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Wind and Rain Bridge, Dong Village near Sanjiang, Guilin region. Image: kk - nationsonline.org Flag of China
Destination China, a virtual guide to the Middle Kingdom, the most populated country on earth, which in turn is also a controversial nation.
The People's Republic of China (PRC) is a sovereign state in East Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea. China is bordered by 14 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. Furthermore it shares maritime borders with Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan.
China occupies an area of 9,598,094 km², making it the second largest Asian country (after the Asian part of Russia) and the 4th largest country in the world, it is slightly smaller than the USA.
Of China's population of 1,367 million people (2015) are 91.5% Han people, the remaining 8.5 % are 'ethnic minorities', after all still 114 million people. Larger ethnic minorities are Zhuang, Manchu, Uyghur, Hui, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Mongols, and Tibetans.
China's capital city is Beijing, its largest city is Shanghai. Official language is Mandarin, other spoken languages are Wu (Shanghainese), Yue (Cantonese), Min (Minnan, Mindong, others), Xiang, Gan, Hakka, and various Mandarin dialects and Patuá (a Portuguese creole).
China related countries and regions: Hong Kong (SAR), Macau (SAR), Taiwan (the P.R.C. considers Taiwan to be its 23rd province), Tibet (TAR) (Province Xizang - Under Sovereignty of China)
Zhong Guo (China, the middle Kingdom)
in traditional Chinese Characters
Official Name:
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhong Guo
int'l short form: China
(traditional Chinese: 中國; simplified Chinese: 中国; Pinyin: Zhōngguó
int'l long form: People's Republic of China
abbreviation: P.R.C. (People's Republic of China)
ISO Country Code: cn, chn
Actual Time: Sun-Sept-11 20:42
Local Time = UTC +8h
(China extends across five times zones, but the country uses a single time zone.)
Country Calling Code: +86
Capital City: Beijing
(Municipality population 19,6 million)
Other major Cities:
Shanghai (municipality population 23 million),
Tianjin (municipality population 13 million), Hong Kong ((urban population 6.8 million), Wuhan (urban population 4.4 million), Guangzhou (Canton, urban population 4.1 million), Shenyang (urban population 4 million), Chongqing (municipality population 28.8 million), Harbin (Ha'erbin, urban population 2.6 million), Chengdu (urban population 2.3 million); (population figures 2011).
China's 20 most populated cities
Government:
Type: Communist party-led state
Constitution: 4 December 1982.
Head of state: President Xi Jinping
Independence: Unification under the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221 BC;
Qing (Ch'ing or Manchu) Dynasty replaced by a republic on 12 February 1912;
People's Republic established 1 October 1949.
Geography:
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Total area: 9.6 million km² (about 3.7 million sq. mi.), third largest country in the world, slightly smaller than the US and almost as large as the combined nations of Europe.
Terrain: Plains, deltas, and hills in east; mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west.
Climate: From tropical in south to subarctic in north.
People:
Nationality: Chinese (singular and plural).
Population: 1,367 million people (2015).
GNI per capita PPP: $ 6193 (year)
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.6%; beside the Han population China recognizes fifty-five minority nationalities which comprise 8.4 percent of China's total population among them are: Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uygur, Yi, Mongolian, Tibetan, Buyi, Korean and other nationalities.
Religions: Officially atheist; Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity.
Language: PuTongHua (Mandarin), Wu (spoken in Shanghai), Yue (Cantonese) plus other dialects like Min, Hakka (Kejia), Gan and Xiang.
Chinese is spoken by more people than any other language in the world.
Literacy: 81%
Natural resources: Coal, iron ore, crude oil, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, world's largest hydropower potential.
Agriculture products: Rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, oilseed, pork, fish.
Industries: Iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles and apparel, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, footwear, toys, food processing, automobiles, consumer electronics, telecommunications.
Exports partners: USA 18%, Hong Kong 14.6%, Japan 6%, South Korea 4.5% (2015)
Imports partners: South Korea 10.9%, USA 9%, Japan 8.9%, Germany 5.5%, Australia 4.1% (2015)
Currency: Yuan Renminbi (CNY)
China key statistical data.
