The Ming

S1, E4: The Ming Dynasty was the time of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, when China sent treasure ships on ocean voyages to Africa and the Persian Gulf. In Nanjing Michael Wood sees the building of a huge replica of a Ming ocean-going junk. In Suzhou the 'Venice of China', he explores the silk industry, ceramics and lacquer-making, and visits one of China's most beautiful gardens. Then in Macao, the arrival of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci begins China's fateful modern exchanges with the West.