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China Overview

Beautiful landscape of China

China

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China (simplified Chinese: 中国; traditional Chinese: 中國; Hanyu Pinyin: Zhōngguó (help·info); Tongyong Pinyin: Jhongguó; Wade-Giles: Chung¹kuo²) is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia. In 1949, when major combat ended in the Chinese Civil War, two political entities emerged having the term "China" in their names:

The People's Republic of China (PRC), commonly known as China, has control over mainland China and the largely self-governing territories of Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999).

China has one of the world's oldest civilizations and has the oldest continuous civilization. It has archaeological evidence dating back over 5,000 years. China was the largest and most advanced civilization for much of recorded history and is viewed as the source of many major inventions. It has also one of the world's oldest written language systems. Historically, China's cultural sphere has extended across East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs, and writing systems being adopted to varying degrees by neighbors such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The first evidence of human presence in the region was found at the Zhoukoudian cave and is one of the first known specimens of Homo erectus, now commonly known as the Peking Man, estimated to have lived from 300,000 to 780,000 years ago.

China Brief

China attracted more than 20 million foreign tourists in 2008 with a 2.8% increase compared with that of 2007.Thanks to its brilliant culture and long history China has became the most popular tourist destination in the world and coupled with the promotion of Beijing Olympics, China will be popular with more and more foreign tourists. Trip to China is certain to be one of the most memorable and treasured vacations you've never experienced...

Location

China World Map

With coasts on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, in total it borders 14 nations. It borders Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the south; Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to the west; Russia and Mongolia to the north and North Korea to the east. Only Russia has more land borders in Asia.

Capital: Beijing
Government: Socialist Republic
Currency: Renminbi (RMB, ¥)
Area: 9,596,960 km²
Population: 1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)
Language: national: Mandarin (Putonghua) regional: Wu (Shanghaiese), Cantonese (Yue), Mindong (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
Religion: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% (officially atheist)
Electricity: 220V/50Hz (US plug for 2-pin, Australian plug for 3-pin)
Calling Code: +86
Internet TLD: .cn
Time Zone: UTC +8

Flag

The flag of the People's Republic of China is a red field charged in the canton with five golden stars. The design features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle set off towards the fly. The red represents revolution; the five stars and their relationship represents the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of Communist Party of China (CPC). Sometimes, the flag is referred to as the "Five Star Red Flag" (simplified Chinese: 五星红旗; traditional Chinese: 五星紅旗; pinyin: wǔ xīng hóng qí).

The flag was designed by Zeng Liansong, a citizen from Rui'an, Zhejiang. He designed it in response to a circular distributed by the Preparatory Committee of the New Political Consultative Conference (新政治協商會議籌備會) in July 1949, shortly after they came to power following the Chinese Civil War. 2,992 (or 3,012, see below) entries were received for the design competition, and Zeng's design was put into a pool of 38 finalists. After several meetings and slight modifications, Zeng's design was chosen as the national flag. The first flag was hoisted by Mao Zedong on a pole overlooking Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949, announcing the founding of the People's Republic.

Flag of the People's Republic of China

Emblem

The National Emblem of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国国徽) contains a representation of Tiananmen Gate, the entrance gate of the Forbidden City from the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in a red circle. Above this representation are the five stars found on the national flag. The largest star represents the Communist Party of China, while the four smaller stars represent the four social classes as defined in Maoism. The emblem is described as being "Composed of patterns of the national flag."

These elements were described as

...The red color of the flag symbolizes revolution and the yellow color of the stars the golden brilliant rays radiating from the vast red land. The design of four smaller stars surrounding a bigger one signifies the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) - China Yearbook 2004

The outer circle has a border that contains sheaves of wheat and the inner sheaves of rice reflecting the Maoist philosophy of an agricultural revolution. At the center of the bottom portion of the border is a cog-wheel that represents the industrial workers.

These elements together were designed to symbolise the revolutionary struggles of the Chinese people since the May Fourth Movement, and the coalition of the proletariats which succeeded in founding the People's Republic of China.

The emblem was designed by Liang Sicheng, a famous architect, in a competition held at the founding of the People's Republic with obvious similarities to the symbols used by the USSR. It was determined as the National Emblem on September 20, 1950 by the Central People's Government.

