My kids and I have recently started a China Topic. We are doing it as a general topic – looking at the Geography, History and Culture but it is a vast topic so we are focusing more on the time from the Ming Dynasty to modern. However that being said I still wanted to give them a brief idea of what China was like before the Ming so I have been doing my usual book and documentary search and I happened to find this book China Through Time which is published by a publisher that I have reviewed for before, so I asked for a review copy and they kindly sent us one. (This is not a paid for post, this is a book I was given for free so we could read it and then express our own thoughts on it).

Now I have to admit the reason why this book appealed to me (when I was searching for possible books) was because it is a visual glimpse of life through around 2500 years of China but it is a visual glimpse of a wide range of people and events that would have happened.

Okay first impressions – the illustrations where even more appealing and detailed than I thought when I was looking at it on the website. These are truly stunning illustrations.

The idea of the book is quite unique in that it follows the construction and path of the Grand Canal (over a time span of 2500 years).

And they have included a wide range of events, from a page showing the very beginning of digging the canal, to a page where a fortress is attacked, a typical busy dock and trying to build defenses to stop a flood. They really have included a wide range of scenes.

Each illustration is surrounded by sentences explaining what is happening in the picture and there is also a small, concise paragraph which gives the context of the illustration.

They have also included interesting detail in every illustration. Take for example the page of the fortress being attacked. Here they show how the guards at the fortress would light a signal so that others would know they needed help, they show the weapons used to attack the fortress as well as something called a Wolf-tooth crusher (we thought this was fascinating) and even detail of some men trying to dig a tunnel. It is all of these small but fascinating bits of detail that not only teach us about the time and culture but also make these illustrations so special.

I really do think the illustrator has done an incredible job with each and every picture.

And for those of who you need to find an extra “hook” to keep your kids interested they have included a time travelling cat called Lihua) who is always hidden in each and every picture and your kiddo can have some fun searching for him.

If you are looking for a fascinating, visual book on China we recommend China Through Time.

For those of you looking for an Amazon link here is my one – China Through Time. (this is an affiliate link).

Admin – I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use and recommend.