The Best Modern China Documentaries

History - 37 free documentaries about modern china.

Start with The Astonishing Life Of China's Tyrant Empress (48 min, Absolute History), then How The Opium Trade Destroyed China’s Greatest Empire (59 min, Absolute History). All 37 documentaries here are free to watch from their makers' official uploads. To read deeper, the top-rated book on modern china is Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

• The Astonishing Life Of China's Tyrant Empress | Wu Zetian (48 min, Absolute History)
• How The Opium Trade Destroyed China’s Greatest Empire | Empires Of Silver (59 min, Absolute History)
• Wu Zetian: China's First & Only Female Emperor | Empress Who Ruled The World (48 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• China's First Emperor's Deadly Quest For Immortality (101 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Mao's Red Terror in China (107 min, Free Documentary - History)
• The Ancient Origins of the Chinese People | Story of China w/ Michael Wood (55 min, PBS)
• Chairman Mao: The Dictator Who Starved 45 Million Citizens (52 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• How Tensions Grew Between Mao's China & Khrushchev's Soviet Union | Mao's Cold War (43 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Chairman Mao: The Rise & Fall Of Mao Zedong (64 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Escape from Hong Kong to Britain – a life in exile (28 min, DW Documentary)
• A Fascinating Look At The 1966 Chinese Cultural Revolution (50 min, Our History)
• 1966: The Story Of The Westerners Caught In Mao's Revolution (52 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Inside Mao's China (52 min, Free Documentary - History)
• October 1949: The Rise Of Mao Zedong & Communist China (51 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• They Speak Cantonese: Pakistanis Growing Up In Hong Kong | The New Locals (23 min, CNA Insider)
• New 'Premium' Durian Varieties: Are They Just Mao Shan Wang Remarketed? | Talking Point (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Battle for Hong Kong (53 min, FRONTLINE PBS)
• Hong Kong: The Ancient Village That Became A Trade Metropolis | Curious Traveler (25 min, Absolute History)
• Returning To Wang Fuk Court: Life Three Months After Deadly Hong Kong Fire | After The Fire (46 min, CNA Insider)
• Hong Kong In The Greater Bay Area: Can Pearl Of The Orient Regain Its Shine? | Insight (48 min, CNA Insider)
• Hong Kong’s new activists (50 min, VPRO Documentary)
• Changed Lives In Hong Kong: Why Have They Chosen To Stay? | Year Of Ren Yin (47 min, CNA Insider)
• Mao Zedong - From peasants' son to communist revolutionary (1/3) (52 min, DW Documentary)
• How Hong Kong Changed Countries (12 min, Wendover Productions)
• Hong Kong: Life in Cages (25 min, Real Stories)
• Mao Zedong and China's Cultural Revolution (3/3) (52 min, DW Documentary)
• Hong Kong's $11BN Underwater Railway Explained (13 min, The B1M)
• Inside The Dark Side Of China's History With Niall Ferguson (47 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Mao Zedong & Deng Xiaoping: The Founder & The Architect Of Modern China (52 min, Timeline - World History Documentaries)
• Hong Kong Inferno: How Safety Lapses Turned Homes Into Death Traps (47 min, CNA Insider)
• Tai O: Hong Kong's Historic Fishing Village, Revitalised | A Street Like This (23 min, CNA Insider)
• Mao's China | The Price of Putting Ideology Over Progress (107 min, Moconomy)
• Healthcare Support For Elderly On Hong Kong's Outlying Islands (22 min, CNA Insider)
• The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (19 min, Our History)
• Inside Hong Kong's Deepest Media Crackdown (42 min, Real Stories)
• The Real Estate Divide in Manila and Hong Kong (44 min, Moconomy)
• Hong Kong Builds Climate Defences Against Super Typhoons & Food Waste (21 min, CNA Insider)

Top-Rated Books About Modern China

1. Wild Swans by Jung Chang (4.5/5) - View on Amazon
2. The Search for Modern China by Jonathan D. Spence (4.3/5) - View on Amazon
3. Mao by Jung Chang - View on Amazon
4. Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang - View on Amazon