Civilization is the advanced state of human society. Since the beginning of the history of earliest human settlement, human beings have been on the perpetual move towards advancement. In the course of human evolution, several civilizations have emerged and come into being. Taking their shape of varying scales, they have developed and flourished, and at the same time, several others have fallen and perished.Scholars have defined civilization by applying various criteria, such as the use of writing, cities, a broad-class society, agriculture, animal husbandry, public buildings, meteorology, and monumental architecture.Accordingly, creation of modes of expression like signs, pictographs, languages and their scripts, innovations of solid foundation of human livelihood, system of governance, norms of societal conducts, promotion of ethics and morals, faiths and beliefs; development of art and culture, music, painting and literature, as well as their contributions to the growth of human society are the highly valued and rich dimensions of civilization.While many civilizations remain shrouded in myths and beliefs, it would be appropriate to take into account following 10 top world civilizations for our purposes. Starting from the recent one, they come in the following order: The Incas, The Aztecs, The Roman, The Persian, Ancient Greek, The Chinese, The Mayan, Ancient Egyptian, The Indus Valley and The Mesopotamian civilizations. Among these, The Mesopotamia is regarded as the oldest and the first civilization to have ever emerged on the surface of this planet Earth since the human evolution. It is said that it was somewhere around 8000 BC that people became familiar with the concept of Agriculture and slowly started to domesticate animals for the purpose of food as well as agriculture. The Mesopotamians later rose to combine them to form the first civilization.Modern-day cultures and civilizations owe a lot to these civilizations that were formed through millions of years of evolution of human history. From the age when hunting was the primary source of food to an age where agriculture became the main staple for food, the eventual changes that were continuously made led us to the societies we live in today. Human civilization has, thus, come a long way. From the very cradle of civilization to this very day, where and what we are now, has been the combined output of the subsequent civilizations, as listed above, which have contributed to new innovations, new ideas, new culture and new philosophies.Human urge for living together in a group with mutual understanding and dependency became a very useful and practical lifestyle. This gave birth to society which, in due course of time, became civilization. How this human mentality led to this huge change is still a popular topic of major discussions among historians. We are talking about civilization that we know of, and which existed for real, unlike several others which were shrouded in myths and subsequently vanished.Of the Asian civilizations, those of Persia, India and China, besides those of East and Southeast Asia, were highly developed, had many common similarities and had also exchanged technologies and ideas among them. The Persian Empire was one of the largest as it was spread over from Egypt in the west to Turkey in the north, and through Mesopotamia to Indus River in the East and up to Central Asia during the 4th-6th century BC. The Persian Empire was highly successful in maintaining peace and stability in the region under the influence of art, politics and religion. Asia is the biggest continent of the world and the cradle of the most ancient civilizations on earth. Major religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Confucianism and Taoism had their origin in greater Asian continent.Indus Valley Civilization (3300-1300 BC), which was mostly centered in Afghanistan and today’s Northwest India and Pakistan, including some of the great cities of this civilization, like Harappa and Mohenjo-daro later perished by natural disaster. This era marks the Vedic period in Asia when the Sanskrit language developed, and the Vedas were written, which eventually sanctified Hinduism. Along with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, this was one of the early civilizations of world order, and of three most widespread.Speaking about the Vedas, one thing which should also be noted is the Rig Veda, the first ancient ever written religious text on earth, which is one of the four followed by the Sama Veda, the Ajur Veda and the Atharva Veda, the essence of which are known as wisdom, is considered to have been given shape in written form during 1700 -1100 BC by unknown authors. It is believed to have been transferred from one generation to the next in succession verbally in sound since millennium by sages who acquired this divine wisdom as revelations after intense meditation before they were written later in the present form. That is why the Vedas also bear the name of “Shruti,” the narratives or the sound heard. Some scholars believe that the origin of Vedas dates back to 10,000 BC. This, in one way, also offers the basis for ascertaining the ancient character in fathoming the antiquity of Indus Valley Civilization.Nepal is predominantly regarded as a part of Caucasian civilization, and its people are popularly known as Khas Aryans. With Its Caucasian origin, its close socio-cultural and religious subscription to Indo-Aryans, Sanatani Hunduist, and its close cross Himalayan socio-cultural intercourses, Nepal carries homogeneous