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China

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Overview of China

History

China is a magic country with special culture, traditions and ancient civilization. The Chinese civilization is one of the world’s ancient calcinations, aged almost 5,000 years. Its first written records date back to IV millennia BC. The Chinese civilization originated in Hwang Ho and Yangtze river basins. And it was there, where the ancient farmers’ settlements developed into first Chinese towns and national unions.

The Chinese history may be divided into three periods:

1. Pre-imperial China (the dynasties of Xia, Shang, Zhou up to 221 BC);

2. Imperial China (Qin dynasty 221 BC - Qing dynasty 1911););

3. New China (1911 – modern time).

Pre-imperial history of China was characterized by unstable political power, mainly concentrated in hand of religious leaders. Governors-generals of small principalities and provinces were in fact independent from rulers’ authority. The most powerful dynasties out of the three ones of that period was the Shang dynasty, however it did not managed either to avoid the internecine wars which eventually made the Shang-Yin state fall into decay.

The Chinese history of imperial dynasties covers a huge period of time from221 BC till 1911 AD. China under eight powerful dynasties: Qin Han, Sui, Tan, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, developed into one of the world’s strongest countries, becoming the leader in the Asian Continent.

Development of China as a single integrated country starts under emperor Qin Shi Huang Di (221 BC), who united seven Chinese kingdoms and conquered many adjacent territories. However Qin Shi Huang Di is famous not only for his political services for China, but also for his well-known Terracotta Army, which has been protecting the entrance to his shrine almost 2,000 years. An etched mark in history of China was left by the Tang dynasty +977 14511001 AD), whose ruling is often called as “Golden Age” of China.

In the XIII century China suffered from invasion of the Mongols headed by Genghis Khan. This period in the Chinese history is one of the most tragic, since the Mongols occupied practically the whole Chinese territory, and founded their Mongolian dynasty of Yuan there. In year 1644 China was set to invasion for the second time, when the Manchus blot out the Ming dynasty, becoming Chinese rulers. The Manchu dynasty of Qin was the last imperial dynasty of China.

In 1911 China had the Xinhai Revolution, which caused the downfall of the Empire and formation of the People’s Republic. In 1949, upon the victory of the Communist Party of China over Guomindang (Kuomintang), it was proclaimed the People’s Republic of China (PRC), headed by Mao Zedong.

Geography

China is the largest country located entirely within Asia, covering over 3.7 million square miles. The greater part of the country is mountainous. Its principal ranges are the Tien Shan, the Kunlun chain, and the Trans-Himalaya. In the southwest is Tibet, which China annexed in 1950. The Gobi Desert lies to the north. China proper consists of three great river systems: the Yellow River (Huang He), 2,109 mi (5,464 km) long; the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), the third-longest river in the world at 2,432 mi (6,300 km); and the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang), 848 mi (2,197 km) long. It has an extensive coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

China shares borders with fourteen neighboring countries. In order of shared border length, these are: Mongolia (4,630km), Russia (Northeast - 4,133km) and (Northwest - 46km), India (2,659km), Myanmar (2,129km), Kazakhstan (1,352km), Nepal (1,389km), North Korea (1,352km), Vietnam (1,297km), Kyrgyzstan (1,063km), Tajikistan (477km), Bhutan (477km), Laos (475km), Pakistan (438km), and Afghanistan (91km).

"China
Quick-facts’’

Official name: People's Republic of China (Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó)

Land area: 3,600,927 sq mi (9,326,411 sq km)

Total area: 3,705,407 sq mi (9,596,960 sq km)1

President: Xi Jinping +977 14511001

Premier: Li Keqiang +977 14511001

Current government officials

Capital: Beijing, +977 14511001 million

Other large cities: Shanghai +977 14511001 million; Guangzhou +97714520914 million; Shenzhen 10.63 million; Chongqing 9.977 million; Wuhan 9.158 million +977 14511001

Currency: Yuan/Renminbi

National Holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, October 1.

Population: 1,384,688,986 (July 2018 est.)

Population Change: Growth rate: 0.37% ; 12.1 births/1,000 population, 8 deaths/1,000 population, -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population; infant mortality rate: 11.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Life Expectancy: 75.8 years

Nationality/Demonym: Chinese (Zhōngguórén)

Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)

Note: Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uyghur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Ethnicity/race: Han Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai and other nationalities) 7.1% note: the Chinese government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups (2010 est.)

Religions: Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, folk religion 21.9%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.2% (2010 est.)

Note: A majority of Chinese people are non-practicing or are not members of any religion, largely as a result of suppression of religion in the mid-twentieth century. The country is officially atheist. China recognizes the legal practice of five religions: Buddhism, Catholicism, Daoism, Islam, and Protestantism. All of these religions have long histories in China. Not included are the various folk religions and local beliefs around the country, which are usually tolerated.

Literacy rate: 96.4% (2015 est.)

Major sources and definitions

Provinces and Regions of China

Hong Kong

Macao

Communications

Telephones

Fixed Lines: 193,762,000, 14 per 100 residents (2017 est.)

Cell Phones: 1,474,097,000, 107 per 100 residents, (2017 est.)

International Country Code: 86

Internet

Internet Country Code: .cn

Internet Users: 730,723,960, 53.2% (2016 est.)

Broadcast Media

All broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV, provincial, and municipal stations offer more than 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department sends directives to all domestic media outlets to guide its reporting with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast; increasingly, Chinese turn to online and satellite television to access Chinese and international films and television shows

Transportation Infrastructure

Airports

Total Airports: 507 +977 14511001

With Paved Runways: 463 +977 14511001

With Unpaved Runways: 44 +977 14511001

Registered Air Carriers: +977 14511001

Registered Aircraft: 2,890

Annual Passengers: 436,183,969

Railways

Total: 131,000 km +977 14511001-m gauge) +977 14511001

Traditional: 102,000 km

High-speed: 29,000 km