(Just came from China with lots of informations and links most of it about business ,I have some cd's regarding your project her is some I just cop & paste it for you.
I will be glad to send you more if you would )
Administrations of China
China is administratively divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 centrally administrative municipalities and 2 special administrative regions. Municipalities are directly under the administration of central government. A municipality has the same political, economical and jurisdictional rights as a province. The statistics of areas are from official information issued in mid 1997 (CHINA 1997, Published by New Star Publishers).
Anhui Province
Area: 139,000 square kilometers
Population: 60.70 millions
Capital: Hefei
Major Cities: Huangshan; Bengbu; Tongling; Ma'anshan
Beijing
Area: 16,800 square kilometers
Population: 12.59 millions
Chongqing (Municipality) (Newly Promoted as Municipality in 1997)
Area: 82,000 square kilometers
Population: 30.02 millions
Fujian Province
Area: 120,000 square kilometers
Population: 32.61 millions
Capital: Fuzhou
Major Cities: Xiamen; Zhangzhou
Gansu Province
Area: 450,000 square kilometers
Population: 24.67 millions
Capital: Lanzhou
Major Cities: Dunhuang; Jiayuguan; Jiayuguan
Guangdong Province
Area: 186,000 square kilometers
Population: 69.61 millions
Capital: Guangzhou
Major Cities: Chaozhou; Dongguan; Shantou; Shenzhen; Shunde; Zhuhai;
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
Area: 236,300 square kilometers
Population: 45.89 millions
Capital: Nanning
Major Cities: Beihai; Guilin; Liuzhou
Guizhou Province
Area: 170,000 square kilometers
Population: 35.55 millions
Capital: Guiyang
Major Cities: Anshun; Zunyi
Hainan Province
Area: 34,000 square kilometers
Population: 7.34 millions
Capital: Haikou
Major Cities: Sanya
Hebei Province
Area: 190,000 square kilometers
Population: 64.84 millions
Capital: Shijiazhuang
Major Cities: Cangzhou; Chengde; Qinhuangdao(Including Beidaihe and Shanhaiguan); Tangshan; Baoding; Zhangjiakou
Heilongjiang Province
Area: 469,000 square kilometers
Population: 37.28 millions
Capital: Harbin
Major Cities: Hailaer; Mohe; Mudanjiang; Qiqihar; Suifenhe
Henan Province
Area: 167,000 square kilometers
Population: 91.72 millions
Capital: Zhengzhou
Major Cities: Anyang; Kaifeng; Luoyang; Sanmenxia
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
Area: 1,092 square kilometers
Population: 6.31 millions
Hubei Province
Area: 187,400 square kilometers
Population: 58.25 millions
Capital: Wuhan
Major Cities: Huangshi; Shiyan; Shashi; Xiangfan; Yichang;
Hunan Province
Area: 210,000 square kilometers
Population: 64.28 millions
Capital: Changsha
Major Cities: Changde; Dayong; Hengyang; Xiangtan; Zhangjiajie
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Area: 1,183,000 square kilometers
Population: 23.07 millions
Capital: Hohhot
Major Cities: Baotou; Chifeng; Wuhai
Jiangsu Province
Area: 102,600 square kilometers
Population: 71.10 millions
Capital: Nanjing
Major Cities: Lianyungang; Xuzhou; Suzhou; Wuxi; Zhenjiang
Jiangxi Province
Area: 166,600 square kilometers
Population: 41.05 millions
Capital: Nanchang
Major Cities: Jiujiang; Lushan; Jian, Jinggangshan
Jilin Province
Area: 187,000 square kilometers
Population: 26.10 millions
Capital: Changchun
Major Cities: Jilin; Tuman; Yanji
Liaoning Province
Area: 145,700 square kilometers
Population: 41.16 millions
Capital: Shenyang
Major Cities: Dalian; Dandong; Anshan, Wafangdian
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
Area: 66,400 square kilometers
Population: 5.21 millions
Capital: Yinchuan
Major Cities: Shizuishan
Qinghai Province
Area: 720,000 square kilometers
Population: 4.88 millions
Capital: Xining
Shaanxi Province
Area: 205,000 square kilometers
Population: 35.43 millions
Capital: Xi'an
Major Cities: Xianyang; Baoji; Hanzhong;
Shandong Province
Area: 153,000 square kilometers
Population: 87.38 millions
Capital: Jinan
Major Cities: Dezhou; Linyi; Qingdao;Qufu; Tai'an; Yantai
Shanghai (Municipality)
Area: 6,200 square kilometers
Population: 14.19 millions
Shanxi Province
Area: 156,000 square kilometers
Population: 31.09 millions
Capital: Taiyuan
Major Cities: Datong; Linfen; Yangquan
Sichuan Province
Area: 488,000 square kilometers
Population: 84.28 millions
Capital: Chengdu
Major Cities: Emeishan; Zigong; Daxianshi
Taiwan Province
Area: 36,000 square kilometers
Population: 21.30 millions
Major Cities: Taipei; Gaoxiong; Tainan; Xinzhu
Tianjin (Municipality)
Area: 11,300 square kilometers
Population: 9.48 millions
Tibet Autonomous Region
Area: 1,220,000 square kilometers
Population: 2.44 millions
Capital: Lhasa
Major Cities: Xigaze
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Area: 1,600,000 square kilometers
Population: 16.89 millions
Capital: Urumqi
Major Cities: Kashgar; Turfan
Yunnan Province
Area: 394,000 square kilometers
Population: 40.42 millions
Capital: Kunming
Major Cities: Dali; Simao; Xishuangbanna
Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR)
Area: 23.8 square kilometers
Population: 435,000
Zhejiang Province
Area: 101,800 square kilometers
Population: 43.43 millions
Capital: Hangzhou
Major Cities: Jiaxing; Ningbo; Shaoxing; Wenzhou
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Climate
China lies mainly in the northern temperate zone under the influence of monsoon. From September and October to March and April next year monsoon blow from Siberia and the Mongolia Plateau into China and decrease in force as it goes southward, causing dry and cold winter in the country and a temperature difference of 40 degree centigrade between the north and south. The temperature in China in the winter is 5 to 18 degree centigrade lower than that in other countries on the same latitude in winter. Monsoon blows into China from the ocean in summer, bringing with them warm and wet currents, thus rain.
