through.
00:13:33That's humiliating, of course, to bow to your enemy.
00:13:38It also makes you very vulnerable.
00:13:40You've got to bow through and fight through here.
00:13:43There's missiles and everything.
00:13:45Oh, dear.
00:13:51Well, this is it, really.
00:13:53I've made it to the wall surrounding the main tower.
00:13:56To the last of my great gates.
00:13:59Incredible.
00:14:02Clad in metal.
00:14:04I suppose to prevent people trying to burn their way in.
00:14:09Timber protected.
00:14:11So, I'm in.
00:14:18Well, inside, but this is a...
00:14:23Another world, really.
00:14:24It's dark.
00:14:26Confusing.
00:14:28More frightening.
00:14:29More sinister.
00:14:30The upper levels of the tower are like a labyrinth.
00:14:41There's no clear route.
00:14:43Stairs go this way and that.
00:14:44The passageways meander.
00:14:46The attacker would be entirely baffled by the place.
00:15:00The castle employs psychological warfare.
00:15:15It's a fortification of the mind.
00:15:18All is deception here.
00:15:21Nothing is quite what you think.
00:15:23And there are plenty of secret and savage defences.
00:15:26I'm standing on the top floor of the main tower of the castle.
00:15:40And from here, I can see the castle's defensive system.
00:15:45The gates, the walls, the moats, the towers.
00:15:50I can see my route of attack.
00:15:51The gate I entered by and the way I had to wind around and between these walls and through these gates to get here.
00:16:00But I'm standing where no real attacker ever stood.
00:16:06This castle was never taken by storm.
00:16:09Indeed, it was never besieged, never attacked.
00:16:11Now that may seem odd that all of this was a waste of time and money, but not at all.
00:16:17The point is, it was a deterrent.
00:16:20The fact the castle looked so strong stopped people even attempting to attack it.
00:16:26And that's the great secret of success for castles, really.
00:16:29They shouldn't be attacked.
00:16:30As the sun sets over Hameiji, a performance of no theater gets underway in the shadows of the castle.
00:16:42No theater is beguiling and mysterious.
00:16:46The performance is sparse, yet strangely mesmerizing.
00:16:51It's quintessentially Japanese.
00:16:54Every detail is precise, every movement perfect.
00:16:56The highly trained actors are known officially as living treasures.
00:17:26The ancient city of Kyoto is famous for its temples, sacred gardens and shrines.
00:17:46Japanese gardens are the stuff of romance.
00:17:49With their quaint bridges, soothing ponds and picturesque temples,
00:17:53it's like walking into a traditional painting.
00:17:59Japanese-style garden buildings were immensely popular in 18th century Britain.
00:18:11My treasure in Kyoto is a garden, but a very different kind of garden.
00:18:16One that I hope will help me on my journey around the world.
00:18:19Well, I'm into the seventh week of this world tour.
00:18:20I did some, just gone, 6.30 in the morning.
00:18:22I'm in the seventh week of this world tour.
00:18:24I did some, just gone, 6.30 in the morning.
00:18:25I've come to the Lohanji temple here.
00:18:26I've just gone, 6.30 in the morning.
00:18:27Well, I'm into the seventh week of this world tour, I did some, I've just gone 6.30 in
00:18:47morning. I've come to the Luanji temple in Kyoto, famous for its early 16th century Zen Buddhist garden.
00:19:08The garden is a tool for meditation, a means of enlightenment.
00:19:17But my first impression is disconcerting. It all looks so arid. Nevertheless, I focus
00:19:36my mind on the rocks and gravel to find that intuition, that flash of awareness called Satori,
00:19:43which lies at the heart of Zen Buddhist belief.
00:19:47The mind wants to make this look like something else, analogy. You want to make it look like a landscape.
00:20:05These are islands. The gravels, the sea, raked to look like waves. And the wall, the mud wall with its oil, this you begin to see an
00:20:29as a setting sun, as a landscape too. Again, very pleasing, your mind is imposing, translating images, abstract images, making them into pictures you've seen elsewhere. No, you must see this as it is.
00:20:51Then, you begin to see the rocks, count the rocks. There are 15. But, no matter where you sit, you only ever see 13 or 14 at one time. Interesting that.
00:21:09You contemplate the rocks. You contemplate the rocks. You contemplate the shapes of the rocks. The different qualities, textures. Again, information.
00:21:16Then, you see the space in between the rocks. The space becomes more important. Negative, positive.
00:21:24negative, positive.
00:21:31I know what should happen in the end. The whole thing of meditation is to free yourself from yourself, get out of your mind, get away from the ego, the I.