traits of Eurasian, Central Asian, Tibetan, Chinese as well as Indian civilizational characters.Though primarily a cult of believers and practitioners of Hindu religion, Nepal has served to contribute as a torchbearer in the promotion of Buddhist thoughts and religion to the remotest parts of Asia; pervading to the whole of China, including its integral part of Tibet and Mongolia and through them to Korea, Japan and further East.Rows of arduous pilgrimages made by celebrated Monks and Artists from both sides, to and from Nepal and China, across Himalayas, and the social bondages established between Nepal and China since the very early period of history, bear testimony to the formation of Chinese civilizational base which later flourished in close bondage with Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, and became a wholesome Chinese civilization. This could in itself be taken as a pertinent example of Sino-Nepal civilizational linkage.The famous journeys made by celebrated Monks like Fa Xian, Xuan Zang from China to Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha in Nepal and those made by Buddhist monks like Buddhabhadra of Nepal who made his journey to China, as early as in 399 AD, and established a Buddhist sect called “Huayan” with Monastery in Chang-an, the then capital of China, now Xi’an, the provincial capital of Shaanxi. He later moved to Lushan mountains, where he preached hundreds of Chinese disciples on doctrines of Buddhism through his translation of numerous volumes of Buddhist sutras and manuscripts carried by him to China, in Mandarin, throughout his life, are notable examples of ancient cross-cultural civilizational bondage between China and Nepal.What we could add to this is the journey made by Nepalese Architect-Artist Arniko, who devoted his life in China, during Yuan dynasty, in constructing several Buddhist Stupas, including white pagodas in Beijing and Wutaishan, which stand even today as living monuments of Nepal-China civilizational linkage. The contribution made by Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti who was tied in a nuptial knot with the then King of Tibet Songtsen Gampo in the 7th century and who contributed to building Potala as well as famous Jhokang Monastery in Lhasa and one similar in Shigatse (Rikaze), is another notable instance of Nepal-China historical legacy.In Nepal’s civilization fabric, the influence of Chinese culture and traditions is predominantly evident as the majority of inhabitants, descendants of Chinese Hans dwelling along the north and eastern part of Nepal, still observe and celebrate traditional Chinese festivals.China is the cradle of the most glorious and extensive Civilization with rich cultural heritage of more than 5000 years of history. Its ancient civilization originated and developed all along the stretch of the Yellow River and the Yangtze, also known as Yellow River Basin Civilization. With China’s thousands of years of continuous history, its civilization was one of the world’s oldest. It flourished all along the Shang dynasty, which ruled Yellow River Basin, followed by Zhou and Qin, and later by Han dynasties, during which the traditional Chinese culture, literature and philosophy considerably flourished. There was a smooth sailing of continuous enrichment throughout successive dynasties, the last being the imperial dynasty of Qing which lasted till 1912, to be replaced by the Republic of China and, in the mainland by the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The modern culture of China is dominated by Han culture and population, which account for 91.51 percent and 55 other different ethnic groups which make up remaining 8.49 percent. They contribute to the continuous development of Chinese culture today nationwide and internationally.China, as a country with rich ancient cultural traditions, its philosophy has always been driven and guided by values like harmony, compassion, togetherness, peaceful composure, respect and discipline, which also constitute the basic dictums of Confucianism, Hinduism, Daoism and Buddhism. Five cardinal principles of peaceful coexistence as propounded by late premier Zhou Enlai, which has now become an inalienable cornerstone of foreign relations between states, can be said to have its origin in, and to have been influenced by, these ancient values of Chinese cultural perceptions of peaceful coexistence among humankind.Though Chinese civilization can be called an indigenous one, it has developed with its unique characters of inclusiveness and its urge for learning from other civilizations. Buddhism, though it made its entry into China through Nepal and India, went through a period of integration with indigenous Confucianism and Taoism, and became a part of wholesome Chinese civilization, “making a deep impact on the religious belief, philosophy, literature, art, etiquette and custom of Chinese people.” President Xi is also quoted to have stated in his address to UNESCO that “the Chinese civilization, though born on the soil of China, has come to its present form through constant exchanges and mutual learning with other countries.”There is no doubt that each civilization has its own value of high merit, which sustains its individual identity. It is also true that civilizational and cultural diversity of high importance of all genres should be recognized and safeguarded. Amid these diversities, emphasis should also be laid on commonalities of values of Asian Civilizations as engrained in their cultural traits and religions, which are also