about China

China has a territory area of 9.6 million square km, second to Russia and Canada,with a sea area of about 4.73 million square km.

The National Flag of the PRC is a red rectangle emblazoned with five stars. The proportion of its length and height is 3 to 2. The upper left of the face of the Flag is studded with five yellow five-pointed stars. One of the stars is bigger than the others, with its circumcircle's diameter being three-tenth of the height of the Flag, and is placed in the left; the other four stars are smaller, with their circumcircle's diameter being one-tenth of the height of the Flag, encircling the big star on its right in the shape of an arch.

China is one of the most famous ancient civilizations, with a history spanning over 5,000 years. China is the most populated country with a large land mass and abundant resources. China opened up to the world in 1978, joined the world trade organization in 2001 (WTO), and hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing. With a much more open market policy, there's increasing number of oversea visitors gaining interest in China's culture, history, scenery, and lifestyle.

With a rich history, China boast numerous cultural and historical sites including:

• 1271 national key cultural relics
• 177 state level scenic spots
• 101 famous cultural and historical cities
• 342 national forest parks
• 44 national geological parks
• 153 state level nature reserves
  

China's Economy & China Travel Industry Economy

Since China's opening up to the world in 1978, the country has experienced an average growth rate of 9.4%, with its DGP increasing from $147 Billion to $1.4 Trillion. In 2003, China's GDP per capita surpassed $1,000 USD for the first time.

There's a steady increase oversea visitors to China over the past two decades. In 2003, 92 million oversea tourists visited China, generating $17 billion (USD) in revenues, and ranked 7th in the world.

China's Nationalities and Languages

There are 56 ethnic groups in China, with the main nationality being the Han composing of 91% of the population. The remaining 9% of the population is made up of the remaining 55 ethnic groups.

The main language is also the Han Language, spoken in all parts of china and in Asia. The Hui and Manchu ethnic groups also speak Han, while the other 53 ethnic groups use their own languages. The Han-Tibetan language is used by 29 ethnic groups, who live mainly in the southern regions of China.

There are also various regional dialects of the Chinese language. While the writing and grammar are the same, the pronunciations are very different - so different in some cases, that a traveler from an outside region will have a difficult time understanding the spoken dialect of that region. For example, Szechuan people speak the Szechuan (Sichuan) dialect, a much rougher sounding tone compared to mandarin. As well, many words are pronounced completely different. Depending on the region you travel to in China, you will encounter the different spoken dialects of the local residents.

To many foreigners, the typical Chinese languages they encounter are either Mandarin or Cantonese. While mandarin is the official spoken language in China, Cantonese is the more widely spoken language in Canton and Hong Kong.

China Administrative Divisions

There are 23 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous regions, and 2 special administrative regions directly under central government in China today.

The 23 provinces are:

Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, HeiLongJiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shangdong, Shanxi, Szechuan, Taiwan, yunnan, and Zhejiang.

4 Municipalities:

Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin

5 Autonomous Regions:

Guangxi Zhuang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui, Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibet

2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR)

Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR

China Currency and Chinese Money

The official currency of China is the RMB (RenMinBi), or translated as "the people’s currency". The basic unit is the Yuan (or kuai), or equivalent to what we call the "dollar" in North America. Next unit down is the "Jiao" (or also "mao"), or "10 cents". Finally, the smallest unit is the "Fen", equivalent to our "penny". So basically, it goes like this:

• Yuan is same as Dollar
• Jiao is same as a dime (10 cents)
• fen is same as a penny

The Chinese paper currency denomination comes in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 yuan notes. For under 1 yuan, there are also 1, 2, 5 jiao notes. For coins there are 1yuan, 5 jiao, and 1, 2 and 5 fen coins.