China is a country that naturally attracts superlatives. Home to the largest population of people on the globe, it can also claim to be the cradle of the longest surviving civilization in history. Dynasties have risen and fallen, cultural relations with other lands warmed and cooled and trade has ebbed and flowed, but across the millennia China's history is bound together on one unifying thread - the brilliance,resourcefulness and sheer indefatigability of the Chinese people. Now, at the start of the 21 st century, the proud Chinese nation can both reflect on past glories and look forward with confidence as their country has become one of the prime engines of the world economy and an undeniable superpower on the global stage.