As a very advanced civilization, China was probably not the earliest one, but the only one of the ancient cultures that has survived until today: '5000 years of history, and 7000 years of culture' ( wuqian nian de lishi, qiqian nian de wenhua 五千年的歷史，七千年的文化).
At every occasion, Chinese lay stress on the age of their culture, and for good reasons.