Great differences in climate are found from region to region owing to China's extensive territory and complex topography. The northern part of Heilongjiang Province in northeast China has no summer, Hainan Island has a long summer but no winter; the Huaihe River valley features four distinct seasons; the western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is covered by snow all year round; the southern part of the Yunan-Guizhou Plateau is spring-like all the year; and the northwestern inland region sees a great drop of temperature in the day. Annual precipitation also varies greatly from region to region; it is as high as 1,500 millimeters along the southeastern coast. Decreasing landward, it is less than 50 millimeters in northwest China. Please click here for current weather report, weather forecast for major Chinese cities and weather analysis.
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Chinese Customs, Superstitions and Traditions
Chinese culture is rich in customs, traditions and superstitions. In this section you will find brief descriptions of a selection of traditional customs in certain areas of life.
The extent to which these customs will be observed will vary between areas within Greater China and between Chinese communities throughout the world. Some traditions may no longer be observed apart from in small pockets of very traditionalist Chinese.
Marriage customs and preparation
In a culture where the perpetuation of family ancestral lineage and the family as a social institution are central, marriage is an important institution and has many intricate customs associated with it. In the Chinese family system the wife lives with the husband's family and is deemed as no longer part of her own family, but the 'property' of the husband's family.
Arranged marriages, where the marriage match is arranged by the parents or relatives of the bride and groom were once common in Chinese society but are now rare and viewed as old-fashioned. Marriage is usually now based on the two people involved's own choices. However, once the couple have chosen each other, the arrangements are usually taken over by the parents (or older relatives), thus observing traditional customs and superstitions.
Chinese men tend to marry fairly late in life, as they need to save up for the expense of the wedding: a Chinese wedding can be very expensive, especially where the involved families are of high social status. Two important componentss of Chinese culture- the need to avoid embarassment ('saving face') and to conspicuously display wealth and prosperity- come heavily to the fore in marriage, especially where the marriage is of the eldest son. Failure to provide a lavish wedding is likely to lower the status of the family, bring shame upon them and bring criticism from relatives raining down upon them.
There are several stages to a Chinese wedding (described under), usually under the overseeing of the groom's parents (or older relatives). Weddings are micro-planned and planning is highly time consuming. The process begins when the parents are informed of their son/daughter's intentions and, if they are in agreement, a meeting between the two families is arranged.
Information gathering
In Chinese culture, a marriage is not simply a love match between two people, but an establishing of a relationship between two families as well. If the parents are not happy with the lineage and status of the other family, a wedding will not occur.
The ،®information gathering' stage of a wedding involves the groom's family ascertaining the reputation and lineage of the bride's family, and the character and behaviour of the bride. This is of great importance as the reputation of the groom's family is at stake. Before a meeting takes place, the groom's family will have already made surreptitious enquiries through friends and acquaintances. A meeting will be arranged for the two families to meet- usually without the bride and groom present- and a frank and open discussion will ensue. Some prefer the initial meeting to be held over a meal in a restaurant with members of the extended families such as aunts and uncles present. Sharing a meal will help to break the ice and strengthen the bonds between parties soon to be in-laws. Conversation is likely to revolve around family backgrounds and origins- though not with a serious tones as this may lead to arguments which will lead to a cancellation of the wedding- and serves to allow the two families to become acquainted and establish a rapport. The family of the bride will use the opportunity to investigate the status and wealth of the groom's family and ensure that their daughter is not likely to be maltreated: as noted before, after marriage the bride will become part of the groom's family.
