Writing
A group of ancient tombs have been discovered in recent years in Shandong Province which date back 4,500 years. Among the relics are about a dozen pottery wine vessels, which bear one character each. These characters are found to be stylized pictures of some physical objects, and so are called pictographs.
By 1700 BC, symbols were carved on oracle bones and tortoise shells. These are thought to be the first true Chinese writing. These picture words underwent a gradual evolution over the centuries until the pictographs changed into "square characters," some simplified by losing certain strokes and others made more complicated but, as a whole, from irregular drawings they became stylized forms.
Magnetic compass
As early as 500 BC, Chinese scientists had studied and learned much about magnetism in nature. Scientists learned to "make magnets" by heating pieces of ore to red hot temperatures and then cooling the pieces in a North/South position. The original lacquered earth plate, dating to the 3rd century BC, is currently on display at the Museum of Chinese History. Later, the magnets were placed on bronze plates marked with directional bearings. Compasses were first used in Feng Shui, the layout of buildings. By 1000 AD, navigational compasses were widely used on Chinese ships, enabling them to navigate without stars in view.
Movable Sails & Rudder
By 100 AD, Chinese shipbuilders invented the stern post rudder and watertight compartments for ship's hulls. By 200 AD, they used several masts and the redesigned the basic square sail with the fore-and-aft rig. This allowed the ship to sail into the wind. With these inventions, the Chinese trader and explorer Zheng Ho sailed as far as Africa between 1405 and 1433.
Coal & Iron Refining
Iron was smelted in China by the 4th century BC, and steel was perfected by the 400's A.D. using coal as a high temperature fuel. By having good refractory clays for the construction of blast furnace walls, and the discovery of how to reduce the temperature at which iron melts by using phosphorus, the Chinese were able cast iron into ornamental and functional shapes. This expertise allowed the production of pots and pans with thin walls. With the development of annealing, ploughshares, longer swords, and even buildings were eventually made of iron.
Great Wall
The building of the Great Wall of China, one of the legendary seven wonders of the world, began in 221 BC in an effort to keep Mongol invaders out. In the 600's AD, the Sui Emperor Yang Di began a huge project of repairing the ancient wall. The costs of rebuilding the wall were enormous. The construction involved the forced labor of hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom died from the harsh working conditions and were buried in the wall itself. Costs were also increased by the frequent robbery of supply wagons. 15,000 defense towers and forts were constructed along the walls. It remains the largest structure ever built anywhere in the world, and is the only human made work on earth visible from orbit.
Porcelain
It seems that porcelain was not a sudden invention, although some claim that Tao-Yue in the 600's A.D. was the legendary inventor of porcelain. He used so-called 'white clay' (kaolin) which he found along the Yangzte river where he was born. He added other types of clay to produce the first white porcelain, which he sold as 'artificial jade' in the capital Chang-an. By around 900 AD, porcelain was perfected, incorporating the translucent minerals quartz and feldspar.
Canals & Locks
Imperial China's construction of waterways to connect different parts of its vast territory produced some of the world's greatest water engineering projects. One of the most impressive was the building of the Grand Canal. Construction of the first Grand Canal began in the early 600's to connect the Yellow River (Hwang He) in the north with the Yangzi River (Chiang Jiang) in the south. Once the Grand Canal was in use, people could carry messages and ships could carry rice back and forth.
Canal locks were another innovation in the 10th century. These allowed boats to go uphill and downhill, by raising or lowering the water level within the lock. This invention allowed boats to travel farther inland.
Roads & Relay Hostels
Roads and relay hostels, or inns, greatly improved communication and trade throughout the vast land of China. By the late 700's, inns offered horses and food to travelers, and provided places for government officials to stay for the night during long journeys. The system of roads allowed government inspectors, tax collectors, and postal messengers to move long distances. Messengers delivered mail across hundreds of miles. Merchants could carry trade goods such as rice, tea, silk, and seafood without fear of bandits.
Gunpowder
Around 200 AD, Chinese scientists discovered that an explosive mixture could be produced by combining sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). The explosive mixture, called huoyao, was used by the military in the 900's during the Tang Dynasty. New weapons were rapidly developed, including rockets that were launched from a bamboo tube.
Mechanical Clock
One of the greatest inventions of the medieval world was the mechanical clock. Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk, made the first model of a mechanical clock in 725 AD. This clock operated by dripping water that powered a wheel which made one full revolution in 24 hours. An iron and bronze system of wheels and gears made the clock turn. This system caused the chiming of a bell on the hour.