00:21:43And I guess, in the end, what should happen? The insight comes when you see this not as a landscape, not as a sea, not as a setting sun. Stop counting the number of rocks.
00:21:55You just sit here and see 14 rocks, knowing that one rock is hidden. When you get to that point, your mind is free. You have enlightenment.
00:22:10It's not there. I feel that's my intuition, the way things ought to be.
00:22:40Japan is endlessly fascinating just to observe the relationship between modernity, new technology, new ideas and old, old traditions, always there, underpins everything.
00:23:03Absolutely glipping to watch in clothes, in architecture, in attitudes really, in manners, always there, always wanting to see different permutations of the same relationship.
00:23:18I suppose, in many ways, is rooted in ancient religion, Shinto, this belief in all things having a spirit, all things living, all things part of the great soul of the earth, be they plants, trees, the moss I'm sitting on.
00:23:45Of course, the fish in the pond.
00:23:50Meanwhile, that's my eel.
00:23:57From Japan, I fly west, to China.
00:24:09China.
00:24:12I'm full of anticipation.
00:24:14It's a country with a long and illustrious history and boasts some of the greatest treasures in the world.
00:24:21It's also the first communist country on my trip, but you wouldn't think so.
00:24:27I've heard Beijing had changed a lot in the last 20 years or so, but I hadn't realised how much.
00:24:44It's a great modern Western capitalist city. This is Beijing.
00:24:59So what became of the dreams of Chairman Mao?
00:25:02He smiles benignly over the notorious Tiananmen Square, a face from another age, robbed of meaning and now reduced to a pop art image.
00:25:14But my first impressions of modern China are deceiving.
00:25:17The ghost of Mao lives on, as I'm about to find out.
00:25:21I've come to see a treasure that was, for 500 years, one of the most hidden, indeed forbidden, places on earth.
00:25:34The Forbidden City is the largest palace in the world.
00:25:56It was built by the mighty Main Dynasty 600 years ago.
00:26:01It was intended to be a vision of heaven on earth, but came to symbolise imperial corruption and decadence.
00:26:09It's a miracle it survived Mao's cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s, when much of China's heritage was destroyed.
00:26:21Getting access to the Forbidden City is a bureaucratic nightmare.
00:26:26Finally, I've been granted the great privilege of being allowed into part of the vast complex before it opens to the public.
00:26:36But as I approach the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the doors behind me are opened and the hordes surge in.
00:26:42Suddenly, all harmony disappears and the magic is lost.
00:26:49If you can explain the situation more clearly, I think, we were given half an hour to film in the Forbidden City before the gates were opened.
00:26:58Because of the atmosphere and condensation, the cameras didn't work for the last five minutes, so we had about two minutes to film.
00:27:16Then the gates were opened and the forwards rushed in. It's absolutely fascinating.
00:27:28It's been made clear that I can't enter any of the Forbidden City's 9,999 rooms.
00:27:34It's a struggle just getting close.
00:27:38The horror, the horror, God.
00:27:48Clearly, the Chinese are fascinated by their imperial history.
00:27:53Actually, everyone here is Chinese. Very few Western tourists.
00:27:58It's longing, and there is the imperial throne, or one of them.
00:28:03Once, a punishment for entering the Forbidden City uninvited was death.
00:28:08Now, it attracts more visitors each year than anywhere else in the world.
00:28:12Seven million, to be precise, and most of them seem to be here today.
00:28:21Fantastic. We're going to fight for a view.
00:28:26Let's get stuck in.
00:28:28Oh, warm bodies.
00:28:33Glorious, strong.
00:28:39And there is the throne.
00:28:41Everyone clicking away.
00:28:43A mere second passing glance.
00:28:46The last emperor, and indeed many before him.
00:28:52Made it.
00:28:56I'll take my picture. I've deserved it.
00:28:59I shall practice my Zen moment of calm.
00:29:04That's the thing, isn't it?
00:29:05Find Zen enlightenment in most unlikely places.
00:29:09I feel bitterly disappointed.
00:29:14Much of the city is a building site, as authorities renovate their greatest tourist trap.
00:29:33The sun is fighting a losing battle against the pollution, evidence of modern China's helter-skelter economic growth.
00:29:39Yet, the dead weight of communist bureaucracy still hangs as heavy as a smog.
00:29:49The mandarins here have given me just two hours to visit the Forbidden City.
00:29:54All 720,000 square metres of it.
00:29:57But there is beauty here, beauty in abundance in the intoxicating exotic style of the architecture.
