ECONOMIC GROWTH (1995-2000)
HISTORY: China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, paper, gunpowder and printing. The Great Wall, the Grand Canal and the Karez irrigation systems are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago. Now they are the symbols of the rich culture heritage of the Chinese nation. China has gone over a long history of primitive society, slavery society, feudal society and semi-feudal semi-colonial society and the present socialist society. STATE ORGANS:
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The National People's Congress (NPC)
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The President of the People's Republic of China
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The State Council
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The Central Military Commission
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The Supreme People's Court
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The Supreme People's Procuratorate
(More government agencies....)
ARMED FORCE: The People's Liberation Army (PLA) (click here for more information.)
THE RULING PARTY: The Communist Party of China (CPC)
STATE PRESIDENT: Hu Jintao
OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS:
New Year's Day: January 1
The Spring Festival (Chinese Lunar New Year's Day – between January and February: The exact date varies, depending on Chinese Lunar Calendar. Chinese New Year's Day in 2010 is on Feb. 14. The year 2009 is the Year of Tiger in Chinese zodiac system.
Labor Day: May 1;
National Day: October 1
The working days are Monday through Friday. Official hours are from 8:00am to 17:00pm with one hour for lunch.
LANGUAGES: The national language is Putonghua (the common speech) or Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. Most of the 55 minority nationalities have their own languages. Cantonese is one of the local dialects of southern China. As a written language, Chinese has been used for 6,000 years.
NATIONALITIES: China is made up of 56 ethnic groups. The Han people make up 91.02 percent of the total population, and the other 55 national minorities 8.98 percent. They are Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyi, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Wa, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Benglong, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Gelo. All nationalities enjoy equal status according to the Constitution. The State protects their lawful rights and interests and promotes equality, unity and mutual help among all nationalities.
FAMILY NAMES: Chinese family names came into being some 5,000 years ago. There are more than 5,000 family names, of which 200 to 300 are popular. In Chinese names, family names comes first and given name second. For example, in the case of Deng Xiaoping, Deng is the family name, Xiaoping the given name. The most popular Chinese family names are ZHANG, WANG, LI, ZHAO, LIU, CHEN...
RIVERS: China has 50,000 rivers that cover a catchment area of at least 100 square kilometers, and 1,500 of them cover a catchment area of more than 1,000 square kilometers. Most of the rivers flow from west to east to empty into the Pacific Ocean. The main rivers include the Yangzi (Changjiang), the Yellow River (Huanghe), Heilongjiang, the Pearl River, Liaohe, Haihe, Qiantangjiang and Lancang Rivers. At 6,300 kilometers long, the Yangzi is the longest river in China. The second longest is the Yellow River at 5,464 kilometers. The Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing is a great water project in ancient China. 1,794 kilometers in length, it is the longest canal in the world.
MAIN PORTS OF ENTRY
| By Air | Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Hohhot, Hong Kong, Kunming, Qingdao, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin, Urumqi, Xiamen and Xi'an. |
| By Land | Alataw, Baketu, Erenhot, Friendship Pass, Hunchun, Ji'an, Kunjirap, Manzhouli, Mohe, Nyalam (Zhangmu), Pingxiang, Ruili, Suifenhe, Tumen, Wanding, Xunke and Yadong. |
| By Water | Beihai, Dalian, Dandong, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hankou, Huangpu, Jiujiang, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Sanya, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Weihai, Yangzhou, Yantai, Zhanjiang and Zhenjiang. |
RELIGIONS: China is a multi-religious country. Buddhism, Taoism and Islam are the three major religions. Catholicism and Protestantism have smaller but substantial followers too. Different ethnic groups usually follow different religions. Islam is followed by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan peoples; Buddhism and Lamaism are followed by the Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and Yugur nationalities; Christianity is followed by the Miao, Yao and Yi nationalities; Shamanism is followed by the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur nationalities; and the majority Han nationality believes in Buddhism, Taoism and Christianity.
TOPOGRAPHY: With a broad area, China has a very complex topography. The outline descends step by step from the west to the east. Mountains and hilly land take up 65 percent of the total area. There are five main mountain ranges. Seven mountain peaks are higher than 8,000 meters above sea level. The Bohai Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea and South China Sea embrace the east and southeast coast.