Negotiation period
If both families are satisfied with each other, the groom's parents will send their representative- always female and chosen from among his aunts or elderly relatives- to ask for the bride's hand in marriage. A time and date is set for this meeting. The representative will discuss a suitable date, the amount of the dowry and the number of tables allocated to the bride's family at the wedding banquet. The bride's family will always delay agreement on these matters so as not to appear too eager, even if they have already decided the matters. This is expected, and a second meeting is set, with a period in between to allow any problems to be worked out. However, on her second visit to the bride's house, the groom's representative expects a decision. A relevant proverb is used to signal acceptance. The bride's family will request that the wedding is conducted with due felicity and grandeur, and the amount of dowry and number of required banquet tables will be stated. The groom's representative will not bargain, as this is considered unseemly: she will only ask the bride's name and date of birth in order to determine a suitable date for the wedding by reference to a fortune teller. The groom's family will now be able to estimate the costs of the wedding and start to make preparations. If a relative of either the bride or groom dies before the wedding day, the wedding will be postponed for a period, traditionally a year but now usually reduced to a hundred days, as it is considered inappropriate to hold a wedding during a period of mourning.
Engagement.
If preparations for the wedding can not be made within the specified time period or the couple do not wish to ،®rush into' marriage, an engagement will occur first, but only with the bride's parents' consent. The engagement is usually a simple affair, with an exchange of rings (worn on the third finger of the left hand), and the engagement is of an unspecified time period. Chinese engagements are not a binding commitment to marriage, but an indication that the couple intends to marry. Engaged couples may sometimes live together as man and wife (if their parents consent), but formal marriage is always preferred because of its (relative) permanency.
Funeral customs and the wake
The burial of the dead (cremation is traditionally uncommon) is a matter taken very seriously in Chinese societies. Improper funeral arrangements can wreak ill fortune and disaster upon the family of the deceased.To a certain degree, Chinese funeral rites and burial customs are determined by the age of the deceased, the manner of his/her death, his/her status and position in society and his/her marital status.
According to Chinese custom, an older person should not show respect to a younger. Thus, if the deceased is a young bachelor his body cannot be brought home but is left in a funeral parlour. His parents cannot offer prayers for their son: being unmarried he has no children to perform these rites either (hence why the body does not come to the family home). If a baby or child dies no funeral rites are performed, as respect cannot be shown to a younger person: the child is buried in silence.
Funeral rites for an elderly person must follow the prescribed form and convey relevant respect: rites befitting the person's status, age etc. must be performed even if this means the family of the deceased must go into debt to pay for them.
Preparation for a funeral often begins before death has occurred: if a person is on his/her deathbed a coffin will often have already been ordered by the family. A traditional Chinese coffin is rectangular with three ،®humps', but it more usual in modern times for a western style coffin to be used. The coffin is provided by an undertaker who oversees all the funeral rites.
When a death occurs in a family all statues of deities in the house are covered with red paper (so as not to be exposed to the body or coffin) and mirrors removed from sight, as it is believed that one who sees the reflection of a coffin in a mirror will shortly have a death in his/her family. A white cloth will be hung across the doorway of the house and a gong placed on the left of the entrance if the deceased is male and right if female.
Before being placed in the coffin, the corpse is cleaned with a damp towel, dusted with talcum powder and dressed in his/her best clothes from his/her own wardrobe (all other clothing of the deceased is burnt and not reused) before being placed on a mat (or hay if on a farm). The body is completely dressed- including footwear, and cosmetics if female- but it is not dressed in red clothes (as this will cause the corpse to become a ghost): white, black, brown or blue are the usual colours used. Before being placed in the coffin the corpse's face is covered with a yellow cloth and the body with a light blue one.
The coffin is placed on its own stand either in the house (if the person has died at home) or in the courtyard outside the house (if the person has died away from home). The coffin is placed with the head of the deceased facing the inside of the house resting about a foot from the ground on two stools, and wreaths, gifts and a portrait or photograph of the deceased are placed at the head of the coffin. The coffin is not sealed during the wake. Food is placed in front of the coffin as an offering to the deceased. The deceased's comb will be broken into halves, one part placed in the coffin, one part retained by the family.
During the wake, the family do not wear jewellery or red clothing, red being the colour of happiness. Traditionally, children and grandchildren of the deceased did not cut their hair for forty-nine days after the date of death, but this custom is usually only observed now by the older generations of Chinese. It is customary for blood relatives and daughters-in-law to wail and cry during mourning as a sign of respect and loyalty to the deceased. Wailing is particularly loud if the deceased has left a large fortune.
At the wake, the family of the deceased gather around the coffin, positioned according to their order in the family. Special clothing is worn: children and daughters in law wear black (signifying that they grieve the most), grandchildren blue and great grandchildren light blue. Sons-in-law wear brighter colours such as white, as they are considered outsiders. The children and daughters-in-law also wear a hood of sackcloth over their heads. The eldest son sits at the left shoulder of his parent and the deceased's spouse at the right. Later-arriving relatives must crawl on their knees towards the coffin.
