China
China has a land mass of 3,706,580 square miles, making it roughly the same area as the continental United States of America. China is in the east of the Asian continent and on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, bordering with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. The climate is extremely diverse; tropical in the south and subarctic in the north. The landscape features mountains, high plateaus, and deserts in the west; plains, deltas, and hills in the east. The highest mountain in Tibet, China is the highest mountain in the world: Mount Qomolangma, towering above all others at 29,035 feet.

 

China is the world's most populous country with a population estimated at about 1.294 billion by the end of 2003, one-fifth of the world's total. This figure does not include the Chinese living in the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions, and Taiwan Province. 91.6 percent of Chinese people are Han. The non-Han population includes 55 ethnic minorities, of which the major groups are the Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uygur, Yi, Tujia, Mongolian, and Tibetan. The number of religious worshippers in China is estimated at well over 100 million, most of whom follow Buddhism. Other major religions are Daoism, Islam and Christianity in both its Catholic and Protestant forms.

 

China is made up of 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities directly under the Central Government, and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. The 23 provinces are Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; the five autonomous regions are Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet; the four municipalities are Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin.

 

Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect) is standard Chinese language.

 

10 Things to do

	Tour the Palace Museum, The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, and The Temple of Heaven in Beijing
	Tour the Bund, Yu Garden, Jade Temple, Shanghai Museum, and Orient Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai
	See the Terra-Cotta horses and soldiers Museum, White Goose Pagoda, Huaqing Lake, and City Wall in Xi’an and enjoy the Tang Dynasty Show
	Cruise along the Yangtze River and visit the three-gorge dam project
	Visit Lhasa, Tibet, by taking the high plateau train to experience Tibetan life
	Explore Guilin, a picturesque city in southwest of China
	Tour to Kunming and other cities in Yunnan to experience ethnic group life;
	Tour to Guangzhou, the southern city close to Hong Kong;
	Tour along the Silk Road in the northwest of China;
	Tour to cities of Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi and Yangzhou close to Shanghai and enjoy the Chinese gardens in the area.

BEST TIME TO VISIT The best time to visit northern China is in the spring from April to June and in autumn from September to November. Southern China is a wonderful place to visit all year round.

ANNUAL EVENTS The Canton Trade Fair occurs every spring and autumn in Guangzhou.

SIGNATURE FOODS   Peking Duck in Beijing Shanghai Dumpling in Shanghai Xi’an mini dumplings Canton Dim Sim Guilin Rice noodles Chinese Maotai, the Chinese liquor Qingdao Beer Dragon Seal red wine Chinese Tea