The history of China, as documented in ancient writings, dates back some 3,300 years. Modern archaeological studies provide evidence of still more ancient origins in a culture that flourished between 2500 and 2000 B.C. in what is now central China and the lower Huang He (Yellow River) Valley of north China. Centuries of migration, amalgamation...

subject matter can include portraits, landscapes, flowers and birds, grass, and insects. Painting techniques include traditional Chinese realistic painting characterized by fine brushwork and close attention to detail, or freehand brushwork. Originating during the late Zhou Dynasty, portraits gradually formed their own characteristics during the Han and Wei Dynasties.

and were tinting cloth using natural (red pigment) vermilion dye. With improvements in looming devices and printing and dyeing methods, more varieties of silk were developed and a comprehensive system of cloth dying evolved. China possessed the most advanced silk dying and weaving techniques of the ancient world. The cultivation of the silkworm can be traced back to the third century BC...

There are several thousand types, most which have a long history of use. For the past thousands of years, they have been used to prevent and cure diseases and are an important part of Chinese culture.
Traditional Chinese medicinal products are known by a great number of complicated names. Generally...

Taoism, and Buddhism, although it is true to say that Confucianism is a school of philosophy rather than a religion.
Islam probably first reached China in the mid-7th century and in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) it reached its zenith. Today, there are more than 30,000 mosques in China. Catholicism reached China after the seventh century...

in November 1972 at the 17th General Conference of UNESCO.
China began making submissions to the World Heritage List in 1987. As of July 2007, among 851 World Heritage Sites listed by UNESCO in 137 states, China had 35, ranking third in the world...