5 fast facts about Ancient China Around 3,000 years ago, people in ancient China used "oracle bones" — tortoise shells or bones inscribed with Chinese writing — to predict the future.

Around 2,200 years ago, ancient China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, began connecting many small walls to build the now-famous Great Wall of China. It eventually became over 13,000 miles (20,000 ...

Five dynasties, or families, ruled ancient China for more than 6,000 years. The last one of the ancient period, the Han dynasty, ruled around the same time as the ancient Roman Empire.