Why are the ancient building materials in the East (or China) different from those in the West?

I think it has something to do with the birthplace of civilization.

As we all know, China's civilization originated in the Yellow River Basin, where loess is the main part, with dense forests and few exposed stones. So naturally, ancestors used wood when building. Western civilization originated from Greek civilization. Greece is located on the Mediterranean coast, where there are many exposed stones, so stone is used locally.

With the development of civilization, civilization has spread to different regions. Although the local landforms are different, as a civilized tradition, building materials still have great inertia and are passed down from generation to generation.

In fact, in southern China, because there are many local stone materials, and wood is not resistant to wet environment, there are also many traditional buildings using stone materials.