Etymology

English names

The first recorded use of the word "China" is dated 1555. It is derived from Cin, a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo. In early usage, "china" as a term for porcelain was spelled differently than the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words. Both these words are derived from the Sanskrit word for China, Cīna (चीन). This word was first recorded in the 5th century BC in Mahābhārata, where it refers to a "yellow-colored" barbarian tribe from the north. This tribe is conventionally identified with Qin (秦) (778 BCE – 207 BCE), the westernmost of the Chinese kingdoms at this time, but may refer to an unknown group then inhabiting Tibet. In Latin, China was historically referred to as Sinia (hence "Sino-"), Sinae, Cathay, or Seres.

Chinese names


Simplified Chinese	Traditional Chinese

The official name of China changed with each dynasty. The common name is Zhōngguó (中國 in traditional Chinese or 中国 in simplified Chinese). This translates as "central nation" or (traditionally) as "middle kingdom".

The name Zhōngguó first appeared in the Classic of History (6th century BC), and was used to refer to the late Zhou Dynasty, as they believed that they were the "center of civilization," while peoples in the four cardinals were called Eastern Yi, Southern Man, Western Rong and Northern Di respectively. Some texts imply that "Zhōngguó" was originally meant to refer to the capital of the sovereign, to differ from the capital of his vassals. The use of "Zhōngguó" implied a claim of political legitimacy, and "Zhōngguó" was often used by states who saw themselves as the sole legitimate successor to previous Chinese dynasties; for example, in the era of the Southern Song Dynasty, both the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song state claimed to be "Zhōngguó."

Zhōngguó came to official use as an abbreviation for the Republic of China (Zhonghua Minguo) after the government's establishment in 1912. Since the People's Republic of China, established in 1949, now controls the great majority of the area encompassed within the traditional concept of "China", the People's Republic is the political unit most commonly identified with the abbreviated name Zhōngguó, with the Republic of China nowadays known commonly as "Taiwan".

China History

Yellow Emperor or Huangdi China's culture is one of the oldest of the world. Legend has it that the three nobles and five emperors (sanhuang wudi 三皇五帝)were the first rules of China. They're also considered as the ancestors of the Chinese people. Of these legendary figures, some taught the Chinese to build houses, others how to grow grain. All of them were idealized figures during a time when mankind was first learning how to survive in the world. The most famous two of these eight semi-deities were the emperors Yan and Huang. Today the Chinese often refer to themselves as Yan Huang Zisun(yan huang zisun 炎黄子孙)-descendants of the Yan and Huang emperors.

China History

China Climate

Guilin China has a marked continental monsoon climate characterized by great variety. Most parts of China are in the northern temperate zone while parts of the southern area are in the tropical or subtropical zone and parts of the northern area in the Frigid Zone.

Most of China lies in the north temperature zone, characterized by a warm climate and clear division between seasons, a climate well suited for habitation. In winter, northerly winds from high latitude areas keep the northern parts cold and dry; while in summer, monsoons from eastern and southern coastal areas bring warmness and moisture.

China Climate

China Geography

Earth Located in the east of the Asian continent, on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, the People's Republic of China has a land area of about 9.6 million square kilometers, and is the third largest country in the world, next only to Russia and Canada.

From north to south, the territory of China spans over 49 latitudes, stretching from the center of the HeilongjiangRiver north of the town of Mohe to the Zengmu Reef at the southernmost tip of the Nansha. From east to west, the nation extends from the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers to the Pamirs.

China Geography

China Development

China Foundation For Poverty Alleviation China is on course to achieve most of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Already there have been spectacular results in increasing life expectancy, and decreasing illiteracy rates and poverty. The social security system is under reform, expanding from local services in cities and rural areas into a nationwide network.

China's development model has been called the biggest poverty reduction campaign in the world - according to studies conducted by Qingua University, 75% of people across the world who have been lifted out of poverty in the last two decades live in China.

China Development

China Population

China Population China is the most populous country in the world, with 1.25909 billion people at the end of 1999, about 22 percent of the world's total. This figure does not include many Chinese in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, TaiwanProvince and Macao Special Administrative Region.

The population density in China is 130 people per sq km. This population, however, is unevenly distributed. Along the densely populated east coast there are more than 400 people per sq km; in the central areas, over 200; and in the sparsely populated plateaus in the west there are less than 10 people per sq km.

China Population