Background:
For centuries China has stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences.
But in the first half of the 20th century, China was beset by major famines, civil unrest, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people.
After 1978, Mao's successor DENG Xiaoping gradually introduced market-oriented reforms and decentralized economic decision making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the world's second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while economic controls continue to weaken.
(Source: CIA - The World Factbook)
The Great Hall of the People, the state building is located at the western edge of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, it serves for legislative and ceremonial activities by the Chinese government and the ruling Communist Party. Image: ZhengZhou
Political system
The government system of China is that of a communist state since 1949, run by the ruling political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC), the biggest party in the country. Chief of state is the President, the top leader of China, head of the party, and the commander-in-chief of the military, he also represents China in foreign relations. The President and the Vice-President are elected by the National People's Congress. Head of government is the premier, officialy the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, he is the leader of the State Council of China, the highest rank in the Civil Service.
Note: External links will open in a new browser window.
General Office, National Committee, Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)
Official site of the General Office of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. (in Chinese)
The State Council of the People's Republic of China.
China National Space Administration
China's long way to space.
China Internet Information Center
The Official site of the China Information Center, a web portal authorized by the People's Republic of China. China news, weather, business, travel, language courses, archives and more.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
Official site of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Diplomatic Missions
Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the UN
China is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom
Embassy of China in the UK.
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the USA
Washington D.C.
A guide to apply a visa to China (USA) for other countries see:
Diplomatic Missions of China Abroad.
Statistics
China Statistical Information Network
Mainland China in Figures.
Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong
Hong Kong statistics.
Weather
Weather in China.
Political Map of China's Administrative Divisions.
China Country and City Maps.
Searchable map and satellite view of China.
Google Earth Forbidden City, Beijing
Searchable map and satellite view of the former imperial city with description of the buildings.
Google Earth Great Wall of China
Searchable map and satellite view of the Chinese Wall.
Searchable map and satellite view of Shanghai.
Satellite View of Three Gorges Dam
Searchable map and satellite view of Yangtze River and the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
Map of the Southeast Asia region.
Political map of Asia.
NEW Map of countries with confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.
China portal with news from China and Hongkong.
China and world news.
China Internet Information Center
The Official China Information Center.
The official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CCCPC), People's Daily is the most authoritative newspaper in China.
Premier English-language newspaper in Shanghai.
China News. (in Chinese)
SCMP.com - the online edition of South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong English-language newspaper.
Greater China's Business Newspaper.
The Chinese News Agency.
Radio/TV
Now renamed to China Network Television (China Network Television), CCTV is the one of the most important TV stations in China.
CRI Online provides News and Information from and about China.
International News on China
Bookmark/share this page
Impression Liu Sanjie is a musical night light show, performed on the Li River in Yangshuo. The amazing light show is a creation of Zhang Yimou, also director and choreographer of the impressive opening ceremony for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Image: kk nationsonline.org
Fire works.
Information about archery traditions from Asian Traditional Archery Research Network (ATARN).
Chinese Customs and Traditions
Explanation of Chinese customs, traditions and beliefs related to Chinese New Year (spring festival)
and other lunar festivals and holidays.
Arthub is a Shanghai based and Hong Kong registered not-for-profit platform devoted to contemporary art creation and diffusion.
A site dedicated to the Chinese propaganda poster as they have been produced from 1949 till today.
Pianist.
Page about the in China well known Cultural Revolution hero and soldier-model Lei Feng.
Portal to contemporary Chinese art.
More contemporary Chinese art.
The National Library of China holds the largest collection of Chinese books in the world.
The People's Bank of China, the central bank of the People's Republic of China.
Established in 1912, Bank of China is the oldest bank in China.
Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) was founded on Nov. 26th,1990 and in operation on Dec.19th the same year.
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE), established on December 1st 1990, is one of the two stock exchanges in mainland China.
