CHINA

China: History China was inhabited, possibly more than a million years agoChina China was one of the earliest centers of human civilization. civilization Chinese civilization was also one of the few to invent writing independentlywriting China's history has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic changehistorypeacewar imperialdynastic

The first emperor of China, Qin Shi HuangQin Shi Huang

The Great Wall of China, stretching over 6700 km, was first erected in the 3rd century B.C. to protect the north from nomadic invaders and has been rebuilt several times sinceGreat Wall of China3rd century B.C.nomadic

China: Geography China is composed of a vast variety of highly different landscapes, with mostly plateaus and mountains in the west, and lower lands on the east.landscapes plateausmountains As a result, principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze (central), the Huang He (central-east), and the Amur (northeast)riversYangtze Huang HeAmur Most Chinese rivers empty into the Pacific.Pacific

Yangtse River gorge in Yunnan provinceYunnan

China: Geography cont. Most of China's arable lands lie along the two major rivers, the Yangtze and the Huang He In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges.Yellow Sea East China SeaalluvialSouth China Seahill countrymountain ranges To the west, the north has a great alluvial plain, and the south has a vast plateau traversed by hill ranges of moderate elevation, with the Himalayas, containing the highest point Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus among more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi DesertalluvialhillHimalayasMount EverestdesertTakla-MakanGobi Desert

view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau Tibetan Plateau

Grasslands of north Chengde, Hebei ProvinceChengdeHebei Province

China: Climate The climate of China varies greatly.climate The northern zone (within which lies Beijing) has a climate with winters of Arctic severity. BeijingArctic The central zone (within which Shanghai is situated) has a generally temperate climate.Shanghaitemperate The southern zone (within which lies Guangzhou and other southern provinces) has a generally subtropical climate. Guangzhousubtropical

The Giant Panda is an endangered species native to the bamboo forests of central and southern ChinaGiant Pandaendangered speciesbamboo

China: Economy The Economy of the People's Republic of China, when measured in USD-exchange rate terms it is the 4th largest in 2005 with approximately US$2.25 trillionUSDexchange rate It is the world's largest developing economy, and its continued growth is critical to the overall health of the world economy Since 1978 the People's Republic of China (PRC) government has been reforming its economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy1978People's Republic of Chinareforming its economySovietcentrally planned economymarket-oriented economy The authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture, increased the authority of plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and foreign investment.agricultureforeign tradeforeign investment

China: Demographics Han Chinese is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world.ethnic groupChinahumanethnic group world The Han Chinese constitute about 92 percent of the population of mainland China and about 19 percent of the entire global human population.mainland China global human population The Han Chinese have substantial genetic, linguistic, cultural and social differences between its various subgroupsvarious subgroups

China: Demographics cont. The government of the People's Republic of China now officially recognizes a total of 56 ethnic groupsPeople's Republic of China56 ethnic groups China's overall population is 1.3 billion--home to approximately 20%, or one-fifth of the world's population. The lack of birth control and promotion of population growth during the rule of Mao Zedong resulted in a demographic explosionMao Zedong As a response to the problems this is causing, the government of the PRC has enacted a birth control policy, commonly known as the One-child policy.birth controlOne-child policy

A High school classroom. Good education is highly praised in Chinese society and competition to top ranked universities is fierce.High school

China: Politics The PRC is regarded as a communist state by many political scientists, but attempts to characterize the nature of China's political structure into a single, simple category are typically seen as lacking sufficient depth to be satisfactory.communist statepolitical scientists structure A major reason for this is that for much of China's history, the state had been ruled by some form of centralized imperial monarchy, which was followed by a chaotic succession of largely authoritarian Chinese Nationalist governments as well as warlord-held administrations since the last few years of the Qing dynasty in 1912.centralized imperial monarchyauthoritarian Chinese NationalistwarlordheldQing dynasty Although the PRC regime has been variously described as authoritarian, communist, and socialist, it appears China is slowly becoming capitalist in its economic system.regime authoritariancommunistsocialistcapitalist However, heavy restrictions remain in some areas, most notably on the internet and in the press. the internetthe press

Tiananmen Tiananmen, symbolic epicentre of PRC politics, serves as a symbol of the Chinese government

