over thousands of years, billions of people have lived along its shores. and because this whole area was such an attractive place for tribes to settle... ..the yellow river basin became the epicentre i've returned to china for another

fascinating adventure... ..to explore the treasures of this extraordinary civilisation... ..from breathtaking natural landscapes... ..to ancient cities. he laughs as an art historian, i believe that to truly understand the secrets of a country's soul... ..you need to immerse yourself in its art.

i've come to shanxi province to see one of china's ..the hukou waterfall. it's a spectacular sight... and i've colonised this end spot, the largest waterfall on the yellow river.

you have these mountains that narrow, and then at that point, it all gushes out, tumbles over this narrow point, over a cliff... ..and then comes speeding past. this narrow neck is what has given the waterfall its name. hukou means "the spout of a teapot", as if water is being poured directly from the sky. throughout chinese history, over 1,200 years ago, it inspired a poem so famous

tang dynasty poet li bai, and he wrote — "can you not see the yellow river running from heaven, "rushing towards the ocean without return?" and if you didn't know better, you'd assume he must every year, millions of people come here. this is waterfall water? you do get a sense

of the colour of the yellow river there. they laugh this fine soil carried by the river formed fertile plains... ..that were crucial to the development of early chinese cultures. they created striking painted pottery,

at the heart of the city, china's national museum is home on the upper yellow river around 5,000 years ago. it's not hard to see where the artisans found their inspiration. there is a very bold and simple beauty, really, to the semi—abstract decoration on this urn that, to my mind, immediately suggests surging, watery forces, just from above.

and then down below, things are considerably more placid, tranquil. the waters seem gentle. wang yueqian is a curator at the national museum.

inspired majiayao art thousands of years ago. but there's another, even more remarkable culture further along the river. my next stop, 800km south—west of beijing, is the city of luoyang in henan province. this is erlitou, one of the most extraordinary it was built on a prime location within the yellow river basin. at the dawn of chinese civilisation... ..covering a vast area of three square kilometres...

this curiously shaped wine cup — of a type known as jue — is one of the earliest bronze vessels found in china. the erlitou museum's director, zhao xiaojun, has spent years studying early chinese bronzes. the more time you spend with it, it's very, very elegant.

it has these three artily slender, pointed legs, almost like a spider's legs, which it's resting upon, and this trim waist flaring up to the top. if you look from above, and then around the waist, it's like a belt there is something feminine about the whole form, something very beautiful. it looks like maybe a delicate dancer. this precious object was probably used during rituals for serving wine to the gods.

such once—glittering vessels offer a glimpse are yielding new discoveries every day. hello! nice to meet you. hey. good to meet you, too. at erlitou, zhao haitao. those lines — what are they?

it's even possible that erlitou was the capital but everything you've described it feels like it's on a par with the first true dynasty of ancient china. 0ne object discovered inside a royal tomb at erlitou

is so special that it's been brought all the way this isjust pure magic. it's like a mirage that's emerging somehow from the mists of time. a ridge forming its nose — quite a bulbous nose — at the end, and on either side, that is curling, twisting. there's a really slithering quality to this. xu hong was formerly field leader of archaeological excavation at erlitou. of unearthing this dragon.

is the bronze bell found lying next to it.

scholars now believe that the dragon and held upright by a priest during rituals. this important artefact is made from more than 2,000 pieces in china, dragons are associated not with fire but with water. and i can't help thinking of the yellow river it's undulating, much like a river travelling through the landscape. and ijust wonder whether

that's an additional layer called chayu. to worship the god of the yellow river. more than 10,000 people from all over the country. as the villagers gear up for the festival, i'm joining the elders... like this? ..to make paper lanterns for tonight. that's good? but tell me a little bit about the festival.

why do you hold it every year in the village? do you feel a strong sense of connection somehow with the yellow river? there are still a few hours before nightfall, when the lanterns will be set afloat on the river. it's the perfect moment to head into the crowd and join the party.

kerry is originally from this area. she's come to the festival with her husband for a very specific reason. you're wearing auspicious red. can i ask, are you planning to make a wish? last year, and, luckily, we got the wish come true. oh, wow! they wished for her to become pregnant. no way! and... this is brilliant. and she's... ijust found out a few days ago... oh, man, congratulations! yeah, so we came here to return our wish. 0h, fantastic! so basically it works, the wishes come true? yeah. you know, very happy news. it's great to meet you both. you as well, you as well. as the festivities continue, a sense of anticipation becomes more intense... do you feel excited? yes. it's very exciting. he laughs

..before culminating with the appearance of the yellow river god. 0h, here we go! to my surprise, the mother river there he is! he's presiding over the festival now. yes. he's deigned to descend. a little late, but we're happy to see him. and everyone�*s loving it. after offerings are made, we all head to the river for the festival's finale... ..making wishes. i've got three lanterns, somewhere a lighter.

0k. let's light the lanterns. right! let's go into the river... let's go in! ..and float the lanterns. i think i should actually make a wish in honour of huanghe, under a full moon... i now see why the yellow river has such a special place in the hearts of china's people.

it's a way of understanding something in a gut sense, and it feels both magical and special to end the day actually standing within it.

we've got some cloudy and wet weather around at the moment, and it's a wintry mix that's heading northwards across england and wales. hill snow as well — most of that snow falling over the hills of wales, and also the pennines and the peak district, with a covering of a few of sleetiness for a while. further north, where we have some clearer skies in western parts of northern ireland, western scotland, this is where we start with a frost. but there's wintry showers continuing in eastern scotland — they'll still be there through saturday, as well. some sunshine for western scotland, some showers coming in over the irish sea. as you can see, for england and wales there's a lot of cloud — it'll be mostly rain that's falling, if it does brighten up a bit in east anglia

4—6 celsius, but not as windy as it was on friday. heading into the second half of the weekend, this nose of high pressure extends our way, bringing with it a lot of cloud. see temperatures above freezing — except in scotland, with a frosty start here, but some sunshine to come, and few, northern ireland. there's still a lot of cloud for england and wales, and eastern areas, particularly across east anglia and some showers, too. but it won't be as cold on sunday — temperatures a bit higher, 7—9 celsius. of high pressure close by, the easterly winds will be it some colder air, and bring with it a lot of cloud. though we've got this extensive cloud, there'll be more cloud in northern ireland.

some eastern parts of the uk could see a little bit of drizzle coming from the cloud, — and that'll be dropping those temperatures again back down and we'll keep those sort of numbers it'll remain quiet and generally dry, but there will be a lot of cloud around. but it will, again, be feeling on the chilly side next week.

live from washington, this is bbc news. a usjudge orders a limited a usjudge orders a limited on certain steps by the on certain steps by the trump administration to dismantle the technology giant apple give trump administration to dismantle the world's largest aid the world's largest aid organisation. organisation. dozens of countries, dozens of countries, including some of america's including some of america's closest allies, closest allies, condemn donald trump's decision to impose sanctions on the international criminal court.

the uk government demands the uk government demands the technology giant apple give security services access to users�* encrypted data. hello, i'm helena humphrey.