This attractive 32 page book features a 12-page foldout timeline which can be detached & displayed to offer a quick visual reference to China's long & remarkable history. Both the book & timeline are richly illustrated throughout with colour photographs, including numerous objects from the British Museums collections. The timeline stretches from prehistoric times, through the periods of the warring states, to the unification of China by the First Emperor Qin Shihuangdi (creator of the fantastic Terracotta Army), & the great dynasties that followed: the Han; the Sui; the Tang; the Song; the invading Mongols who founded the Yuan dynasty; the Ming; & the Qing, which ended with the last emperor Pu Yi, & the establishment in 1949 of the Peoples Republic of China. The small book offers supporting information & background. It introduces each of the significant periods of Chinese history, with special emphasis on the First Emperor & his tomb & on the great achievements of Chinese art & culture, including the invention of writing, porcelain, silk, jade- & metal-working.