An altar, upon which burning incense and a lit white candle are placed, is placed at the foot of the coffin. Joss paper and prayer money (to provide the deceased with sufficient income in the afterlife) are burned continuously throughout the wake. Funeral guests are required to light incense for the deceased and to bow as a sign of respect to the family. There will also be a donation box, as money is always offered as a sign of respect to the family of the deceased: it will also help the family defray the costs of the funeral.
During the wake there will usually be seen a group of people gambling in the front courtyard of the deceased's house: the corpse has to be ،®guarded' and gambling helps the guards stay awake during their vigil; it also helps to lessen the grief of the participants.
The length of the wake depends upon the financial resources of the family, but is at least a day to allow time for prayers to be offered. While the coffin is in the house (or compound) a monk will chant verses from Buddhist or Taoist scriptures at night. It is believed that the souls of the dead face many obstacles and even torments and torture (for the sins they have committed in life) before they are allowed to take their place in the afterlife: prayers, chanting and rituals offered by the monks help to smooth the passage of the deceased's soul into heaven. These prayers are accompanied by music played on the gong, flute and trumpet.
Colours and clothing
Colours
In Chinese culture there are three central colours: red, black and white.
Red, being the colour of blood, symbolises the positive aspects of life such as happiness, wealth, fame etc. Red is always associated with good luck.
Black, being the colour of faeces is associated with dirt, sin, evil, disasters, sadness, cruelty and suffering among other negative things. Black signifies bad fortune and must not be worn during festivals, wedding celebrations etc. or used in home decoration. Black symbolises a lack of civilisation and backwardness. However, traditions associated with this colour are quickly fading, and among the younger generations black can be frequently seen as a clothing colour.
White symbolises the mother's milk and is intermediate between red and black, balancing the two colours. It signifies moderation, purity, honesty and life, but is also used at funerals as it is believed it can harmonise all elements. It can be used in all rituals and ceremonies as it is essentially neutral. Other colours are classified according to their relative darkness and lightness and associated significance thereof.
Clothing
There are no specific rules in Chinese custom governing dress. Traditional costumes are rarely worn and clothing is usually chosen for comfort or according to the fashion of the day.
Bright colours are preferred for clothing in Chinese culture, but the colour of one's clothing is generally suited to the environment: for example manual workers and farmers will often wear dark colours because of the nature of their work. Some conventions are considered with regards to age: the elderly are not encouraged to ،®dress young', for example t-shirts and jeans.
Speech and greeting conventions
Many western visitors to China have had a rude shock: Chinese conversations in public tend to be loud and highly audible- to western ears the conversationalists appear to be arguing. Arguments usually result not in especially loud speech, but in the use of curses and swear words, regardless of sex or age.
However, Chinese etiquette states that the best way to speak is softly and with one's head slightly bowed. ،®Answering back' to those older is considered ill-mannered: the advice of elders should be accepted. Children who answer back or swear are considered bad mannered and their parents are held responsible.
Chinese men speaking loud are not considered bad mannered: a woman speaking loudly is, and may have abuse and ridicule heaped upon herself.
The correct way of greeting a person is very important in Chinese culture: inappropriate greeting is considered very much undesirable. Among strangers, acquaintances or at formal occasions the greeting (in Mandarin) ،®Ni Hao' (or ،®Nin Hao if much respect is meant) meaning, literally ،®you good?' is used. The phrase ،®Have you eaten?' is used as a more familiar greeting and testifies to the centrality of food in Chinese culture. Chinese culture considers it impolite to meet someone and not ask him/her to eat: he/she may be hungry!
The traditional Chinese ،®handshake' consists of interlocking the fingers of the hands and waving them up and down several times. This is today rarely used (except during festivals, weddings and birthdays of the elderly), and the western style handshake is ubiquitous among all but the very old or traditional. When greeting, a slight bow often accompanies the handshake, with the bow being deeper the more respect is being proffered to the person, for example an elderly person or someone of high social status.
The Chinese tend not to greet those close to them with greetings that may bear a negative slant such as ،®you're looking sad' or ،®you're looking tired': this is deemed improper. In formal contexts, or when addressing an elder or person with high status it is considered highly inappropriate and rude to address the person by their given name. They should be addressed according to their designation, for example ،®Mr Tang, Doctor Liu, Chairman Lee' etc.
Business/name cards are ubiquitous in Chinese business and will almost always be exchanged upon meeting a stranger in such a context. The card should be held in both hands when offered to the other person: offering it with one hand is considered ill-mannered.
Miscellaneous customs and beliefs
Brooms
Many superstitions abound in Chinese culture about brooms. The use of brooms should only be for cleaning the house, shop etc. Traditional Chinese culture holds that a broom is inhabited by a spirit, thus explaining why it should not be used for games, playing etc. The broom should not be used for cleaning the household gods or altar as this is disrespectful. These objects are cleaned with a cloth or a special small brush. During the Spring Festival, Chinese custom prohibits the use of the broom for three days from New Year's Day, as it is thought that use of it will sweep away the good luck the new year brings.
