The river delta. Where the Huang He reaches the ocean.

‘Loess’ is a sediment that flows through and fills up the Huang He River. It is essentially very fine rock particles, and it erodes into the water. It is the loess that gives the Huang He its yellow colour, and its name: the ‘Yellow River’.

Yellow loess landscape.

Chang Jiang River – the Yang Tze – the longest river in China.

The Yang Tze, where it turns 180 degrees and becomes north-bound instead of south-bound.

The skull of the Peking Man, from around years ago!

Playable flutes were excavated from over 9000 years ago!

The Himalayas in the south-west.

The Himalayas from NASA’s international space station.

The Gobi Desert in the north.

The Taklimakan Desert, also in the north.

The Yellow Emperor, who ruled from 2697 BC to 2598BC, is a semi-mythical emperor who is considered to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese people.

Yu the Great. The first ruler and founder of the Xia Dynasty. The Xia Dynasty is part historical, part legend. It was the end of power being handed to the most deserving person, and the start of inherited rule. This is what makes it a ‘dynasty’.

A bronze pot from the Xia Dynasty.

Bronze cup from the Xia Dynasty.

This is te last king of the Xia Dynasty, the tyrant King Jie. He is holding a halberd, the symbol of oppression, and is sitting on top of two ladies to show his abuse of power. This is a rubbing taken from a carving in a shrine.

The first Shang Dynasty ruler – Tang. He was a rebel leader who overthrow the last Xia ruler, a cruel tyrant.

Inscribed ox shoulder blade from the 12 th century, during the Shang Dynasty.

Oracle bones from the Shang Dynasty.

Bronze container from the Shang Dynasty.

Early Shang Dynasty bronze wine glass.

A ceremonial ivory goblet inlaid with turquoise.

Bronze teapot from the Shang Dynasty.

A bronze vessel from the Zhou Dynasty.

A vase from the Zhou Dynasty, with inlaid glass decoration.

A bronze wine-server shaped like a bird, from the Zhou Dynasty.

The King of Qin. He called himself ‘Shi Huangdi’, meaning ‘First Emperor’. Qin conquered all the smaller Chinese provinces and united them as one country. His legacy is why we call the country, ‘China’.