China's always been big, but today it's big like never before. No matter where you are in the world, if you turn on the TV or open a newspaper you're almost guaranteed to come across another top story about the Middle Kingdom. The subject might be the Beijing Olympics or China's phenomenal economic boom and the huge challenges that come with it. It might be the growing prestige of Chinese art and film or the latest architectural marvel to make the scene in Shanghai or Beijing. It could be wilderness treks in Tibet and Yunnan or the joys of Sichuan hot pot or Beijing's Imperial Cuisine.... The list goes on and on. Fortunately, it's never been easier to visit China and see for yourself how this ancient land - famous in the annals of history for its sages and wandering poets, humble peasants and powerful emperors, golden dynasties and periods of upheaval and rebellion - is transforming itself into a modern nation squarely in the center of twenty-first century global affairs. And China's people are eager to welcome you and share their pride in both the ancient traditions and the contemporary achievements that make today's China one of the most talked-about and fascinating places on earth.

Geographic Landmarks

China ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. Principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze, the Huang He, and the Amur, and sometimes toward the south, with most Chinese rivers emptying into the Pacific Ocean.

In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains. On the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges. In the central-east are the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River. Most of China's arable lands lie along these rivers, and they were the centers of China's major ancient civilizations. Other major rivers include the Pearl River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. Yunnan Province is considered a part of the Greater Mekong Subregion, which also includes Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam

Climate

China has a climate dominated by dry seasons and wet monsoons, which leads to clear temperature differences in winter and summer. In winter, northern winds coming from high latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from sea areas at lower latitude are warm and moist.

China climates differ from region to region because of the country's extensive and complex topography. In the south of the Nanling Mountains, rains are prolific and the temperature is high all year round. In the Yangtze and Huaihe river valleys in the central part of China, there are four distinctive seasons.

In northeast China, summer is short but there is much sunshine, while winter is long and cold. Precipitation is limited in northwest China where it is cold in winter and hot in summer. In southwest China of low latitudes, the land is elevated high, and has characteristically vertical seasonal zones.

National Flag, National Emblem and National Anthem

National Flag

The national flag of the People's Republic of China is a red rectangle emblazoned with five stars.

The red of the flag symbolizes revolution; the stars are yellow so that they will stand out brightly against the red ground. The larger star represents the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the four smaller ones, the Chinese people. This expresses the great unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC.

National Emblem

The pattern of the national emblem is composed of the national flag, Tiananmen Square, ears of grain and a cogwheel. These symbolize the democratic revolution of the Chinese people since the May 4th Movement of 1919 and the birth of New China under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class on the basis of the worker-peasant alliance.

National Anthem

The National Anthem of PRC is March of the Volunteers, created in 1935 by playrwright Tian Han (lyrics), and by Nie Er (music), an initiator of the Chinese new music movement. The song was originally the theme song for a film called "Sons and Daughters of the Storm", which describes China under the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. In it, some intellectuals overcome their indecisiveness and rush to the battlefront of the anti-Japanese resistance. When the film was screened, the song became a call for all Chinese to liberate themselves.

History

China, one of the countries that can boast of an ancient civilization, has a long and mysterious history - almost 5,000 years of it! Like most other great civilizations of the world, China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded till they became the great country we have today.

It is recorded that Yuanmou man is the oldest hominoid in China and the oldest dynasty is Xia Dynasty. From the long history of China, there emerge many eminent people that have contributed a lot to the development of the whole country and to the enrichment of her history. Among them, there are emperors like Li Shimin (emperor Taizong of the Tang), philosophers like Confucius, great patriotic poets like Qu Yuan and so on.

Chinese society has progressed through five major stages - Primitive Society, Slave Society, Feudal Society, Semi-feudal and Semi-colonial Society, and Socialist Society. The rise and fall of the great dynasties forms a thread that runs through Chinese history, almost from the beginning. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st, 1949, China has become a socialist society and become stronger and stronger.

Population

With just over 1.3 billion people, China is the world's largest and most populous country.As the world's population is approximately 6.7 billion, China represents a full 20% of the world's population so one in every five people on the planet is a resident of China.

China's population growth has been somewhat slowed by the one child policy, in effect since 1979.

China officially registers 56 ethnic groups. The ethnic Chinese, known as the Han Chinese, compose 93 percent of the population. Han Chinese speak seven languages, with Mandarin or Putonghua - which means "common speech" -- being the official and most-used. Cantonese, which is spoken in Hong Kong and in China's other southern provinces, is the second most popular. Most of the 55 other ethnic groups use their own languages.

Religion

Chinese religion is not an organized, unified system of beliefs and practices. It has no leadership, no headquarters, no founder, and no denominations. Instead, "Chinese religion" is a general term used to describe the complex interaction of different religious and philosophical traditions that have been especially influential in China.

Although other religious traditions have been influential in China, Chinese religion is primarily composed of four main traditions: Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The religious outlook of most Chinese people consists of some combination of beliefs and practices from these four traditions. It is very rare for only one to be practiced to the exclusion of the others.

Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, each of which is a significant part of Chinese religion, are treated in their own sections on ReligionFacts. This section focuses especially on Chinese folk or indigenous religion, but reference is also made to the other traditions.

Language

The language spoken in Beijing is often referred to as Mandarin or Putonghua. Putonghua, which means "common language", is the country's predominant language and is widely used by more than 70 percent of the population.

Putonghua is variously referred to as the "Han language" (hanyu), "Mandarin", or simply Chinese. About two-thirds of the Han people are native speakers of Putonghua, while Han people who come from the southwestern and southeastern sections of China often speak Putonghua as well as their own dialects, such as Shanghaiese and Cantonese.

In recent years, as tourism to China has been increasing, the use of English has been sweeping across the country. Most of the service staff in hotels and many stores can speak fluent or basic English. Now, there is no longer any reason to have language concerns when visiting China. Of course, it will be interesting and fun for you to learn some basic Putonghua.

Administration Unit

China is divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Government, and two special administrative regions. The Capital of the People's Republic of China is Beijing.

The 23 provinces are Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hainan.

The five autonomous regions are Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Guangxi and Tibet.

The four municipalities are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing.

Hong Kong and Macao are special administrative regions.