The year is AD 17. The Han dynasty is in power and we are in and around Chang'an, the capital and one of the most developed regions of the Chinese empire, which is enjoying a prolonged economic and cultural pinnacle. There are extraordinary palaces, military bases and city walls. Households are benefitting from the invention of numerous agricultural technologies and an unprecedented level of craft production, which includes ceramics, bronzes, iron objects and many other elaborate goods. This is an age that is both vibrant and innovative but also riven with conflict and contradictions. Discover what one day in ancient China was like by spending twenty-four hours with the people who lived there. Every hour we meet a different person -- from dancers to doctors, priests to convicts, textile workers to tomb looters -- and build a multi-layered picture ob the social fabric of ancient China.

The magic treehouse takes Jack and Annie back two thousand years to ancient China where they must find the original copy of an old legend before the Imperial Library is burned down by the evil Dragon King.

The magic treehouse takes Jack and Annie back two thousand years to ancient China where they must find the original copy of an old legend before the Imperial Library is burned down by the evil Dragon King.

The magic treehouse takes Jack and Annie back two thousand years to ancient China where they must find the original copy of an old legend before the Imperial Library is burned down by the evil Dragon King.

"With the fall of the Qin Empire, the Chu and Han Kingdoms - and their illustrious warlords - are battling for control of all of China. Who will win? And at what cost?" --Amazon

Dolphins at daybreak: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie deep into the sea, where they meet up with dolphins, sharks, and octopi as they search for the answer to an ancient riddle. Ghost town at sundown: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie back to the Wild West, where they experience excitement and danger and try to solve a riddle. Lions at lunchtime: The magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to Africa where they meet up with wonderful wild animals, a very hungry warrior, and where they even solve a riddle. Polar bears past bedtime: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie to the Arctic, where a polar bear leads them onto very thin ice. Vacation under the volcan: Their magic tree house takes Annie and Jack to Pompeii just as Vesuvius is about to erupt, and they must find a Roman scroll before everything is covered with burning ash. Day of the dragon king: The magic treehouse takes Jack and Annie back two thousand years to ancient China where they must find the original copy of an old legend before the Imperial Library is burned down by the evil Dragon King. Viking ships at sunrise: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie back to a monastery in medieval Ireland, where they try to retrieve a lost book while being menaced by Viking raiders. Hour of the olympics: Their magic tree house takes Jack and Annie back to retrieve a lost story in ancient Greece, where they witness the original Olympic games and are surprised to find what girls of the time were not allowed to do.

At the end of the second century, the lands of ancient China are thrown into turmoil when the Han Dynasty collapses, a tyrant overthrows the weak emperor, and a group of regional warlords forms an army to restore the nation. But bravery and valour are soon stifled by ambition and cunning, and the coalition dissolves before the battle is even won. Now, a new group of heroes must emerge if China is to survive! Based on one of the most influential novels ever written, Three Kingdoms is an epic adventure of heroism and villainy, honour and deceit, and overcoming individual failings to serve a greater purpose.

"From the acclaimed author of The Romanovs-a magisterial history of humanity viewed through the lens of its most powerful dynasties In this sprawling and eye-opening book, best-selling historian Simon Sebag Montefiore chronicles the world's great dynasties across human history through engrossing tales of palace intrigue, glorious battle, and the real lives of people who held unfathomable power. He trains his eye on founders of humble origin, like Sargon, the Mesopotamian cupbearer sent to help defeat a rival who returned with an army to dethrone his own king, and Liu Bang, a peasant who became a rebel leader and founded the Han dynasty. Montefiore illuminates the achievements of fearsome emperors, including Yax Ehb Xook, whose Mayan city-state Tikal boasts some of the most monumental ancient architecture that exists today; Jayavarman II, who proclaimed himself "universal king" and whose Khmer empire in South Asia heralded a thousand years of Indic ascendancy; and Ewuare, the African emperor who built a capital city that rivaled any in Europe. He writes, too, about remarkable women rulers, like Hatshepsut, the first female pharaoh, and Maria Theresa, the only woman to rule the Habsburg empire. These families represent the breadth of human endeavor, with bloody civil wars, treacherous conspiracies, and shocking megalomania alongside flourishing culture, moving romances, and enlightened benevolence. A dazzling epic history as spellbinding as fiction, The World is testament to Montefiore's acclaimed career as our poet laureate of power"-- Provided by publisher.

Private eye Moses Wine is offered a guided tour of the People's Republic, the U.S.-China Friendship Study Tour Number Five, arranged by the China Friendship SocietyƯan organization in which Moses' Aunt Sonya was an officer. He needed to get away from the personal injury cases, murder investigations, and monotony of life. But China has a way of springing surprises, and soon California's hippest ex-radical detective is chasing down the priceless Han Dynasty Peking Duck, falling for a gorgeous dragon lady in a Mao suitƯand fighting for his life across a vast, mysterious land he barely knows.