China has done the best at having culture, society, and governance for an extended period of time. China had ships ten times larger than anything in the west before the time of Columbus. They could have colonized the world long before anyone else but never desired to. They kept records well over an extended period of time so could build off the advancement of individuals. It was easy for developing cultures around them to copy their work instead of duplicating it.

Edit: I get it CPP bad but that's just from 70's to today. China has a much longer history.