Beating a person with a broom will rain bad luck upon that person for years. The curse can however be lifted by rubbing the part of the body hit several times. The broom should never touch the head: this is very bad luck. In gambling, the spirit in the broom is sometimes invoked by ،®threatening' it until luck in gambling ensues. The broom is also sometimes used in temple rituals. Here, the person's whole body is swept with the broom in front of the deities and the broom then beaten. This functions to remove bad luck.
Numbers
Numbers play a role second only to food in Chinese custom and culture. It is believed that numbers can determine a person's fate- for example in the naming of a child.
Certain numbers are considered lucky, and others unlucky. The luckiest number in Chinese culture is eight, as the Chinese for eight sounds like the word for ،®lucky'. Four, conversely is a very unlucky number as in Chinese it sounds like the word for death. Thus Chinese adhering to the customs try to avoid the number four in, for example, car number plates, house addresses etc. Seven can also signify death, and '1' loneliness.
Moustaches and beards
Despite a long history of beards and moustaches in Chinese heroes and Chinese deities pictured with beards, wearing a moustache is considered bad luck by Chinese custom, and can bring misfortune on the family and relatives of the wearer. Being unshaven is associated with the working classes- who are thought not to have time to shave- and thus lowers the status of the wearer.
Finger and toe nails
Chinese custom forbids the clipping of one's toe or finger nails at night as it is believed that this may cause a visit from the dead or a ghost. Nail clippings are to be carefully collected and disposed of in a place unknown to others as it is believed that nail clippings can be used to cast a spell or curse upon the person from whom the clippings have come.
The fluid from a dog's eye
Dogs are believed to have the ability to see supernatural beings such as ghosts and phantoms, and howl when they see one. If a dog howls continuously, it is believed that this presages an imminent death.
Following from this, it is believed that the fluid from a dog's eye can enable humans to see the spirit world, for example ancestors' souls. A medium will smear the fluid on his/her eyes in order to see the supernatural world for the purposes of exorcism etc. However it is believed that ordinary people who smear the fluid from a dog's eye on their own eyes may die from the shock of seeing the afterlife.
Miscellaneous customs and superstitions
Other customs and superstitions include:
Dreaming of snow or teeth presages the death of a parent.
Hearing a crow cawing between 3 and 7am means the hearer will receive gifts, whereas hearing a crow caw between 7 and 11am rain and wind will follow, and between 11am and 1pm quarrels will ensue.
If a man's ears burn it can mean special things: if they burn between 11pm and 1pm there will be harmony between him and his wife; if they burn between 1 and 3 in the afternoon, a guest will soon arrive.
Yarrow and tortoiseshell are considered to be lucky.
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Ethnic Group
There are 56 ethnic groups in China. The Han people form the largest, numbering 1.1 billion and making up 93.3 percent of the country's population. The other ethnic groups, that is the minority nationalities, total 160 million, only 6.7 percent of the Chinese nation.
Of the minority nationalities, 15 have over a million people each; 13 over 100,000 each; 7 over 50,000 each; and 20 have fewer than 50,000 people each.
The Han people live all over the country but their compact communities are in the Huanghe, Changjiang and Zhujiang valleys and the Songhua-Liaohe Plain of the northeast. The minority nationalities inhabit 60 percent of the country's total area, and they live mainly in the border regions.
All nationalities in China are equal, as stipulated by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, They take part in the administration of state affairs as equals, irrespective of their numbers or the size of areas they inhabit. Every minority nationality is represented in the National People's Congress, which is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China.
National regional autonomy is practiced in areas where the minority nationalities live in compact communities. There are 5 national autonomous and 75 autonomous counties (or banners in Inner Mongolia). Local autonomous governments are established and local affairs are administered by the minorities themselves. All national autonomous regions are inalienable parts of the People's Republic of China.
At present, because of various historical factors the minority nationality areas are less developed than Han areas economically and culturally. Over the last three decades, the Chinese Government has adopted many policies and measures, including the provision of manpower, financial and technical support, to help develop these minority nationality areas. Such help, of course, is a two-way street, for minority nationality areas have also contributed to the economic development of the areas inhabited by the Han people.
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Geography
China is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next to Canada and Russia, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, or one-fifteenth of the world's land mass. It begins from the confluence of the Heilong and Wusuli rivers (135 degrees and 5 minutes east longitude) in the east to the Pamirs west of Wuqia County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (73 degrees and 40 minutes east longitude) in the west, about 5,200 kilometers apart; and from the midstream of the Heilong River north of Mohe (53 degrees and 31 minutes north latitude) in the north to the southernmost island Zengmu'ansha in the South China Sea (4 degrees and 15 minutes north latitude), about 5,500 kilometers apart.
The border stretches over 22,000 kilometers on land and the coastline extends well over 18,000 kilometers, washed by the waters of the Bohai, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China seas. The Bohai Sea is the inland sea of China.
There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters, the largest is Taiwan, with a total area of about 36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.
Introduction
Located in East Asia, on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km, and is the third-largest country in the world, next only to Russia and Canada.
