China

China

History

China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, paper, gunpowder and printing. The Great Wall, the Grand Canal and the Karez irrigation systems are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. Now they are the symbols of the rich culture heritage of the Chinese nation. China has gone over a long history of primitive society, slavery society, feudal society and semi-feudal semi-colonial society and the present socialist society.

Basic Information

Full Country Name:                              People's Republic of China
Area:                                                    9,596,960 sq km (mainland)
Capital City:                                         Beijing (pop 13.8 million)
People:                                                 Han Chinese (93%), plus 55 ethnic minorities
Official Language:                                Putonghua (Beijing Mandarin dialect)
Religion:                                               Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Muslim, Christian
Government:                                         Communist republic
Current Head of State:              Hu Jintao
GDP:                                                    US$4.5 trillion
GDP per Head:                                    US$3600
Growth Rate:                                        7.8% Slide 15:

Population

Total population of China The total population of China as of 2010 is 1.3 billion people (1,330,044,605 )

National Language

Mandarin is the national language of China. It is usually a business language and is the most spoken dialect of the Chinese. National language of China

The land of China hosts every possible thing that the world and its people have ever seen. From soaring mountains to big-time cities; from long and wide beaches to neverending plains; from towering temples to beautiful gardens - yes, it is quite obvious that no one or nothing can ever experience all of China in one lifetime.

Culture

Most Chinese people are farmers and herders. They have a major challenge to keep the countries large population fed. TRADITIONS AND CULTURES The Spring Festival It is the most important festival for the Chinese people and it is when all family members get together, just like Christmas in the West. All people living away from home go back, becoming the busiest time for transportation systems of about half a month from the Spring Festival.

Religions:

China is a multi-religious country. Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are the three major religions. Catholicism and Protestantism have smaller but substantial followers too.

Different ethnic groups usually follow different religions. Islam is followed by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan peoples. Buddhism and Lamaism are followed by the Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and Yugur nationalities. Christianity is followed by the Miao, Yao and Yi nationalities. Shamanism is followed by the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur nationalities. The majority Han nationality believes in Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity.

Sports

Many historians believe that association football originated in China, where a form of the sport may have appeared around 1000 AD. Other popular sports include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, and more recently, golf. Basketball is now popular among young people in urban centers.

Conclusion

China has a long history of 5,000 years. The Chinese people have lived and multiplied on this land where all ethnic groups have mixed together, in the course of which they have evolved powerful cohesiveness, and the values of cherishing and safeguarding unity. Over the long course of history, the Chinese nation has witnessed changes of dynasties, transfers of governments, local separatist regimes, and foreign invasions, especially the untold invasions and dismemberment by foreign powers in modern history. However, unity has always been the main trend in the development of Chinese history. After every separation, the country was invariably reunified, only to be followed in its wake by rapid political, economic, cultural, scientific and technological development. Our compatriots in Taiwan have a glorious tradition of patriotism, and have performed brilliant exploits in the struggles against foreign invasions of Taiwan. Since the founding of the PRC, the Chinese people have particularly valued their hard-earned national independence, firmly upheld state sovereignty and territorial integrity and struggled unswervingly for reunification of the motherland. The 5, 000-year history and culture have been implanted deeply in the minds of the Chinese people, sprouting the strong national consciousness of the need for national unification.