Top 10 Chinese Historical Dynasties

The dynasty that gave China its dominant ethnic group its name consolidated Confucianism as state philosophy, opened the Silk Road, and expanded Chinese territory from Korea to Vietnam.

China's first unified empire lasted only 15 years but standardised weights, measures, writing, and law across a continent, and built the first version of the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.

An era of explosive economic and technological innovation that produced gunpowder weapons, the mechanical clock, printed paper money, and a merchant class that transformed Chinese society.

The dynasty that built the final Great Wall, constructed the Forbidden City, and sent Admiral Zheng He's treasure fleet across the Indian Ocean was also marked by cultural conservatism and isolationism.

China's last dynasty, established by Manchurian conquerors, expanded the empire to its largest extent before being undermined by the Opium Wars and eventually overthrown by republican revolutionaries.

The longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history produced Confucius, Laozi, and Sun Tzu during the Hundred Schools of Thought period, laying the philosophical foundations of Chinese civilisation.

Kublai Khan's Mongol-ruled dynasty was visited by Marco Polo and connected China to the widest trade network the medieval world had ever seen, from Persia to Eastern Europe.

The first historically verified dynasty produced China's earliest writing on oracle bones, its most sophisticated bronze vessels, and urban capitals with populations in the tens of thousands.

Though it lasted only 37 years, the Sui dynasty unified a divided China, completed the Grand Canal, and rebuilt the Great Wall before its exhausted populace overthrew it to create the glorious Tang.

The dynasty that gave China its dominant ethnic group its name consolidated Confucianism as state philosophy, opened the Silk Road, and expanded Chinese territory from Korea to Vietnam.

China's first unified empire lasted only 15 years but standardised weights, measures, writing, and law across a continent, and built the first version of the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.

An era of explosive economic and technological innovation that produced gunpowder weapons, the mechanical clock, printed paper money, and a merchant class that transformed Chinese society.

The dynasty that built the final Great Wall, constructed the Forbidden City, and sent Admiral Zheng He's treasure fleet across the Indian Ocean was also marked by cultural conservatism and isolationism.

China's last dynasty, established by Manchurian conquerors, expanded the empire to its largest extent before being undermined by the Opium Wars and eventually overthrown by republican revolutionaries.

The longest-lasting dynasty in Chinese history produced Confucius, Laozi, and Sun Tzu during the Hundred Schools of Thought period, laying the philosophical foundations of Chinese civilisation.

Kublai Khan's Mongol-ruled dynasty was visited by Marco Polo and connected China to the widest trade network the medieval world had ever seen, from Persia to Eastern Europe.

The first historically verified dynasty produced China's earliest writing on oracle bones, its most sophisticated bronze vessels, and urban capitals with populations in the tens of thousands.

Though it lasted only 37 years, the Sui dynasty unified a divided China, completed the Grand Canal, and rebuilt the Great Wall before its exhausted populace overthrew it to create the glorious Tang.