A still shot from The Story of China. [Photo/China.com.cn/Maya Vision]

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Thursday began airing a new documentary series about China's 4,000 years of history.

The series, named The Story of China, was written and presented by British historian Michael Wood. He explored the past and the present of the "the world's oldest continuous state", now home to more than a billion people.

In the series, Wood traced some of the great moments in Chinese history, from their extraordinary voyages of exploration before Columbus, to numerous scientific inventions and technological creations before the European Renaissance.

Wood and his team spent more than three years making the six-episode series, which is an international co-production by the BBC and the US Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Traveling across the vast territory of China, Wood met Chinese people from all walks of life, visiting China's most distinctive landscapes and exploring such ancient cities like Beijing, Xi'an, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Qufu, and Kaifeng, among others.

Speaking about his motivation to make the series, Wood recalled what a former Chinese ambassador told him years ago: "If you can create something, however simple, which makes the Western audience understand more and feel more, it would be a good task."

The remarks encouraged him to make up his mind and document China's history, as he did with the histories of India and England in his previous works.

The series, detailing China's ancient dynasties and contemporary society through the eyes of ordinary Chinese, will be aired on BBC2 on Thursday nights from Jan 21 to Feb 25.