Presentation of China
China is located east of the Asian continent. The east of the country is bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the rest of the borders are shared with many neighboring countries. Its vast territory allows to find a great diversity of natural landscapes, from the plain to the mountains, the desert to the forests, small rivers with long rivers, from the sea to the big lakes … It is difficult not to find what we love in China. With a history of over 5000 years and its many ethnic groups, China also offers a wide cultural panel with many faces to discover.
Some data
Full Name : People’s Republic of China
Capital : Beijing (Pékin)
National Holiday : October 1st, in reference to the founding of the country in 1949
Population : 1.379 Billion
Area : 9.60 Million km2
Telephone code : 0086
Majority ethnic group : Han Ethnicity
Number of minority ethnic groups : 55
Main religions : Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam.
Currency : Renminbi and Yuan when writing, Yuan and Kuai when speaking. (RMB)
Unit of measure : metric
Administrative division : 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions.
Languages and writing
Chinese Mandarin is the official language of China, it is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect and some other dialects spoken in northern China. But China is composed of 56 different ethnic groups, 29 of which use their own languages.
The official writing is composed of simplified characters, but the South of the country still uses many traditional characters, more complicated than the simplified characters.
In History, spoken and written Chinese have greatly influenced the languages of neighboring countries like Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese.
Administrative divisions of China
China is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions.
– 23 provinces : Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Fujian, Taiwan, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan and Hainan.
– 5 autonomous regions : Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang, Guangxi and Tibet. All these autonomous regions are divided into Autonomous Prefectures, Counties, Autonomous Counties and Cities.
– 4 municipalities directly under the control of the central government: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing.
– 2 special administrative regions : Hong Kong, Macao.
Geography
Located in Southeast Asia along the Pacific Ocean, China is the 3rd largest country in the world after Russia and Canada. Its area is 9.60 million km2 and its long coast of 18 000 km.
China is bordered by 14 countries: Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea.
Rivers and rivers
There are more than 1500 rivers and streams in China. The majority of the major rivers have their source on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The Yangtze is the longest river in China with 6300 km, and the third longest in the world after the Nile and the Amazon. The Yangtze River connects the West and East of the country.
The Yellow River is the second longest river in China with 5464 km. The valley of the river is one of the places where the Chinese civilization was born. There are fertile lands.
The Heilongjiang River is the longest in the northern part of the country with 4350 km.
The Zhujiang River (Pearl River) is the longest in the south of the country with 2214 km.