All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC)
National organization with local branches in all provinces and autonomous regions.
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)
The largest institution for the promotion of foreign trade in China.
China National Arts & Crafts Import & Export Group
The most important importer and exporter of arts and crafts in china.
Information of China Products.
__Transportation
Major Airlines in China
Flagship airline of the People's Republic of China.
Shanghai based Airline; offers online booking and route plan.
China's largest airline, based at Guangzhou's brand-new Baiyun International Airport.
Largest privately owned air line in China, headquartered in Haikou, Hainan.
Juneyao operates domestic and international services from both Shanghai airports.
A subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, based in Shanghai.
Major Airports in China
Beijing Capital International Airport
Flight Info, Passengers Guides and more.
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Number two of China's busiest airports.
Shanghai International Airport
Official website of Shanghai Airport Authority for Pudong Airport and Hongqiao Airport.
Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport
Airport of the 'Special Economic Zone' city Shenzhen, located immediately north of Hong Kong.
China's famous karst mountains at Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo, this formation you will find depicted on any 20 Yuan bill. Image: kk nationsonline.org Travel and Tour Consumer Information
Discover China Mainland - China's top 10 leisure spots:
Suzhou, Jiangsu province; Qinhuangdao, Hebei province; Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region; Huangshan, Anhui province; Yantai, Shandong province; Chengdu, Sichuan province; Lijiang, Yunnan province; Sanya, Hainan province; Qingdao, Shandong province; and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province.
China related Sites
China National Tourism Administration
The Official China Tourism Website.
China National Tourist Office New York
China travel information USA provides travel and tourism information on China and offers city guides to various Chinese cities.
China National Tourist Office, Toronto, Canada
China travel information Canada.
Local Tourism Administrations
Official website for all Peoples traveling to Guangdong.
Guangxi Travel online travel and tourism guide to Guangxi province by Guangxi Tourism Administration.
Hainan International Tourism Destination.
Hebei Government website with travel information.
Hubei travel and tourism information. (in Chinese)
Shandong Tourism Information website.
Sichuan Tourism Bureau website.
Online travel and tourism guide to Tibet.
Yunnan and Greater Mekong Region
Travel guide to Yunnan province and the Greater Mekong Subregion.
Official information site for Zhejiang.
Other Travel related Sites
Information on the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.)
Yangtze river cruises.
City Guides
Beijing
Beijing's official site.
A guide to living in Beijing for non residents, the website provides information in news, investment, employment, tourism, and regulations.
The official Beijing travel and tourism site maintained by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Tourism.
A guide to China and Beijing by Yang Zhang.
Shanghai
The official City of Shanghai site.
The official Shanghai tourism guide.
A guide to Shanghai.
Terracotta warriors in Xi'an. Pit n°1 in the museum of Xi'an.
Image: Robin Chen
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang
The Forbidden City in Beijing was the seat for the Chinese emperors for over five centuries (1416-1911/12).
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
The famous terracotta warriors in Xi'an, Shaanxi province of China.
500 Chinese Buddhist grottoes carved into the cliffs above the Dachuan River, the caves are famous for their 2,000 statues and wall paintings, for centuries they played a decisive role in artistic exchanges between China, Central Asia and India.
The Great Wall of China, starting in 220 B.C., under Qin Shi Huang, sections of earlier fortifications were joined together to form a united defence system against invasions from the north.
Peking University sometimes called Bei Da, is the National key university, the former "Metropolitan University" of the Qing Dynasty, opened in December 1898.
China Education and Research Network
Very comprehensive site by Ministry of Education about Education in China.
The former Nankai School changed 1919 to Private Nankai University, Tianjin.
Located in Shenyang of Liaoning Province, founded in 1923.
National Central University, founded 1902.
First university in the history of modern Chinese education, founded 1895.
State key university, established 1911 as "Tsinghua Xue Tang", Beijing.
Founded in 1921.
Center for Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge
CBIK, a non-profit organization enables local groups in Southwest China to strengthen their evolving cultural traditions and generate innovative ways to improve their livelihoods and enhance biodiversity.