Su Sung's great 'Cosmic Engine' of 1092 was 35 feet high. At the top was a power driven sphere for observing the positions of the stars. The power for turning it was transmitted from the dripping water by a chain drive. A celestial globe inside the tower turned in synchronization with the sphere above.
Smallpox Inoculation
The technique of inoculation was first publicly recognized when the son of Prime Minister Wang Dan (957-1017) died of smallpox. Hoping to prevent the same thing from happening to other family members, Wang Dan summoned physicians from all over China. A Daoist monk introduced the technique of inoculation to the physicians in the capital. By the 16th century it was widely practiced against smallpox in China.
Abacus
The Chinese developed the abacus, a counting device, around 100 AD. By the 1300's it was perfected and given the form it still has today. The instrument consisted of a rectangular wooden frame with parallel rods. Each rod holds beads as counters. The rods are separated into upper and lower parts by a crossbar. Each bead above the crosspiece is worth five units, and each below is worth one. The rungs or rods from right to left indicate place value in powers of ten -- ones, tens, hundred, and so on. With this instrument the Chinese could add, subtract, multiply and divide with remarkable speed.
Spinning Wheel
Silk was first made by the Chinese about 4000 years ago. Silk thread is made from the cocoon of the silkworm moth, whose caterpillar eats the leaves of the mulberry tree. Silk spinners needed a method to deal with the tough, long silk threads. To meet the increasing demand for silk fabric, the Chinese developed the spinning wheel in 1035. This simple circular machine, easily operated by one person, could wind fine fibers of silk into thread. The invention used a wheel to stretch and align the fibers. A drive belt made the wheels spin.
Movable Type
The technique of printing with carved wood blocks appeared about the 7th century, early in the Tang dynasty. Block printing reached its golden age during the Song dynasty, in the years 960-1279, as the imperial patronage encouraged the publication of large numbers of books by the central and local governments. Movable type was first invented by Bi Sheng of the Song dynasty in the year 1045 AD. The invention of reusable, moveable type made books cheaper and more available.
Paper Money
The Chinese invented paper money in the 9th century A.D. Its original name was 'flying money' because it was so light it could blow out of one's hand. As exchange certificates used by merchants, paper money was quickly adopted by the government for forwarding tax payments. In 1024, the Song government took over the printing of paper money and used it as a medium of exchange backed by deposited "cash" (a Chinese term for metal coins).
*information gathered from link.
A group of ancient tombs have been discovered in recent years in Shandong Province which date back 4,500 years. Among the relics are about a dozen pottery wine vessels, which bear one character each. These characters are found to be stylized pictures of some physical objects, and so are called pictographs. By 1700 BC, symbols were carved on oracle bones and tortoise shells. These are thought to be the first true Chinese writing. These picture words underwent a gradual evolution over the centuries until the pictographs changed into "square characters," some simplified by losing certain strokes and others made more complicated but, as a whole, from irregular drawings they became stylized forms.
As early as 500 BC, Chinese scientists had studied and learned much about magnetism in nature. Scientists learned to "make magnets" by heating pieces of ore to red hot temperatures and then cooling the pieces in a North/South position. The original lacquered earth plate, dating to the 3rd century BC, is currently on display at the Museum of Chinese History. Later, the magnets were placed on bronze plates marked with directional bearings. Compasses were first used in Feng Shui, the layout of buildings. By 1000 AD, navigational compasses were widely used on Chinese ships, enabling them to navigate without stars in view. 
By 100 AD, Chinese shipbuilders invented the stern post rudder and watertight compartments for ship's hulls. By 200 AD, they used several masts and the redesigned the basic square sail with the fore-and-aft rig. This allowed the ship to sail into the wind. With these inventions, the Chinese trader and explorer Zheng Ho sailed as far as Africa between 1405 and 1433.
Iron was smelted in China by the 4th century BC, and steel was perfected by the 400's A.D. using coal as a high temperature fuel. By having good refractory clays for the construction of blast furnace walls, and the discovery of how to reduce the temperature at which iron melts by using phosphorus, the Chinese were able cast iron into ornamental and functional shapes. This expertise allowed the production of pots and pans with thin walls. With the development of annealing, ploughshares, longer swords, and even buildings were eventually made of iron. 
Around 200 AD, Chinese scientists discovered that an explosive mixture could be produced by combining sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). The explosive mixture, called huoyao, was used by the military in the 900's during the Tang Dynasty. New weapons were rapidly developed, including rockets that were launched from a bamboo tube. 
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