Journey from the past; Peking; The Great Wall; Yellow River Valley; Silk Road, Grand Canal, Yangtze River, The deep interior, Tibet, Northeast China, and South China Coast.

For thousands of years China developed at its own way, so that to most Westerners, this ancient civilization seems a world apart. And yet the delemmas that shaped China sound familiar to Western ears. The longest continuously recorded history in the world gives us a sense of China's concerns: How to tame mighty rivers and ensure good harvests. How to warn off hostile tribes. How to build-and control-the bereucracyneeded ti manage vast populations.