00:30:10In the muted light, the mellow colours of the buildings, with their terracotta roofs, look wonderful.
00:30:15The city's countless courtyards, temples and palaces have charming names like harmony, tranquillity and peace.
00:30:25Though the descriptions now seem ironic.
00:30:30This is where the empress and the concubines lived around this courtyard, in these charming, delicate pavilions.
00:30:38Hard to imagine it now, this throng of walking masses, but including me.
00:30:49Once, of course, one of the most hidden and secret places in this hidden empire.
00:30:55All too soon, my time is up, and an official tells me to make my way to the exit.
00:31:07There's more disappointment to come.
00:31:09I had arranged to see another treasure within the Forbidden City, Ming Porcelain.
00:31:14Now, out of the blue, officials are saying no.
00:31:17There's nothing my guide, Anne Dong, can do about it.
00:31:20Today, the problem is the humidity, you say?
00:31:21Right, humidity, too high, it's about 90%.
00:31:23So, we cannot, they cannot take that porcelain from underground storerooms.
00:31:38But because it could damage the porcelain or what?
00:31:40I don't think it's damaged.
00:31:41Because it's 1,000, even more than 1,000 years old, antique.
00:31:45Yeah.
00:31:46So, we cannot take it out today.
00:31:47But we can try it some other times, if you have time.
00:31:49So, we have time, we've come all this way to see it.
00:31:51Yeah, you have time, we can do that.
00:31:52But if you are so hard, then maybe we'll miss it.
00:31:56Maybe tomorrow, we'll come back tomorrow and hope for the best.
00:31:59But if the weather's the same, then there'll be the same problem.
00:32:03Yeah, okay.
00:32:05Okay, thank you.
00:32:09I have time on my hands, so I decided to go to a Beijing antique market
00:32:14to see if I can buy some porcelain to help me overcome my disappointment.
00:32:17Are you walking? Are we following you?
00:32:20I've asked a chap about porcelain.
00:32:21He's not sure he wants to show me anymore.
00:32:24Porcelain.
00:32:25So, do you...
00:32:27Porcelain.
00:32:29Yo.
00:32:30Porcelain.
00:32:32One of you.
00:32:34Obviously, it's hot.
00:32:36Ming.
00:32:37Ming.
00:32:38The very words, Ming, porcelain, have a ring about them.
00:32:42It's one of China's great cultural treasures and, for centuries,
00:32:45one of its most lucrative exports to the West.
00:32:50Do you have porcelain?
00:32:52Porcelain.
00:32:53What age?
00:32:54How old?
00:32:56Chin.
00:32:58Chin.
00:33:00Chin.
00:33:02The best porcelain has a delicate, almost sublime quality
00:33:06and is painted with exquisite detail.
00:33:09This is lovely.
00:33:11Porcelain, hello.
00:33:13About 200.
00:33:15Ooh, porcelain.
00:33:17But how it was made was a closely guarded secret
00:33:20and a mystery to Europeans.
00:33:22So, how much is this, then?
00:33:26Lovely, lovely piece.
00:33:29How much is that?
00:33:31Imagine it.
00:33:33No, no.
00:33:34Is that the best price you do here?
00:33:36No, no, no. Much too much.
00:33:37Much too much.
00:33:44Oh, hang on.
00:33:45You've gone up again.
00:33:47Oh, that's a much better price.
00:33:50For £10, I have a little slice of Chinese history.
00:33:54But I can't pretend it's a treasure.
00:33:56I only pray it's less humid tomorrow
00:33:58and I can see the best examples.
00:34:01Money well spent.
00:34:03Bye.
00:34:04Can't stop laughing.
00:34:05Well, OK, OK.
00:34:10The next day, the weather is still humid,
00:34:13so I put off the porcelain
00:34:14and go in search of another treasure near Beijing.
00:34:17It's one of Imperial China's most extravagant legacies.
00:34:25For centuries, the Summer Palace's huge park was a royal haven
00:34:29with its lake and ornamental buildings.
00:34:31Now, it's a much-loved public park and retreat for the people of Beijing,
00:34:37who braved the pollution to take their daily constitutionals.
00:34:40...
00:35:10I cut short my dance after I'm reminded that the bureaucrats
00:35:26have given me just two hours to visit the whole park.
00:35:30I've chosen the Summer Palace as my treasure
00:35:32because it's a fascinating barometer of China,
00:35:36past and present, for better and for worse.
00:35:38This garden was created in the mid-18th century
00:35:41and was, I think remains, a spectacular affair.