From north to south, the territory of China measures some 5,500 km, stretching from the center of the Heilongjiang River north of the town of Mohe (latitude 53،م 30' N) to the Zengmu Reef at the southernmost tip of the Nansha Islands (latitude 4،م N). When north China is still covered with snow, people in south China are busy with spring plowing. From west to east, the nation extends about 5,200 km from the Pamirs (longitude 73،م 40'E) to the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers (longitude 135،م 05' E), with a time difference of over four hours. When the Pamirs are cloaked in night, the morning sun is shining brightly over east China. China has land borders 22,800 km long, with 15 contiguous countries: Korea to the east; the People's Republic of Mongolia to the north; Russia to the northeast; Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan and Tajikistan to the northwest; Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan to the west and southwest; and Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar to the south. Across the seas to the east and southeast are the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Chinese mainland is flanked to the east and south by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas, with a total maritime area of 4.73 million sq km. The Bohai Sea is China's continental sea, while the Yellow, East China and South China seas are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. A total of 5,400 islands dot China's vast territorial waters. The largest of these, with an area of about 36,000 sq km, is Taiwan, followed by Hainan with an area of 34,000 sq km. Diaoyu and Chiwei islands, located to the northeast of Taiwan Island, are China's easternmost islands. The many islands, islets, reefs and shoals on the South China Sea, known collectively as the South China Sea Islands, are subdivided into the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups.
Topography
China's topography is varied and complicated, with towering mountains, basins of different sizes, undulating plateaus and hills, and flat and fertile plains.
A bird's-eye view of China would indicate that China's terrain descends in four steps from west to east.
The top of this four-step ،°staircase،± is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Averaging more than 4,000 m above sea level, it is often called the ،°roof of the world.،± Rising 8,848 m above sea level is Mt. Qomolangma, the world's highest peak and the main peak of the Himalayas.
The second step includes the Inner Mongolia, Loess and Yunnan-Guizhou plateaus, and the Tarim, Junggar and Sichuan basins, with an average elevation of between 1,000 m and 2,000 m.
The third step, about 500-1,000 m in elevation, begins at a line drawn around the Greater Hinggan, Taihang, Wushan and Xuefeng mountain ranges and extends eastward to the coast. Here, from north to south, are the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain and the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain. Interspersed amongst the plains are hills and foothills.
To the east, the land extends out into the ocean, in a continental shelf, the fourth step of the staircase. The water here is less than 200 m deep
Land and Mineral Resources
The composition and distribution of China's land resources have three major characteristics: (1) variety in type--cultivated land, forests, grasslands, deserts and tideland; (2) many more mountains and plateaus than flatlands and basins; (3) unbalanced distribution: farmland mainly concentrated in the east, grasslands largely in the west and north, and forests mostly in the far northeast and southwest.
In China today, 94.97 million ha of land are cultivated, mainly in the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain, the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain, the Pearl River Delta Plain and the Sichuan Basin. The fertile black soil of the Northeast Plain is ideal for growing wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, flax and sugar beets. The deep, brown topsoil of the North China Plain is planted with wheat, corn, millet, sorghum and cotton. The Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain's many lakes and rivers make it particularly suitable for paddy rice and freshwater fish, hence its designation of ،°land of fish and rice.،± This area also produces large quantities of tea and silkworms. The purplish soil of the warm and humid Sichuan Basin is green with crops in all four seasons, including paddy rice, rapeseed and sugarcane.
Forests blanket 133.7 million ha of China. The Greater Hinggan, the Lesser Hinggan and the Changbai mountain ranges in the northeast are China's largest natural forest areas. Major tree species found here include conifers, such as Korean pine, larch and Olga Bay larch, and broadleaves such as white birch, oak, willow, elm and Northeast China ash. Major tree species of the southwest include the dragon spruce, fir and Yunnan pine, as well as precious teak trees, red sandalwood, camphor trees, nanmu and padauk. Often called a ،°kingdom of plants,،± Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan Province is a rarity in that it is a tropical broadleaf forest playing host to more than 5,000 plant species.
Grasslands in China cover an area of 400 million ha, stretching more than 3,000 km from the northeast to the southwest. They are the centers of animal husbandry. The Inner Mongolian Prairie is China's largest natural pastureland, and home to Sanhe horses, Sanhe cattle and Mongolian sheep. The famous natural pasturelands north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang are ideal for stock breeding. The famous Ili horses and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep are raised here.
China's cultivated lands, forests and grasslands are among the world's largest in terms of sheer area. But due to China's large population, the areas of cultivated land, forest and grassland per capita are small, especially in the case of cultivated land،ھless than 0.08 ha per capita, or only one third of the world's average.
