CHINA & BEYOND 2015-2016
ABOUT CHINA
Location & Map
The People’s Republic of China is the third
largest country in the world in terms of area. It
is situated in eastern Asia on the western shore
of the Pacific Ocean, with an area of 5.9 million
square miles. China’s continental coastline
extends for about 11,185 miles, and its vast
sea surface is studded with more than 5,000
islands, of which Taiwan and Hainan are the
largest. China has shared borders for centuries
with Korea, parts of the former Soviet Union
(now Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Tajikistan) Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal,
Sikkim, Bhutan, Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
History & Culture
Terra-cotta warriors at Xi’an
China, with a recorded history of 5,000 years,
was one of the world’s earliest civilisations.
China was one of the countries where
economic activity first developed. As early as
5,000 to 6,000 years ago, people in the Yellow
River valley had already started farming and
raising livestock. In the 21st century B.C.,
China established a society with the founding
of the Xia Dynasty, thereby writing a finale to
many years as a primitive society.
In 221 B.C., Qin Shihuang established China’s
first centralised autocracy, the Qin Dynasty,
thereby ushering Chinese history into
feudalism, which endured for a succession of
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dynasties until the Opium War of 1840.
The Bourgeois Democratic Revolution of 1911
led by Sun Yat-sen toppled the rule of the Qing
Dynasty, putting an end to more than 2,000
years of feudal monarchical system.
The People’s Republic of China was founded
on October 1st, 1949. Today, China is
implementing reform and open polices, and
has established a socialist market economy.
Religion
China is a multi-religious country, where
Taoism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity are
practiced. Freedom of belief is a government
policy, and normal religious activities are
protected by the constitution.
Geography
China’s land drops off in the escarpments
eastward to the ocean, letting in humid air
currents and leading many rivers eastward.
Among the rivers totaling 220,000 kilometers
in length in China, the Yangtze and the Yellow
are the two major ones.
China has a diversity of land formations
including mountains, hills, highlands, plains
and basins. The highlands and hill regions
account for 65 percent of the country’s
land mass. The highest mountain peak is
Qomolangma (Everest), 8,848 meters above
sea level; the lowest point is the Turpan Basin,
154 meters below sea level.
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Climate & Weather
China is characterised by a continental
climate. The latitudes span nearly 50
degrees; its southern part is in the tropical
and subtropical zones, and its northern part
near the frigid zones. The northern part of
Heilongjiang province has long winters but
no summers; while Hainan Island has long
summers but no winters. The Huaihe River
valley is marked by distinctive seasonal
changes, but it is spring all year round in the
south of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. China’s
high tundra zone is situated in Qinghai-Tibet,
where the temperature is low in all four
seasons.
Please add China Average Temperature here
chart
Ethnic Groups
China is a multi-racial country with 56 ethnic
groups. In the long course of its development,
all the nationalities have joined in the effort to
create the great culture that China represents.
Apart from the Han nationality, the other 55
ethnic groups, with a total of more than 96.5
million people, constitute roughly 8.04% of
the total population. Those with more than
one million people are: Zhuang, Hui, Uyghur,
Yi, Miao, Manchu, Tibetan, Mongolian, Tujia,
Bouyei, Korean, Dong, Yao, Bai and Hani.
The constitution guarantees all non-Han
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
Beijing
-4.1
-1.6
4.9
13.6
20
25.2
27.9
26.6
20.3
12.7
4.2
-2.2
Chengde
-9.2
-5.5
2.1
11.5
18.4
22.3
24.3
22.8
17.1
10
0.4
-7.2
Chengdu
5.5
7.4
11.7
16.7
20.9
23.6
25.3
24.9
21.2
16.7
11.4
7.1
Chongqing
7.5
9.1
13.8
18.4
21.8
24.7
28.3
28.3
23.4
18.4
13.6.
9.1
Dalian
-4.5
-2.9
2.4
9.5
15.6
19.7
23
24
20
13.7
5.8
-1
Datong
-11
-7.4
0
8.5
15.7
19.9
21.8
20
14.4
7.5
-1.4
-8.8
Guangzhou
13.2
14.1
17.8
22
25.6
27.4
28.7
28.5
27.1
23.8
19.3
15.1
Guilin
7.8
9
12.9
18.5
23
26.2
28.1
27.8
25.5
20.5
15.2
10.2
Hangzhou
3.9
5.2
9.3
15.4
20.3
24.3
28.5
27.9
23.3
17.7
12.2
6.3
Hong Kong
15.8
15.9
18.5
22.2
25.9
27.8
28.8
28.4
27.6
25.2
21.4
17.6
Huangshan
-2.8
-1.6
2.3
7.7
11.9
14.9
17.6
17.3
13.7
9.2
4
-0.6
Kunming
7.9
10
13.2
16.6
19.1
19.6
19.7
19
17.2
14.6
11.1
8
-1.6
Lhasa
-2.1
0.9
4.5
8.1
11.8
15.7
15.3
14.4
12.7
8.2
2.1
Luoyang
0.4
2.7
8.4
15.4
21.2
26.3
27.3
26
21.1
15.3
8.3
2.3
Nanjing
2.1
3.9
8.5
15
20.1
24.6
27.9
27.4
22.4
16.6
10.2
4.3
Qingdao
0.7
-0.4
4.7
10.5
15.9
20
23.8
25.2
21.5
16.1
8.9
2
Sanya
21.2
22.2
24.2
26.6
28.3
28.5
28.5
28
27.3
26.1
24.2
21.9
Shanghai
4.7
8.2
13.4
18.5
22.9
27.2
27.5
24.1
18.8
12.8
6.9
4
Suzhou
3.2
4.3
8.6
14.5
19.6
23.8
28
27.7
23.1
17.7
11.9
5.6
Urumqi
-13.9
-11.6
-1.8
9.8
16.9
21.8
24.2
22.7
16.7
7.6
-3.1
-11
5.4
Wuhan
3.2
5.2
9.8
16.3
21.5
25.6
28.7
28.2
23.2
17.4
11.2
Wuxi
2.8
4
8.4
14.4
19.6
23.8
28
27.6
22.8
17.2
11.3
5
Xiamen
13
13.4
15.5
19.7
23.2
25.9
27.6
27.2
25.5
22.2
18.6
14.6
Xi’an
-0.5
2.5
8.4
14.6
19.6
25
26.4
24.8
19
13.3
6.3
0.7
8 | CHINA & BEYOND