Chinese Treasures,22 August to 26 August

cctv.com 08-24-2005 16:43

The weekly program, broadcast Mondays to Fridays as of 4 October 2004, showcases some of the most valuable treasures of the country. Some of them are closely guarded in museums in China. Some are in the hands of private collectors. There are also items that are kept on Taiwan because of historical reasons. Still others are to be found around the world. But they are all hallmarks of Chinese civilization.

The artifacts are of tremendous cultural value. They reflect part of Chinese history. Each item inevitably has a story behind it.

One such story begins in July 1999, when a farmer near the city of Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, discovers something he has never seen before. He is digging a small ditch just outside his house when he comes across a white marble stone coffin. The thing is that the white marble is produced only in Hebei Province and, this particular coffin is an outer coffin. So the question is - who is buried in it?

A set of ancient chime bells made of gold is kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The 16 gold bells are magnificent pieces of craftsmanship and they are priceless. However, there were once used as collateral to secure a loan for the imperial family. This is the story of why they were made and, where they were kept and how they were returned to the Forbidden City.

Chinese Treasures, 22 August to 26 August, CCTV-4, at 18:50 Beijing Time

Editor:Wang Ping  Source:CCTV.com