Stories from China
Emperors, legends and old travelers, and the places they left behind. Read the story, then go and see it.
HistoryThe well that found an armyIn 1974 farmers digging a well near Xi’an hit pieces of clay. They had found the First Emperor’s army, and the tomb it guards is still sealed.4 min read
LegendsThe White Snake and Leifeng PagodaA snake spirit in love, a monk who stood in her way, and a real pagoda on West Lake that fell in 1924 and rose again.3 min read
Travelers of the pastMarco Polo’s City of HeavenIn the 13th century a Venetian called Hangzhou the finest city in the world. What did he really see, and what is still there at West Lake?4 min read
Food originsThe poet, the causeway and the porkSu Dongpo governed Hangzhou, saved West Lake and left his name on a causeway, and, people say, on its most famous braised pork.4 min read
Travelers of the pastThe monk who walked to IndiaIn 629 a young monk slipped out of Chang’an against an imperial ban. He came home years later with 657 texts, and a pagoda rose to keep them.4 min read
Architecture and craftThe engineer who tamed a riverSome 2,300 years ago a Qin governor split the wild Min River in two without building a dam. His work still waters the Chengdu Plain.4 min read