| Area |
9,572,900 sq km (3,696,100 sq miles). |
| Population |
1,284,530,000 (2002). Roughly a quarter of the worlds population lives in China. |
| Capital |
Beijing (Peking) - population 10,839,000 (2000) The largest city in the country, Shanghai, has a population of over 12 million and as of 2000, 22 other cities had a population of one to two million. |
| Climate |
China has a great diversity of climates. The northeast experiences hot and dry summers and bitterly cold winters. The north and central region has almost continental rainfall, hot summers and cold winters. The southeast region has substantial rainfall, with semi-tropical summers and cool winters. |
| Language |
The official language in Mandarin Chinese. Among the enormous number of local dialects, large groups speak Cantonese, Fukienese, Xiamenhua and Hakka in the south. Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, which are autonomous regions have their own languages. Translation and interpreter services are good. English is spoken by many guides. |
| Religion |
The principal religions and philosophies are Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. There are 100 million Buddhists and approximately 60 million Muslims, five million Protestants and four million Roman Catholics. |
| Time |
GMT + 8.
|
| Highlights |
Land of the billions from people to bicycles - almost a quarter of the world's population can be found in China! This is a country where ancient past meets the exciting future; the contrast of the two worlds is clearly noticeable across the country. It is a land offering countless outstanding attractions; deserts, mountains, fertile plateaus, thousands of miles of coast and hundreds of differing cultures - the options are too numerous to mention. Beijing, not only the political and administrative centre of China but also the country's single greatest repository of monuments and treasures from the imperial era including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the famous Great Wall. In the Northern Provinces the Terracotta Warriors in X'ian are a must - this is also the starting point of the ancient trade route, the Silk Road. In the Eastern Provinces Shanghai is one of the world's largest cities with the look and feel of a great Western metropolis. Other places of interest include Hangzhou, Nanjing and Suzhou where countless temples, gardens, lakes and historical sites can be found. Guilin is the highlight of the Southern Provinces - the scenery here with steep mountains springing from lush green plains is unique both to China and the rest of the world. Yangshou, reached by boat along the Li River from Guilin, is a delightful small country town set amongst some of China's most attractive scenery. The Wolong Nature Reserve outside Chengdu in the Central Provinces offers an opportunity to see the giant pandas. A Yangtze River cruise between Chongqing and Wuhan is the best way of enjoying the spectacular scenery and visiting the numerous areas of historical and cultural importance en-route. The list of attractions is never-ending - to cover them all, several visits to China are recommended!
|
| Country Facts |
China is bordered to the north by the former USSR and Mongolia, to the east by Dorea (DPR), the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, to the south by Vietnam, Laos, Burma, India, Bhutan and Nepal and to the west by India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The most distinctive mountain ranges are the Himalayas, Altai, Tianshan and Kunlun mountains. On the Tibet/Nepal border Mount Everest (13,200ft) stands overlooking the Tibetan high plateau. In the west the Qinghai/Tibet plateau dominates as the 'Roof of the World'. The main urban areas serviced by foreign investment, skills, communication and technology are to be found in the fertile alluvial lowlands which stretch from Manchuria to Hong Kong. Incredibly, only 10% of all China is suitable for agriculture. |