00:35:47But its history in the 19th and early 20th century
00:35:52was very turbulent and it tells us much
00:35:55about China's difficult relationships with Western nations.
00:36:01This garden was invaded in the 1860s by Anglo-French troops
00:36:06who came here to avenge a diplomatic slight
00:36:10and also damaged during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900
00:36:16when Indian European forces came to here
00:36:19to relieve diplomats besieged in Beijing.
00:36:23All around me, of course, still is the garden,
00:36:48which was, I'm told, very badly damaged
00:36:53when Western forces stormed through here.
00:36:56Even some of the bronzes were looted
00:36:58but all seemed to be more or less repaired now.
00:37:02Oh, now, another stage of my journey has been reached.
00:37:06The park is enormous, spreading out over 290 hectares,
00:37:21three-quarters of which is lake.
00:37:24For centuries, it was a private playground
00:37:27for China's mighty and ruthless emperors.
00:37:30The sheer luxury of the park is staggering.
00:37:35Everywhere you look, there are temples, pavilions and pagodas.
00:37:40There are over 100 ornamental structures in the garden.
00:37:45Just look at this delightful little pagoda.
00:37:49Structures like this fuelled a fashion,
00:37:52a passion for all things Chinese in Europe,
00:37:55starting this, well, chinoiserie,
00:37:57which becomes a great dominant force in European design
00:38:00from the 1750s.
00:38:06The covered walkway is an art gallery in its own right.
00:38:10It's decorated with fascinating paintings
00:38:12telling romantic tales from the past
00:38:14and heralding victories in battle.
00:38:17Perhaps the most eccentric and revealing relic of imperial China
00:38:31is the marble boat.
00:38:34It's pure folly.
00:38:36It doesn't actually float,
00:38:38because it's built on the lake bed.
00:38:40The marble boat was created in 1755
00:38:46by the emperor Shenlong.
00:38:49It was a birthday present for his mother,
00:38:52but it had a greater meaning than that.
00:38:54It was a symbol of the Chinese empire.
00:38:58The boat was unsinkable,
00:39:00as was the empire itself.
00:39:02The marble boat may have been unsinkable,
00:39:07but it did contribute
00:39:08to the humiliating defeat of the Chinese navy in 1894
00:39:12by a Japanese fleet.
00:39:14The powerful empress dowager,
00:39:16Sir Shi,
00:39:17diverted money,
00:39:19earmarked for modernising the navy,
00:39:21to the restoration of the symbolic boat and gardens
00:39:24after attack by Anglo-French troops.
00:39:27She extravagantly transformed the boat
00:39:29into a modern paddle steamer.
00:39:32Here you see a great cog-like machine,
00:39:36futuristic emblem.
00:39:38So the empire is saying
00:39:40their great ship of state,
00:39:42their celestial,
00:39:43timeless image of the empire
00:39:47has been given modern wheels.
00:39:53Lovely, actually.
00:39:54MUSIC PLAYS
00:40:02I have been hoping to board the marble boat,
00:40:05but it appears to be a problem.
00:40:08I must wait while negotiations take place behind the scenes.
00:40:17So precious is a marble boat,
00:40:20so sacred almost as a national shrine,
00:40:23that no ordinary people are allowed on it.
00:40:26And we have had great trouble.
00:40:29Only I,
00:40:30after much negotiation,
00:40:32am allowed to go past
00:40:33this point.
00:40:36I alone
00:40:36can enter
00:40:38this great monument.
00:40:41And that,
00:40:42I'm told,
00:40:44is a huge privilege.
00:40:45MUSIC PLAYS
00:40:47Standing here,
00:41:01on this
00:41:02unlikely craft,
00:41:05the old world
00:41:06survives.
00:41:09I'm in a sort of time bubble,
00:41:11a capsule, really.
00:41:12MUSIC PLAYS
00:41:12I see the dining room
00:41:18in which
00:41:19the Dowager Empress
00:41:21presided by herself.
00:41:22So grand was she,
00:41:24she could dine with nobody
00:41:25apart from herself.
00:41:27And to keep herself company,
00:41:29she had a mighty mirror
00:41:29so she could see herself reflected
00:41:32as she dined.
00:41:35This creation
00:41:37says so much
00:41:39about
00:41:40the old China,
00:41:42the old empire.
00:41:44It's emblematic
00:41:45of it in many ways.
00:41:47But strangely,
00:41:49and wonderfully really,
00:41:50it's also venerated
00:41:51by the new China.
00:41:54So here we have it.
