China has one of the world's oldest continuous civilisations.
Shang Dynasty 'oracle bone' inscriptions dating back to the 12th century BC are easily recognisable as early forms of the ideograms, some of which are still used today in Chinese calligraphy. During much of China's history, the collapse of a dynasty or the accession of a weak ruler would often result in the country's fragmentation into smaller kingdoms until re-united once again under a new powerful dynasty. In the period of disunion following the Han Dynasty, Buddhism reached China along the Silk Road from Central Asia. In the 13th century, the Mongols under Genghis Khan overran Asia and in 1271 Genghis's grandson Kublai Khan founded the Yuan Dynasty. It was during this period that Marco Polo visited China.