Mr Terrill does a good job of explaining the all-encompassing nature of Communist rule.

ECONOMIST: China and America

It seems documentary-maker Chris Terrill has hit the jackpot again, building on the success of his previous studies of enclosed communities in Jailbirds and The Cruise.

BBC: The Ship

With the demise of the Soviet Union, Mr Terrill says, China is now the only empire left on earth, if the term empire is defined as a multicultural country held together essentially by force.

ECONOMIST: China and America

The new Chinese empire of the title has, according to Mr Terrill, more in common than it would care to admit with the past, all the way back to the first emperor of all, Qin Shihuang.

ECONOMIST: China and America