00:41:55It is one creation,
00:41:57old and new,
00:41:58history,
00:41:58modernity,
00:41:59the future and the past combined.
00:42:02It's a
00:42:02incredible relic.
00:42:04MUSIC PLAYS
00:42:05All too soon,
00:42:13my visit
00:42:13to the Summer Palace
00:42:14is over.
00:42:16I'd like to see more,
00:42:18but I'm ushered away.
00:42:26From the Summer Palace,
00:42:28I head back
00:42:28to the Forbidden City
00:42:29to find out
00:42:31if I can see
00:42:31the mean porcelain today.
00:42:32The weather's cheered up
00:42:34and I'm hopeful
00:42:35of finding my treasure
00:42:36at last.
00:42:40No luck.
00:42:41Apparently,
00:42:42too much humidity
00:42:43in the air.
00:42:44Quite how humidity
00:42:45damages porcelain,
00:42:47I don't know,
00:42:48but no one's explained.
00:42:50But there we are.
00:42:51I can't see the objects,
00:42:52the items,
00:42:53and I'm dying to see.
00:42:57Frustration, yes.
00:42:58For supper,
00:43:10I decided to sample
00:43:11the delicacies on offer
00:43:12in the streets of Beijing.
00:43:17Buns,
00:43:17that's what I want.
00:43:19Once I started
00:43:19to eat insects,
00:43:20it's a bit addictive,
00:43:22way fluidly.
00:43:24They're so good,
00:43:25insects.
00:43:26It's just like a routine
00:43:27and nothing else.
00:43:28Now, this store looks
00:43:29very promising.
00:43:33Yeah, one.
00:43:35Not quite what I'm looking for.
00:43:38I want something more.
00:43:41Silkworm.
00:43:43Now, this is a...
00:43:44This cooked, ready?
00:43:47This is a challenge for me.
00:43:49I revere,
00:43:50I love silkworms,
00:43:51and now,
00:43:52I'm going to eat one.
00:43:53Yeah, absolutely.
00:43:55One silkworm.
00:43:56Snake.
00:43:57Oh, yeah.
00:43:58Well,
00:43:58snake, yeah, well.
00:44:00How do I...
00:44:00Yes.
00:44:03No, no, no, no.
00:44:04Yeah, no, no.
00:44:06A bit rubbery.
00:44:11The silkworm,
00:44:16the early stage of its life,
00:44:18before the little devil
00:44:19had had a chance
00:44:20to produce silk.
00:44:21A strong taste,
00:44:32not without flavor, actually.
00:44:36They're telling me
00:44:44that I'm a complete mess.
00:44:45They're right, I am.
00:44:47More ways than I realize.
00:44:54For my next treasure,
00:44:56I head three hours northeast of Beijing
00:44:58to Jinxialing.
00:44:59I leave behind Beijing,
00:45:15feeling a mixture of relief and regret.
00:45:18I love the city's frantic energy
00:45:19and its friendly people,
00:45:21but I'm frustrated
00:45:22by the face's bureaucracy
00:45:24that is answerable to no one.
00:45:33I'm heading for the largest structure
00:45:35ever created by man,
00:45:37that is,
00:45:38in its age and vast scale,
00:45:40a potent expression
00:45:41of the continuity
00:45:42and sophistication
00:45:43of China's
00:45:44ancient civilization.
00:45:54Work began
00:45:55on the Great Wall of China
00:45:56around 220 B.C.
00:45:58It was the creation
00:45:59of the first emperor,
00:46:02Qin Shi Huangdi.
00:46:03The wall's a tremendous piece
00:46:14of military engineering,
00:46:17but, of course,
00:46:18there's a lot, lot more than that.
00:46:20Just look at the way
00:46:21it relates to the landscape
00:46:24snaking over the land,
00:46:27over the mountains.
00:46:29Unbelievably beautiful.
00:46:30Unbelievably difficult to build.
00:46:35What an act of will
00:46:36and determination.
00:46:38What a revelation
00:46:38about a civilization
00:46:40that can organize
00:46:42the construction
00:46:43of such a thing.
00:46:46The Great Wall
00:46:47winds its way
00:46:48across China
00:46:48from the Gobi Desert
00:46:50in the northwest
00:46:50to the Bohai Sea
00:46:52northeast of Beijing.
00:46:53The Great Wall
00:46:56stretches for
00:46:57over 4,000 miles
00:47:00and was last
00:47:02substantially rebuilt
00:47:04in the late 14th century
00:47:06during the Ming dynasty.
