Tracing Heritage - Episode Guide

Host George Young travels across China into unfamiliar territory - its ancient towns - to explore life from a bygone era and meet the inheritors of intangible cultural heritage. From woodcarving with a national master; hand pulling noodles in a village; performing kunqu opera for an audience; or training in martial arts for the lion dance; it's through these firsthand experiences that George aims to reconnect with his own Chinese heritage.

Host George Young travels across China to experience ancient cultures that have been kept alive. He meets with masters of their craft. George encounters a silk weaver and explores the lavish mansions built from the silk trade. He tries his hand in making tofu, and examines how Traditional Chinese Medicine remains relevant today. Finally, he takes on a dangerous stint with iron molten fireworks performers. Through these firsthand experiences, George aims to reconnect with his own Chinese heritage.

From the Himalayan foothills to the sprawling metropolis of Chongqing, Harry Yuan journeys along the upper reaches of China's Yangtze to see how the river has shaped life along its course for centuries. Join Harry as he learns how the waterway both aided and challenged communities to survive, and how it was once a highway of diverse goods and influences that gave rise to rich traditions still practiced today.

From the Huangshan mountain range to the largest city of China, Shanghai, Harry Yuan journeys along the lower reaches of China's Yangtze to see how the river has shaped life along its course for centuries. Join Harry as he learns how the waterway birth communities, goods, ideas and identities, and how it was once a highway of diverse goods and influences that gave rise to rich traditions still practiced today.

From Qufu, the hometown of Confucius to Inner Mongolia, Tianran He journeys along the China's Yellow River to see how the river has created family culture since thousands ago. Join Tianran as he learns how the waterway have literally shaped every aspect of Chinese life and culture right up until today, and what drives Chinese families to hold onto their traditions for hundreds of years.

Tianran He travels in search of China's traditional communities, to see how they were shaped by history and their environment, and how their traditions and identity influence the modern nation.