i've come to the city of shenyang, in north—east china, to visit the liaoning provincial museum.s famous for its collection of some of china's finest ancient paintings. i've been granted permission to see its greatest treasure — a spellbinding painting from the tang dynasty. it's a stunning work of art that reveals the exquisite fashion of its age. the tang era lasted for almost 300 years, as china's economy boomed and the arts flourished. it was one of the greatest empires in chinese history. the museum's deputy director, dong baohou, is an expert on ancient paintings in china. hello, mr dong. good to see you. ni hao, ni hao. and he's about to show me a silk handscroll that's at least 1,000 years old, and depicts five noble women and a maid. this rare masterpiece is so fragile, we've only got 15 minutes to film it... ..and only part of it can be unrolled. it's a once—in—a—lifetime encounter. that we all have — luckily, the museum has a high—quality replica, in the history of chinese figure—painting... but their thoughts remain a mystery. of the women's facial expressions... alth