00:47:09It is said
00:47:09that 300,000 men
00:47:11were used
00:47:12to make this wall.
00:47:13Many died.
00:47:15Their bodies
00:47:16mixed into the clay
00:47:18of the bricks.
00:47:20These bricks,
00:47:21the old bricks here.
00:47:22For that reason
00:47:24it is called
00:47:25the Wall of Tears.
00:47:27The longest graveyard
00:47:29in the world.
00:47:33The human sacrifice
00:47:35was great
00:47:36but for centuries
00:47:37the wall stood
00:47:38between China
00:47:39and its most fearsome enemies
00:47:41barbarians
00:47:42and nomadic tribesmen.
00:47:44To them
00:47:45it must have looked
00:47:46more like the work
00:47:47of gods
00:47:47than of man.
00:47:48Now this is fantastic,
00:47:51ingenious.
00:47:52There's defence
00:47:53in depth
00:47:53within the wall.
00:47:54If attackers
00:47:56scaled this portion
00:47:57of the wall
00:47:57and got up here
00:47:58and stormed along here
00:48:00the defenders
00:48:02forced to retreat
00:48:03would go up
00:48:04towards their little
00:48:04fortress at the top
00:48:05but what they would do
00:48:07they'd fight
00:48:08wall by wall
00:48:10so what happens
00:48:10is the attackers
00:48:11come up here
00:48:12the defenders
00:48:13shoot bows
00:48:14I guess
00:48:14dodge behind here
00:48:15they'd also shoot
00:48:17through here
00:48:17at the attackers
00:48:18down there.
00:48:19Now if the defenders
00:48:20are still under pressure
00:48:21forced back
00:48:22they simply go back
00:48:23to the next wall
00:48:24fighting raining blows
00:48:26down here
00:48:27on the attackers
00:48:29who are at a disadvantage.
00:48:31The defenders
00:48:31then pop round here
00:48:32fire again
00:48:33and then
00:48:34still under pressure
00:48:35they go back
00:48:36to the next wall
00:48:36and if they have to
00:48:38retreat
00:48:39wall to wall
00:48:40to wall
00:48:40back to the little
00:48:41fortress
00:48:41right at the top there.
00:48:45and this little fort
00:48:59reveals another
00:49:00of the defensive tricks
00:49:02of the great wall
00:49:03if the defenders
00:49:05are forced back
00:49:06to take refuge here
00:49:07and they have to
00:49:07slam the door
00:49:08and push the bar
00:49:10across
00:49:10and the attackers
00:49:12possess the wall
00:49:13down there
00:49:14then this part of the wall
00:49:15can be isolated
00:49:16the attackers
00:49:17can't run down
00:49:19the whole length
00:49:19of the wall
00:49:20this little fort
00:49:22bars their way
00:49:23with the defenders
00:49:25in here
00:49:25attacking
00:49:26the chaps
00:49:27down there.
00:49:28the great wall
00:49:45is just as spectacular
00:49:47as I thought it would be
00:49:49as I hoped it would be
00:49:50the scale is amazing
00:49:52and the way it relates
00:49:54to the landscape
00:49:55just look at it
00:49:57over there
00:49:57the silhouette
00:49:58of the towers
00:49:59on the ridge
00:50:01of the world
00:50:02really
00:50:02and the hills
00:50:05and this great mist
00:50:05coming down
00:50:06I say look at this
00:50:15mighty work
00:50:16and tremble
00:50:17my next treasure
00:50:37has close associations
00:50:38with the great wall
00:50:39but to find it
00:50:41I must travel
00:50:41more than 600 miles
00:50:43to the ancient
00:50:43Chinese capital
00:50:45of Xi'en
00:50:46Xi'en is a strange city
00:50:48its beautiful historic towers
00:50:50are overwhelmed
00:50:51by nondescript
00:50:52modern buildings
00:50:53I don't hang around
00:50:57because just outside Xi'en
00:50:58lies one of the great
00:50:59cultural wonders
00:51:00of the world
00:51:01a treasure that lay hidden
00:51:03for two millennia
00:51:04this formidable army
00:51:15of terracotta warriors
00:51:16was discovered
00:51:16by chance
00:51:17in 1974
00:51:18it was one of the most
00:51:21remarkable archaeological
00:51:22discoveries ever made
00:51:24like the great wall
00:51:27of China
00:51:27it's a legacy
00:51:28of the first emperor
00:51:30Qin Shi Huangdi
00:51:31the first emperor died
00:51:35just over 2,200 years ago
00:51:37and his burial
00:51:39must have been
00:51:39an extraordinary affair
00:51:42his body was placed
00:51:44in a mighty mausoleum
00:51:45stretching
00:51:46all the way around
00:51:48a couple of square miles
00:51:50this was a
00:51:51an underground world
