Chinaofficially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state

located in East Asia.

China has the largest combined land bordered in the world.

China shares maritime boundaries with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan and Philippines.

China is the most populous country, with a population over 1.35 billion.

China’s capital is Beijing.China has 5 autonomous region, 4 direct-

controlled municipalities2 mostly self-governing special

administrative region (HK and Macau)Also claims Taiwan- which is controlled by

Republic Of China as it’s 23rd province due to Taiwan’s complex political status and unresolved Chinese Civil War.

China is the world’s largest country by land area covering approximately 9.6 million km sq.

China’s military has 2.3 million active troops.

People’s Liberation Army is the largest standing military in the world.

3rd/4th largest in the world by total area.

Climate: Extremely diverse. Tropical to the south, subarctic to the north.

Geography

China stretches some 5,026 km across the East Asian landmass. China is bordered by seas and waters eastward, with the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea, and bordered by landmasses on its 3 other sides, from North Korea to Vietnam. China has been officially and conveniently divided into 5 homogeneous physical macro-regions: Eastern China, Xinjiang-Mongolia, and the Tibetan-highlands. Its physical features are multiples. The eastern and southern half of the country, is a region of fertile lowlands and foothills with most of the agricultural output and human population. The western and northern half of China is a region of sunken basins (Gobi, Taklamakan), rolling plateaus, and towering massifs, including a portion of the highest tableland on earth (Tibetan Plateau) with lower agricultural possibilities and thus, far less populated.

PeopleChina officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.51% of the total population. The Han Chinese – the world's largest single ethnic group – outnumber other ethnic groups in every province, municipality and autonomous region except Tibet and Xinjiang, and are descended from ancient Huaxia tribes living along the Yellow River.

LanguageThe most spoken varieties are

Mandarin (70% of the population)Wu- includes ShanghaineseYue- includes Cantonese

&TaishaneseMin- Hokkien & TeochewXiang GanHakka

National Symbol

Animal: Giant Panda

Bird: Red-crowned Crane

Dress: changshan (men) cheongsam (women)

Flag

Fruit: Kiwifruit

Mythical Symbol

Sport: Table Tennis

Anthem

Emblem

Tree: Gingko Tree

Natural Resources• Coal• iron ore• Petroleum• natural gas• Mercury• tin• tungsten• antimony• manganese• molybdenum

• vanadium• magnetite• aluminum,• lead, zinc• rare earth

elements,• Uranium• hydropower

potential (world's largest)

ReligionBuddhism

Buddhism was introduced to China around the first century A.D. Since the fourth century A.D, it was widely spread and gradually became the most influential religion in China. Buddhism in China is divided into three branches according to varied language families, namely, Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Pali Buddhism and there are about 200 thousand Buddhist monks and nuns under these three branches. At present, there are more than 13 thousand Buddhist temples that are open to the public, 33 Buddhist colleges and nearly 50 types of Buddhist publications in China.

Taoism

Taoism is a typically traditional religion in China with a history of more than 18 hundred years since the second century A.D. It advocates the worship of natural objects and ancestors as was practiced since time immemorial and had various factions in the history; later, it evolved into two major factions, namely, Quanzhen and Zhengyi Taoism, and was fairly influential among Han people.

Islam 

Islam was introduced to China in the seventh century A.D with nearly 18 million believers from Hui, Uygur, Tartar, Kirgiz, Kazakh, Ozbek, Dongxiang, Sala and Baoan nationalities. Most of the Muslims in China live in compact communities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan Provinces; besides, some Muslims in small groups live in other provinces or cities in China. At present, there are more than 30 thousand mosques in China with over 40 thousand imams or ahungs.

Catholicism

Catholicism was first introduced to China in the seventh century and widely spread across the country after the Opium War in 1840. At present, Chinese Catholic Church boasts one hundred parishes, some five million believers, nearly five thousand cathedrals and places for religious activities and twelve theological seminaries.

Christianity

Christianity was introduced to China in early 19th century and widely spread after 1840s. In 1950, the church called on its believers to shake off the vestige of foreign imperialist influence and uphold patriotism in order to achieve self-administration, self-supporting and self-propagation, which are the cardinal principle of Chinese Christianity. At present, there are about ten million Christian believers, 18 thousand priests and 12 churches or religious sites in China.

Culture and Arts

Calligraphy, poetry. Painting were higher

forms of art than dancing or drama.

Child Cannibalismdescribes the act of eating a child or fetus. Accounts, especially modern ones, are often rumors or urban legends. There have been some media stories pursuing incidents involving the consumption of children and fetuses. Controversy was sparked when images showing what appeared to be human fetuses were being published in China. Reports later explained that the images were part of an artist's exhibition (Zhu Yu (artist)) and was not a real fetus but just to be in a contemporary artwork. The artwork is called "Eating people" and was made to protest against cannibalism.

Dance

Dragon Dance

Dunhuang Dance

Lion Dance

FoodJiaozi (filled dumplings, guotie)

Noodles

Kung Pao chicken

Dim sum

Martial Arts

Festivals

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)

Government

All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among several bodies:

• the political branch, the Communist Party of China

• the executive branch, the State Council• the legislative branch, the National

People's Congress.• the judicial branch, the Supreme People's

Court• the military branch, People's Liberation

Army (PLA) via the Central Military Commission

President of China: Xi Jinping Vice President: Li Yuanchao

Educational System

Education in the People's Republic of China is a state-run system of public education run by the Ministry of Education. All citizens must attend school for at least nine years. The government provides primary education for six to nine years, starting at age six or seven, followed by six years of secondary education for ages 12 to 18. Some provinces may have five years of primary school but four years for middle school. There are three years of middle school and three years of high school. In the early 1980s the government allowed the establishment of the first private schools.

Technology

Economy

The Socialist market economy of People's Republic of China (PRC) is the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP and by purchasing power parity after the United States. It is the world's fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over the past 30 years. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods in the world.

Recognized nuclear weapon state.World’s largest exporter of goods.GPD: US $8.227 Trillion according to the

International Monetary Fund Currency: Renminbi ; Unit: YuanFiscal Year: (1 January to 31 December)

Tourist Spots

Great Wall of China

Terracotta Warriors

Yangtze River

Forbidden City

Potala Palace

Li River

Summer Palace

Bund Of Shanghai

Leshan Giant Buddha

Mount Huang

Temple Of Heaven

Beijing National Stadium

Jiuzhaigou Valley

Happy Magic Water Cube

Broad Peak

Heaven’s Gate

Pedestrian Brigde

National Centre for the Performing Arts

Jiaozhou Bay Bridge

China’s Speed Railway Line

CCTV Headquarters

Tibetan Mastiff

Bailong Elevator

Avatar Mountains

Red Sea Beach