China: Culture Chinese art has varied throughout its ancient history, divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology, as well as influenced by great philosophers, teachers and religion Chinese architecture, examples of which can be found over 2,000 years ago, has long been a landmark of Chinese culture.architecture Feng shui designed architecture plays an important role in Chinese Culture.Feng shuiChinese Culture

Chinese Pagoda

China: Culture cont. Especially beginning in the late 1980's and early 1990's, China became exposed to more western elements, notably pop culture.pop culture American cinema is very popular in China.American cinema Young people tend to gather late at night at bars and nightclubs. The obsession with brand names is becoming more apparent by the day

Cool Fairyland concert in Shanghai. The band combines traditional Chinese instruments and musical elements to their rock music.traditional Chinese instrumentsrock music

China: Language The majority of people in China speak one form or another of the Chinese language.Chinese language In addition to their native local dialect, nearly all can speak Standard Mandarin.Standard Mandarin A person who only speaks their local dialect is able to communicate with another person from a different area by using written Chinese. This written Chinese is itself based on one variety of spoken Chinese--Standard Mandarin.Standard Mandarin Its logographic writing system employs a large number of symbols, known as characters, to represent individual words or morphemes.logographiccharacterswordsmorphemes

China: Religion Confucianism "The School of the Scholars" is an East Asian ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the early Chinese sage Confucius. It is a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought which had tremendous influence on the history of Chinese civilization down to the 21st century.East Asianethicalphilosophical systemChineseConfuciusmoral socialpoliticalreligiousChinese civilization21st century Taoism is not a belief-centered religion, and there are no known Taoist creeds. One of these is the existence of several classes of supernatural beings, who may enter into relations with human beings. These include gods, ghosts, and ancestral spirits. Another fundamental assumption is the efficacy of ritual in maintaining a positive relationship with these beings. Folk Taoism focuses on rituals of sacrifice Various rituals, exercises, or substances are said to positively affect one's physical health (even to the point of immortality); align oneself spiritually with cosmic forces; or enable ecstatic spiritual journeys.

A Taoist Temple in Taiwan. The religious practice of incense burning as well as images of the Fu Dog and Dragon guardian spirits can be seen.Fu DogDragon

China: Beijing Beijing, a city in northern China (formerly known in English as Peking or Peiking), is the capital of the People's Republic of China (PRC).BeijingChinacapital People's Republic of China Beijing is China's second largest city in terms of population, after Shanghai. It is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways entering and leaving it in all directions. populationShanghai Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the PRC, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.ShanghaiHong Kong Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.Four Great Ancient Capitals of China It will also host the 2008 Summer Olympics.2008 Summer Olympics

The Forbidden City, home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynastiesForbidden CityMingQing

China: Shanghai Shanghai, situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is China's largest city.Yangtze River Delta China The city is one of the most important cultural, commercial, financial, industrial and communications centers of China. Shanghai is also one of the world's busiest ports, it became the largest cargo port of the world in 2005.ports Shanghai became China's most important city by the start of the 20th century and was the center of popular culture, intellectual discourse and political intrigue in Republican China. 20th centurypopular cultureRepublican China After the Communist takeover in 1949, Shanghai languished under heavy central government taxation and much of its bourgeois elements were purged. Since the government authorized the market-economic redevelopment of Shanghai in 1992, Shanghai has since led China's economic growth.bourgeois market-economic1992 One of the challenges for Shanghai is to regain its former status as a world-class city and also make city life more comfortable for all of its residents, including migrant workers from poorer provinces.migrant workers

Section of Shanghai's west bank

Nanjing Road Nanjing Road, one of the world's busiest shopping streets.

China: Hong Kong The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is one of the two special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is commonly known as Hong Kongspecial administrative regionsPeople's Republic of China Geographically, Hong Kong is located at the eastern side of the Pearl River Delta on the southeastern coast of China, facing the South China Sea in the south, and bordering the Guangdong Province in the north. It has one of the world's most liberal economies and is a major international centre of finance and trade.Pearl River Delta ChinaSouth China SeaGuangdong Provinceliberal economiesfinancetrade Hong Kong was formerly a British colony, and was handed over to the PRC in As a special administrative region, Hong Kong is guaranteed by the Basic Law to have a relatively high degree of autonomy for at least 50 yearsBritish colony handed over to the PRC Basic Lawautonomy

A relief map of Hong Kong and the southern part of Shenzhen (circa 2000).Shenzhen

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