00:51:53a subterranean city
00:51:54a city
00:51:54of the dead
00:51:56and this city included
00:51:58an army
00:52:00of figures
00:52:01nearly 8,000
00:52:03over life-size
00:52:04terracotta soldiers
00:52:06arranged
00:52:08in different divisions
00:52:09an army
00:52:10ready
00:52:11to battle
00:52:12to battle
00:52:13for the emperor
00:52:14to conduct
00:52:15his warfare
00:52:16in heaven
00:52:17the army
00:52:20once bristled
00:52:21with weapons
00:52:22swords
00:52:23crossbows
00:52:23and spears
00:52:24made of wood
00:52:25and iron
00:52:25sadly
00:52:26these have long since
00:52:28rotted or rusted away
00:52:29the empty hands
00:52:31of the soldiers
00:52:32continue to grasp
00:52:33their invisible arms
00:52:34and they still look menacing
00:52:36to look into the eyes
00:52:48of these warriors
00:52:49they're all
00:52:51individual
00:52:52their faces
00:52:54their features
00:52:55they're all
00:52:56people
00:52:57they're
00:52:58people that have lives
00:53:00and histories
00:53:01this incredible experience
00:53:03this is the power
00:53:05of the art
00:53:06of these terracotta figures
00:53:07they were meant to
00:53:09represent living soldiers
00:53:10and they still do
00:53:12they are still alive
00:53:13these are the men
00:53:16that garrisoned
00:53:17the great wall of China
00:53:19when it was
00:53:19first
00:53:20constructed
00:53:22you can see
00:53:27regional and ethnic
00:53:29differences
00:53:29in the style of hair
00:53:30and facial features
00:53:31about 85 master craftsmen
00:53:41were responsible
00:53:42for this vast army
00:53:43they made their heads
00:53:45probably portraits
00:53:46of individuals
00:53:47while hundreds of workers
00:53:49produced their hands
00:53:50and bodies
00:53:50molding the clay
00:53:51by hand
00:53:52the different elements
00:53:55were then assembled
00:53:56and fired in kilns
00:53:58look at the craftsmanship
00:54:01they're little works of art
00:54:03each one
00:54:03they're a sculpture
00:54:05it would have been
00:54:08brightly colored
00:54:10originally
00:54:10that's the idea
00:54:11very few traces of color
00:54:13have been found
00:54:14imagine that
00:54:16ranks upon ranks
00:54:17brightly colored
00:54:18lifelike figures
00:54:19staring into infinity
00:54:21all looking east
00:54:23towards the rising sun
00:54:25towards heaven
00:54:26waiting to serve
00:54:28a godlike emperor
00:54:31the presence of all of this
00:54:33is still here
00:54:35is still here
00:54:36still surrounds these figures
00:54:37beautiful individual
00:54:41works of art
00:54:43there's a huge amount of work
00:54:54still to be done
00:54:55to restore all 8,000 soldiers
00:54:57but even more tantalizing
00:55:01is the thought
00:55:02that there is still much more
00:55:03to be excavated
00:55:04what other treasures
00:55:06does the first emperor's tomb contain
00:55:09filming the terracotta army
00:55:18was stimulating
00:55:19but again I was frustrated
00:55:21by the bureaucratic attitude
00:55:23of the museum officials
00:55:24yet among my guides
00:55:33there's a sense of restraint
00:55:34and powerlessness
00:55:35when I query a seemingly
00:55:37illogical decision
00:55:38they're quick to point out
00:55:39that China is a communist country
00:55:41now they tell me
00:55:44it's impossible for me
00:55:45to see any Ming porcelain
00:55:46at all
00:55:47and it was a treasure
00:55:48I'd been longing
00:55:49to get my hands on
00:55:50I have one last chance
00:56:02in Shanghai
00:56:03Shanghai is China's largest
00:56:12and wealthiest city
00:56:13it's nicknamed
00:56:14the Dragon's Head
00:56:15because of the way
00:56:16it has led China's headlong rush
00:56:18towards a capitalist economy
00:56:20my first impressions
00:56:22are that it's a peculiar place
00:56:24everything seems sparkling
00:56:26brittle and new
00:56:27but not all is ultra-modern
00:56:30and high-tech
00:56:31fortunately
00:56:35its museum boasts
00:56:36one of the finest Ming porcelain
00:56:38collections in the world
00:56:39one which I am told
00:56:41surpasses even that
00:56:42of the Forbidden City
00:56:43attitudes are more relaxed here
00:56:48and were allowed to film
00:56:50it's a beautiful thing
00:57:02made in the late 16th century
00:57:04early 17th century
