yangtze river

Yangtze River Cruise Chongqing

This week: China’s lost kingdoms

It is easy to fall into the trap of believing that Chinese culture began with the Qin – the regional powerbrokers who in the 3rd-century BC conquered their warring rivals to become the country’s first imperial dynasty, thereby ushering in…

RIGHT This gold mask is of identical form to the massive bronzes recovered from the sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui.

The Treasures of Sanxingdui

The contents of those two pits amaze. They include some of the most remarkable bronzes from the ancient world: human face-masks with protruding eyes, thought to depict Cancong, the mythical first king of Shu.