integral parts of cultural values, most of which are based on group orientation, where the interest of the community precedes that of the individual. Respect for family ties and the elderly, filial piety, hard work, teamwork, etc. are regarded as important elements of individual and societal characters. The Asian values of “Primacy of family and community above individuals; of consensus above dissent; of discipline above permissiveness” are different from the western liberal tradition. Given the right leadership, it becomes a framework for economic prosperity, progress and harmonious relations between citizens and law and order. A number of these values embodied in Confucian tradition are not in contradiction with the values of other Asian religions.Today, increasing global interdependence is binding the world into a unified socio-economic and cultural system. This signals a historic shift in the concept of civilization. Modern civilization is characterised by perennial growth of population and economies veering towards economic globalization, mass migration, growth of new global institutions like the United Nations and its various organizational clusters, within and outside it, including World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank (IBRD), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), New Development Bank (NDB). Modern civilization is further confronted with problems of global character like nuclear proliferation, environmental degradation, climatic change, poverty, terrorism and problems relating to peace, security and development. All these demand common collective efforts on the part of all countries around the globe for their solutions. This modern phenomenon has brought about a holistic shift in the concept of cultural consciousness with historical dynamics.Civilization has evolved from pre-historic phase of human urge for group settlements and development of cultivation and cattle breeding for livelihood to the phase of industrial growth and has finally updated itself to the modern phase of science and technology, in advanced form, with internet, robotics and digitalisations with access to satellites in space. Civilization is thus in great transition, a shift from pre-modern to post-modern culture and is endowed with egalitarian values with increasing human connectivity.China, in the midst of this major global cultural shift, has embarked upon an ambitious goal of achieving the rejuvenation of its Dream aimed at developing it as a prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful country by the middle of this century as per the mandate given by the 19th National Congress of CCCPC to the present fifth generation leadership, under President Xi Jinping, at the core. Externally, it aspires to emerge as an effective, peaceful global power, leading the world towards a “Community of Common Destiny” of win-win reciprocity for shared benefits of mankind. Forty years of its “Reform and Opening-up” which enabled it to achieve spectacular progress on a scale of high magnitude. Reform and Opening-up is described by President Xi as a “Great Revolution in the History of Chinese People and the Chinese Nation.” Further continuation of this policy in a broader scope, as vowed by him, is certain to strengthen and elevate China’s internal as well as global status to a new height.President Xi, as we are aware, has come forward with an unparalleled “Project of the Century,” in the form of “Belt and Road Initiative” which embodies a grand vision of comprehensive development of the countries concerned with wider inter-regional and sub-continental connectivity among nations. BRI, in a true sense, with five years long effective implementations, has become an unrelenting force of economic globalization. In spite of all provocative and prejudicial accusations levelled against it, the second summit on BRI in April this year, in its expanded form, is in itself a proof of its tacit recognition by the world community as a viable means of global socio-economic development. Nepal’s participation in it at the highest level that of the President of our country testifies to Nepal’s total adherence to it and its confidence in immensely benefiting from the Project.Today, China has broad cultural links to various parts of the world, especially East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Middle-East and Overseas Chinese community all over the world. Its cultural element has spread across the globe due to Chinese influence as well as modernizing popular culture and its rise as a global power. It is fast becoming one of the most prominent cultural powers of the world, and a predominant culture of Asia. It can be presumed that China’s policy of promoting cross-cultural exchanges of arts, language, literature and men and materials could greatly contribute towards fostering closer understanding and partnership among the people at large, which would further contribute to the promotion of world peace and development.In view of the apparent shift of world political powerhouse to Asia today, and commensurate with the rise of China as second world economic power and its thrust towards global leadership role, China is perhaps destined to bear the primary responsibility of carrying forward the task of the cultural and civilizational linkage in global sphere through promotion of cross-cultural, educational, touristic and people-to-people relations, with participation of pioneering and enterprising Chinese Youths, for the common good and the shared benefit of humankind in the days to come.