00:57:06during the Ming period
00:57:07for the Emperor
00:57:09Wanli
00:57:10that's what it says up there
00:57:11made during the reign of Wanli
00:57:13that's the lettering
00:57:14so for the Imperial household
00:57:17as is revealed
00:57:18by the decoration
00:57:20this dragon
00:57:21is an Imperial symbol
00:57:23ornamentation here
00:57:25was not simply
00:57:26a thing of beauty
00:57:28or fashion
00:57:29but it carried a meaning
00:57:30Dragon Imperial
00:57:33in the late 16th century
00:57:45when it appeared in quantity
00:57:46in the late 16th century
00:57:48in fact Shakespeare
00:57:49writes about it
00:57:50in Measure for Measure
00:57:51he talks about
00:57:53Chinese dishes
00:57:53being of very high quality
00:57:55that was in 1600
00:57:57the thing was
00:57:59these objects
00:58:00not only beautiful
00:58:01but technically advanced
00:58:03the West didn't know
00:58:05quite what they're made of
00:58:06and how
00:58:07this pot
00:58:13was made in the early
00:58:1515th century
00:58:16lovely thing
00:58:17and sort of translucent
00:58:19the secret of porcelain
00:58:22is the material
00:58:23it's made from
00:58:24we call it in the West
00:58:26kaolin
00:58:26here it's called gaolin
00:58:28it's a sort of clay
00:58:29a very particular clay
00:58:31with silicone oxide
00:58:33aluminium oxide
00:58:34some iron oxide
00:58:35this was mixed with other materials
00:58:37stone dust
00:58:38to produce
00:58:39this very fine material
00:58:41and when fired
00:58:44it comes up
00:58:45with a kind of almost
00:58:46I say transparent quality
00:58:47very thin
00:58:49and delicate section through it
00:58:52also of course
00:58:52the firing is important
00:58:55here
00:58:55the blue would have been painted on
00:58:57first of all
00:58:58the blue pigment
00:58:59as with the other pot
00:59:00then glazed
00:59:02and then fired
00:59:03to a high temperature
00:59:04so high
00:59:05that the kaolin
00:59:07the potty
00:59:08the clay
00:59:09mixes
00:59:10with the pigment
00:59:12and the glaze
00:59:12becomes one object
00:59:14all fused together
00:59:16that's part of the secret
00:59:17that's part of the reason
00:59:18for this translucency
00:59:20and delicacy
00:59:21mmm
00:59:22mmm
00:59:52My short stay in China is almost over.
01:00:06It's a complex country and, for outsiders, relationships and actions are hard to fathom.
01:00:14Modern China and Japan are the fruits of ancient civilizations.
01:00:19Indeed, in China, there's a cultural continuity stretching back, well, two and a half thousand
01:00:26years.
01:00:27But things are not maybe what that history suggests.
01:00:31But although this has this Western aspect, I've become very conscious that Japan, particularly
01:00:40China, remains secret and hidden worlds.
01:00:43This was very much the case in my quest to see my treasures in China.
01:00:48Many things I longed to see were denied me at the last moment, became unavailable, last-minute
01:00:54problems.
01:00:55So I failed to become as intimate with those treasures, as intimate as I'd hoped.
01:01:00A storm is building up.
01:01:03A typhoon is coming.
01:01:05This, I suppose, won't change things dramatically.
01:01:09But I feel the elements are on my side, perhaps helping to blow the cobwebs away.
01:01:15I feel the elements are on my side, perhaps helping to blow the cobwebs away.
01:01:37And yet, I feel the elements are on my side, perhaps filling it up.
01:01:40But it hasn't been necessary, but the past four years of working with those treasures,
01:01:42because to live in China, we've become very creative and fruitful.
01:01:43It's really good that, perhaps making it a sense that this is a good day.
01:01:44It's really good!
01:01:45It's really bad for me.
01:01:46And if you were to buy in China, we were to go in China.
01:01:47We're not going to make it one more thing, but it's really cool for you.
01:01:48It's really good that the world doesn't exist.
01:01:49You're not going to be able to come.
01:01:50It's really good for you.
01:01:51It's really good for you.
01:01:52You're not going to be able to call it.
01:01:53It's really great for us, and I'm not going to have to go.
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1:01:42
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