Isabel Hilton presents the opening evening in Radio 3's season of programmes exploring culture in contemporary China.
7.30 Two Steps Forward One Step Back As coffee shops spread across Beijing, what does it mean to be Chinese today?
8.00 The Voice of the Artist
Artists discuss their place in modern
China, including avant-garde artist Sheng Qi and poet Xi Chuan .
9.00 The Rise of the New Left Many Chinese see greater inequality today than under Mao and a new musical about
Che Guevara has brought the arguments to a head. Shen Lin , one of its authors, explains the call for a new cultural revolution.
9.45 The Emperor Is Far Away
Beijing-based journalist Jasper Becker visits the province of Henan to reflect on life at the heart of rural China.
10.30 The Search for Belief
Isabel Hilton examines the role of religious faith and other spiritual practices in China.
11.15 The City of Eternal Spring- a Portrait of Kunming in Yunnan
The province of Yunnan is also home to 26 of China's 56 different ethnic groups. But what is the cultural state of these minorities and their relationship to the Han majority? Far from Beijing and Shanghai, the city of Kunming also offers an insight into Chinese life outside the centres of political and economic control and change. Producers Julian May and Anthony Denselow Editor Abigail Appleton