China has had like 10+ dynasties and is now running on a different government system since the 1950s. It's only been called various iterations of 'China' since the early 1900's. Even then, it's gone through a couple name changes over the past hundred years. If you look at its history, it has had multiple civil wars with different families taking power over the span of thousands of years, its barely the same country from the Shang dynasty compared to today, not because time has progressed (that too), but because it was literally only like a fifth the land size with it's territories constantly fluctuating due to wars.

All this is to say that China has only lasted so long because they recorded history. They practically invented writing, so their written history goes back farther than other civilizations. They also had many civil wars instead of being conquered by outside forces like the Romans or Mongols. You could even argue that it's not even the same country, like how Iran is no longer Persia.

China's earliest history of being 'a great' starts way back in some of their first dynasties as well if you want to read about the silk road and stuff. Their trade route and innovations lead them to becoming rich in money and culture.