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