Sometimes I'm caught off guard by how old China is

[cashew]

We bought some ready made food from a local pastry shop that was labeled 中华老字号, aka Traditional Chinese Brand. Out of curiosity, mom asked how old a store needs to be before they can claim access to the title. I off-handedly guessed at least 150 years, because it sounded old while still being fairly recent. Given the many invasions and civil wars in Chinese history, surviving from the end of the last dynasty seems like a pretty fair guess.

So we checked the store's info. Turns out the store opened in 1773.

My local pastry shop is older than the United States.

So.

It's just a bit weird to realize that the store where I go to buy pastries is older than the "oldest democracy in the world".

I swear my sense of what is considered "historical" is so warped. I'm still buying cakes from the same place people bought cakes 250 years ago.

(Obviously the recipes have been updated for modern times, but the brand managed to survive multiple uprisings, invasions, and civil wars. Not bad. Although, it's definitely annoying when the tourists buy up all my favorite cakes.)