China is rich in mineral resources, and all the world's known minerals can be found here. To date, geologists have confirmed reserves of 153 different minerals, putting China third in the world in total reserves. Proven reserves of energy sources include coal, petroleum, natural gas, and oil shale; and radioactive minerals include uranium and thorium. China's coal reserves total 1,007.1 billion tons, mainly distributed in north China, with Shanxi and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region taking the lead. Petroleum reserves are mainly in northwest and also in northeast China, north China and the continental shelves in east China. Proven reserves of ferrous metals include iron, manganese, vanadium and titanium. China's 45.9 billion tons of iron ore are mainly distributed in northeast, north and southwest China. The Anshan-Benxi Area in Liaoning, east Hebei, and Panzhihua in Sichuan are major iron producers. China has the world's largest reserves of tungsten, tin, antimony, zinc, molybdenum, lead, mercury and other nonferrous metals; its reserves of rare earth metals far exceed the total for the rest of the world.
Rivers
China abounds in rivers. More than 1,500 rivers each drain 1,000 sq km or larger areas. More than 2,700 billion cu m of water flow along these rivers, 5.8 percent of the world's total. Most of the large rivers find their source in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and as a result China is rich in water-power resources, leading the world in hydropower potential, with reserves of 680 million kw.
China's rivers can be categorized as exterior and interior systems. The catchment area for the exterior rivers that empty into the oceans accounts for 64 percent of the country's total land area. The Yangtze, Yellow, Heilongjiang, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe, Huaihe and Lancang rivers flow east, and empty into the Pacific Ocean. The Yarlungzangbo River in Tibet, which flows first east and then south into the Indian Ocean, boasts the Grand Yarlungzangbo Canyon, the largest canyon in the world, 504.6 km long and 6,009 m deep. The Ertix River flows from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the Arctic Ocean. The catchment area for the interior rivers that flow into inland lakes or disappear into deserts or salt marshes makes up 36 percent of China's total land area. Its 2,179 km make the Tarim River in southern Xinjiang China's longest interior river.
The Yangtze is the largest river in China, and the third- longest in the world, next only to the Nile in northeast Africa and the Amazon in South America. It is 6,300 km long, and has a catchment area of 1.809 million sq km. The middle and lower Yangtze River's warm and humid climate, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil make the area an important agricultural region. Known as the ،°golden waterway,،± the Yangtze is a transportation artery linking west and east. The Yellow River is the second-largest river in China, 5,464 km in length, with a catchment area of 752,000 sq km. The Yellow River valley was one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. It has lush pastureland and abundant mineral deposits. The Heilongjiang River is north China's largest. It has a total length of 4,350 km, of which 3,101 km are within China. The Pearl River is the largest river in south China, with a total length of 2,214 km. In addition to those endowed by nature, China has a famous man-made river،ھhe Grand Canal, running from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south. Work first began on the Grand Canal as early as in the fifth century B.C. It links five major rivers،ھthe Haihe, Yellow, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantang. With a total length of 1,801 km, the Grand Canal is the longest as well as the oldest man-made waterway in the world.
China's Seas
China borders on 4 sea areas, namely Bohai area, Yellow sea area, East China sea area and South sea area together with Pacific sea area to the east of Taiwan. All the China sea areas are rich in resources, vast in territory, proper in geographical location and appropriate in climate. And also they have rich resources of ocean fishery, inter-tidal beach, undersea mineral, coastal salt and ocean powers. The natural size of china seas is up to 4.727 million square kilometers, about half of the size of the land space of China. China coastline is about 18 thousand kilometers long, along which are more than 6,500 islands, 160 gulfs and bays, over 700 harbors and ports (including over 300 deepwater ports). The inter-tidal beach occupies a space of 20 thousand square kilometers, which has great potentials for development. With the fine conditions for development, which are provided by the sea, the coastal regions goes rapidly in the social and economic development and they have become a populated area with active economies centering there. In the year of 1997, to total value of sea industry was about RMB 310.4 billion Yuan, among which the aquatic products accounts for 156.9 billion Yuan, crude oil and natural gas 24.8 billion Yuan, coastal sand mineral 88 million Yuan, sea salt industry 79.3 billion Yuan, ship-building 22.8 billion Yuan, sea transportation 52.2 billion Yuan and international tours and travels along the sea 45.8 billion Yuan. The Chinese coastal continental slope stretch into the sea widely with nearly 10 thousand oceanic living species and the costal inter-tidal beach is the best area for developing marine farming. According to the estimation by relevant departments, the effective exploration size of the Chinese coastal continental slope together with the southern part of the South Sea is 1 million square kilometers, the total volume of crude oil reserve is about 15-40 billion tons, natural gas reserve is about 100 thousand cubic meters, sea energy reserve is about 431 million KW and the theoretical reserve of the sea energy is about 630 million KW.
Fauna and Flora
China is one of the countries with the greatest diversity of wildlife in the world. There are more than 4,400 species of vertebrates, more than 10 percent of the world's total. There are nearly 500 animal species, 1,189 species of birds, more than 320 species of reptiles and 210 species of amphibians. Wildlife peculiar to China includes such well-known animals as the giant panda, golden-haired monkey, South China tiger, brown-eared pheasant, white-flag dolphin, Chinese alligator and red-crowned crane, totaling more than 100 species. The giant panda is an especially attractive sight. Heavily built, it has a docile disposition, and is delightfully adorable. The 1.2-m-tall red-crowned crane is a snow-white migratory bird. A distinctive patch of red skin tops its grey-brown head, hence its name. The white-flag dolphin is one of only two species of freshwater whale in the world. In 1980, a male white-flag dolphin was caught for the first time in the Yangtze River, which aroused great interest among dolphin researchers worldwide.
