The ruan is a Chinese musical instrument with a long history stretching back 2,000 years. The name comes from musician Ruan Xian, one of the legendary Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. It is similar to a banjo, with a fretted neck, circular body, and four strings, which up until the 20th century were made of silk. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

Playing the pipa, a long, pear-shaped wooden instrument, requires extreme hand coordination. "Pi" is to push the fingers of the right hand from right to left, and "pa" is to pull the thumb of the right hand from left to right. It is said that one cannot play the pipa without an open heart and open mind. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

About 2,000 years ago, Emperor Qin unified warring states to create what is known today as contemporary China. It is believed that his favorite instrument was the guzheng. Its tranquil vibrations evoke a feeling of peace, emulating the sounds of cascading waterfalls and gently rolling thunder. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

At more than 15 feet long, weighing up to 1,000 pounds, and living for as many as 100 years, the Chinese sturgeon is a large fresh water fish, though it does spend part of its life-cycle in seawater, like the salmon. Along with the giant panda, the 140-million year-old species is a symbol of national pride, and is also in danger of becoming extinct due to human's negative impact on its habitat. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

The site of the terracotta warriors is considered by some to be the eighth wonder of the world. Over 6,000 life-sized terracotta warriors - believed to be exact replicas of a real, individual soldiers - have been unearthed, in a pit the size of two American football fields. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

During his rule (259 BCE - 210 BCE), Emperor Qin's lavish building projects and harsh reign caused unrest among Chinese peasants. They gathered, seized the steel weapons from the terracotta warriors in his mausoleum, and staged an uprising that overthrew the dynasty. The succeeding Han Dynasty would rule China for the next 400 years. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

In 247 BCE, Emperor Qin Shi Huang had 700,000 workers construct a tomb lined with thousands of life-sized terracotta warriors and horses, whose purpose was to help protect the emperor in his afterlife. It took them over 38 years to construct the burial place. To protect the secrecy and safety of its location, workers with knowledge of the site were buried alive in the tomb. Distributed by TubeMogul. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others.

Standing an average of 43 inches tall and around 350 pounds, giant pandas live for about 25 years - and much of that time is spent eating. A giant panda can consume as much as 83 pounds of bamboo per day. Though bamboo is 99% of their diet, pandas may eat other foods such as honey, eggs, fish, yams, shrub leaves, oranges, and bananas. Distributed by TubeMogul. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others.

Whereas most bears have round pupils, giant pandas have vertical slits, like cats' eyes - a feature that has inspired the Chinese to call the panda the "great bear cat." Though still endangered, organizations like the Wolong Nature Reserve have successfully reintroduced the species into the wild, increasing its numbers to an estimated 1,600 pandas. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

While walking across the Great Wall, Charlie learns how former CPC leader Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997) began a series of open reform policies with the West that are credited for moving the Chinese economy forward and raising the standard of living. Having studied abroad in France, he understood that for China to reemerge as a world power, it would have to participate in the global economy. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

One mile long and 600 feet high, the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is a project of epic proportions - and controversy. The dam, completed in 2008, created a vast reservoir extending 370 miles, about the distance from Los Angeles to San Francisco. It brings drinking water to northern China and generates as much electricity as 18 coal-fired power plants. But it has also displaced some two million people and caused widespread flooding, destroying rural villages and cultural treasures. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

In rural China, making dinner is a family-wide effort. Follow the painstaking preparations of a Chinese family in the Wolong area of Sichuan province as they treat the explore team to some down-home hospitality. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

Catch a glimpse of life in rural Tibet. Villagers engage in daily tasks, children scramble between doorways. Colorful prayer flags dot the mountainous landscape; their messages of hope are carried across the countryside with the winds. Their colors (yellow, green, red, white, and blue) represent the five elements: earth, water, fire, air, and sky. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

Most of the children living in Dickey Orphanage have been orphaned by accidents, illness, or abandoned as a result of economic hardship. Each child at the orphanage is provided with education, medical care, and daily doses of love. Because none of the children know where or when they were born, September 10th is everyone's birthday. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.

The yak is a shaggy-haired, hoofed animal found in Tibet and parts of China, surviving as high as 20,000 feet in the Himalayas, in temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius. The yak was domesticated some 5,000 years ago and is kept primarily for its milk, fur fibers, and meat, as well as to pull loads and plow fields. Butter made of yaks' milk is mixed with tea leaves and salt to make yak butter tea, a traditional Tibetan drink served to guests. Distributed by TubeMogul. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others.

Professor Tsedum, a monk at the Sera Monastery, explains the Buddhist notion of compassion. explore™ (*******explore****) is a multimedia organization that documents leaders around the world who have devoted their lives to extraordinary causes. Both educational and inspirational, explore creates a portal into the soul of humanity by championing the selfless acts of others. Distributed by TubeMogul.