Information on new and renewable energy, with particular reference to China.
China Clean Energy Program (CCEP)
Natural Resources Defense Council program encouraging clean power, green buildings, and sustainable transportation. Includes research publications, progress reports, and photos.
Information on the government's strategy for cutting pollution. Covers legislation, policies, case studies and international co-operative projects, as well as the basic concepts and tools used.
Official website of the China Yangtze Three Gorges Project, until now the largest hydropower-complex project ever built in the world.
Chinese dictionary with various search functions includes a useful English/Chinese dictionary, output in images and unicode.
This site answers your questions about viewing and using Chinese on computers, and has related explanations, links, and sample programs.
Essential list to sites needed to learn Chinese, provided by Tianwei Xie.
Site with annotated links to over six hundred China, Chinese language and linguistics-related websites.
Chinese dictionaries
MDBG free online Chinese-English dictionary
The website is not just a dictionary, it offers various tools such as: flashcards, quizzes, text annotation, Chinese text input and more.
Mandarintools is a comprehensive site assisting people in learning and using Chinese language.
Chinese-English, English-Chinese online dictionary.
List of Chinese Names for foreign countries in Simplified Chinese (unicode) and Pinyin spelling.
Pinyin
pin=spell yin=sound. In 1979, the Chinese Government officially adopted the pinyin romanization scheme for spelling Chinese names and places in Roman letters, it replaces formerly used spellings like the Wade-Giles romanization system.
A guide to the writing of Mandarin Chinese in romanization.
Chinese Culture: Mandarin - A short course on the pinyin romanization system by Qi Journal.
Sophisticated Chinese language search engine.
China WWW Virtual Library - Internet Guide for Chinese Studies
Carefully selected and annotated links to internet sites that may be useful to anyone with some interest in "Greater China".
The Heritage Foundation: China
Human Rights Watch: China and Tibet
50 years of the People's Republic, a CNN in-depth special.
Special Administrative Regions of China:
Other Countries in Eastern Asia:
Japan | Mongolia | North Korea | South Korea | Taiwan (ROC) | Vietnam
Major Cities in Eastern Asia:
Beijing, Busan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Kobe, Kyoto, Kunming, Lhasa, Macao, Nagoya, Osaka, Pyongyang, Saigon, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Taipei, Tianjin, Tokyo, Ulaanbaatar, Yokohama
One World - Nations Online .:. let's care for this planet
Promote that every nation assumes responsibility for our world.
Nations Online Project is made to improve cross-cultural understanding and global awareness.
More signal - less NOISE
Unbelievable! Its comfort actually!
read moreAs time went by, this blog was developed for many different purposes. Last time, I had a lot of pleasure in sharing some of my Lego-related hobbies. However, I will mostly upload a blog about bikes and their development in the next few months! Recently, I have so much into ebike cargo. They say this type of bike can replace the car! And I am very into it since my place is crowded with traffic jams! The video above showed a funny situation: I started the review from Brooks's handle! And after nine years! It's still an excellent bike handle and not even destroyed!
read moreKeep Watching
Hi, hi, hi. So, it's been a while for the last couple of weeks since I have considered buying a cargo bike. The reason is that I am often trapped in a traffic jam because I can't get faster in my car.
read moreIndonesia has launched Southeast Asia’s first-ever bullet train, a high-speed rail line connecting two of its largest cities.
Congrats! Indonesia launched Southeast Asia’s first bullet train.
Custom LEGO Transformers Devastator
My faith in humanity is restored! OK, that’s a bit overboard – but you couldn’t blame me if you see an incredibly, exquisitely and wonderfully executed custom LEGO Transformers Devastator such as this by Alex Jones. I feel transported to the 80’s once again, with the same intense childhood wonder when I first saw the Constructicons combine and become the formidable Devastator.
Collaboratively administrate empowered markets via plug-and-play networks. Dynamically procrastinate B2C users after installed base benefits. Dramatically visualize customer directed convergence without
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