Species of arbor is considered as one of the oldest and rarest plants in the world. The golden larch, one of only five species of rare garden trees in the world, grow in the mountain areas in the Yangtze River valley. Its coin-shaped leaves on short branches are green in spring and summer, turning yellow in autumn. China is home to more than 2,000 species of edible plants and 3,000 species of medicinal plants. Ginseng from the Changbai Mountains, safflowers from Tibet, Chinese wolfberry from Ningxia and notoginseng from Yunnan and Guizhou are particularly well-known Chinese herbal medicines. There is a wide variety of flowering plants. A flower indigenous to China, the elegant and graceful peony is treasured as the ،°color of the nation and the scent of heaven.،± Three famous species of flowers--the azalea, fairy primrose and rough gentian--grow in southwest China. During the flowering period, mountain slopes covered with flowers in a riot of colors form a delightful contrast with undulating ridges and peaks.
In a concerted effort to protect the nation's zoological and botanical resources, and save species close to extinction, China has established 1.146 nature reserves to protect forests and wildlife, with a total area of 88.13 million ha. The 15 nature reserves in China, namely, Sichuan's Wolong and Jiuzhaigou, Jilin's Changbai Mountains, Guangdong's Dinghu Mountains, Guizhou's Fanjing Mountains, Fujian's Wuyi Mountains, Hubei's Shennongjia, Inner Mongolia's Xilingol, Xinjiang's Mt. Bogda, Yunnan's Xishuangbanna, Jiangsu's Yancheng, Zhejiang's Tianmu Mountains Nanji and Islands Guizhou's Maolan and Heilongjiang's Fenglin, have joined the ،°International People and Bio-sphere Protection Network.،± Heilongjiang's Zhalong, Jilin's Xianghai, Hunan's Dongting Lake, Jiangxi's Poyang Lake, Qinghai's Bird Island, Hainan's Dongzhai Harbor and Hong Kong's Mai Po have been included in the listing of the world's important wetlands.
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Public Holiday
New Year's Day Jan. 1
The Spring Festival Lunar calendar Jan. 1
International Woman's Day Mar. 8
International Labour Day May. 1
International Children's Day June. 1
Party's Birthday July. 1
Army Day Aug. 1
Mid-Autumn Day Lunar calendar Aug. 15
National Day Oct. 1
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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, Taiwan Province and Macao Special Administrative Region.
Family Planning
China's family planning policy combines government guidance with the wishes of the masses. The basic requirements of family planning are late marriages and late childbearing, so as to have fewer but healthier babies, especially one child per couple.
Fifty-six Ethnic Groups
China is a united multi-ethnic nation of 56 ethnic groups. According to the fourth national census, taken in 1990, the Han people made up 91.96 percent of the country's total population, and the other 55 ethnic groups, 8.04 percent. As the majority of the population is of the Han ethnic group, China's other ethnic groups are customarily referred to as the national minorities.
The Family
China has 332.97 million families, with 3.2 people per urban household, and 4.3 people per rural household on average. In general, a Chinese family is composed of a couple and their children, but big families with three or more generations can also be found in China. Along with the pursuit of personal freedom, the trend of forming small families with only directly related members is now prevalent.
Ethnic Groups
There are 56 ethnic groups in China. The Han people form the largest, numbering 1.1 billion and making up 93.3 percent of the country's population. The other ethnic groups, that is the minority nationalities, total 160 million, only 6.7 percent of the Chinese nation.
Of the minority nationalities, 15 have over a million people each; 13 over 100,000 each; 7 over 50,000 each; and 20 have fewer than 50,000 people each.
The Han people live all over the country but their compact communities are in the Huanghe, Changjiang and Zhujiang valleys and the Songhua-Liaohe Plain of the northeast. The minority nationalities inhabit 60 percent of the country's total area, and they live mainly in the border regions.
All nationalities in China are equal, as stipulated by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, They take part in the administration of state affairs as equals, irrespective of their numbers or the size of areas they inhabit. Every minority nationality is represented in the National People's Congress, which is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China.
National regional autonomy is practiced in areas where the minority nationalities live in compact communities. There are 5 national autonomous and 75 autonomous counties (or banners in Inner Mongolia). Local autonomous governments are established and local affairs are administered by the minorities themselves. All national autonomous regions are inalienable parts of the People's Republic of China.
At present, because of various historical factors the minority nationality areas are less developed than Han areas economically and culturally. Over the last three decades, the Chinese Government has adopted many policies and measures, including the provision of manpower, financial and technical support, to help develop these minority nationality areas. Such help, of course, is a two-way street, for minority nationality areas have also contributed to the economic development of the areas inhabited by the Han people.
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