I've been living in China for a little over a year now, and while I know a somewhat general overview of Chinese history, most of that knowledge is either from my high school days or through entertainment which led me to do my own research.
My question is - where do I start? What are some well regarded books or authors that I can read? Ancient history is my passion if that helps at all. Thanks!
This is a pretty big question and answering it depends a lot on what your specific interests are. You mention ancient history, but how far back do you want to start, the Shang, the Zhou, the Han, etc...
Are you interested in culture, religion, warfare, classical poetry history, etc...
Maybe a good way to start would be to narrow down what period or themes you're more broadly interested in within the field of Chinese history, then it's easier for people (like me) to recommend books or authors to start with.