Tracing The History Of The Middle Kingdom
Speak to a Chinese person for any length of time and chances are they will mention their country’s “5,000 years of history” with pride. While the validity of this claim is dubious, China is undeniably a country with a long and tumultuous past.
The earliest described Chinese Dynasty is the Xia. However, the existence of the Xia as an organised dynasty is disputed, and many claim the later Shang as the first official Dynasty. But regardless of the truth, the recorded history of China can be traced back for millennia. And yet the link with the past somehow seems more present in China than in many other countries. Where we in the West have abandoned many of our past traditions and tastes, the Chinese people have kept up some habits for generations. Students in China can recite full poems which are over 1000 years old, and there is a great focus at school on learning about their ancient history. The language has changed little over time, and it is not uncommon for politicians and celebrities to reference historical events or Confucian teachings in public. Throughout its history, China has famously been responsible for some of the most significant inventions the world has ever known. The four Chinese inventions most commonly cited as having had the biggest impact on the development of the world in general are paper-making, gunpowder, printing, and the compass.
Our new historical tour, ‘Tracing China’s Past’, will take you on a journey through China’s ancient and more recent history. Beginning in the current capital, Beijing, you will travel by train, stopping at several of the country’s most prominent ancient capitals, and seeing such treasures as the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Kaifeng’s Iron Pagoda, the Grand Canal at Yangzhou, the final resting place of the ‘Father of Modern China’ - Sun Yat-sen – in Nanjing, the Imperial Gardens of Suzhou, Hangzhou’s West Lake – the inspiration for countless poems and paintings – before finally finishing up in Shanghai, where you can see for yourself how the old and new exist side-by-side (although not always comfortably!) in today’s China.
Get in touch to speak to one of our experts about planning your own historical tour of China today.