Made in China

In China's Greatest Treasures, BBC art critic, Alastair Sooke travels through modern day China to discover that much of what defines Chinese culture today can be traced back through thousands of years to some of China's most spectacular historic artefacts housed in museum collections across the country. In this episode, Alastair travels from China's commercial capital, Shanghai on the east coast, to the home of the Terracotta Warriors in Central China, to understand the true meaning of being, 'Made in China'. And he explores the ancient Chinese skill of blending mass production with artisanal quality. He begins his journey in one of the countries most celebrated galleries, The Shanghai Museum. Here he discovers the secrets of the Chinese porcelain trade and gets to view one of the first pieces ever seen in Europe. He travels to the spiritual home of Chinese silk to see how modern producers are keeping their ancient embroidery techniques alive, and gets an extraordinary invitation to walk amongst the world-renowned Terracotta Army.