China
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Name: People's Republic of China (PRC) History: For hundreds of years China was ruled by dynasties, one of them was Chin dynasty and China got its name from this dyasty. In the course of time China has experienced many changes, in 1911 it became a republic. Then following an uprising in 1949 China became a Communist State. The law making body in China is the Nationals Peoples Congress which meets once a year. Area: 9.6 million sq km - one fifteenth of the worlds land mass. It is the third largest country in the world next to Canada and Russia. Location: China is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by Pacific in the east. Coastline extends over 14,000 km. Border streches over 22,000 km. Border Countries: Mongolia, Myanmar, Tibet, Russia, India, Vietnam and Tajikistan. Capital: Beijing Population: 1.31 bln by 2006. It has the world's largest population. Population Growth Rate: 1.4% pa Telephone Country Code: China - 86 Hong Kong - 852 Climate: Climate of China is diverse, Eastern and southern China receives 40 to 80 inches of rain a year. The desert area have less than 4 inches of rain, while in the rest of the country rainfall varies from 4 to 40 inches. North have very cold winters while deserts have hot summers. There are four seasons in China - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winters. Terrain: 80% of China is mountains, plateau, hills ets, rest is formed by North China plain and the valley and delta of the Yangtse river. In South West is the Tibetan Plateau bordeed by three sides by mountains. Himalayas are in south, Pamir and Karakoram range in the west and Kunlun in North, in North West is Takla Maklan desert, to the East of Maklan lies Ordos desert and Gobi desert. Ethnic Group: Hans occupy two thirds of the country, others include Mongols, Uighurs and Tibetans. Tibet was an independent country until it was annexed by China in 1950's. Language: Chinese is the language of Hans, it has many dialects out of which Mandarin (Nortern Chinese dialect) is the official language. Religion: Traditional religion is Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Now Muslims and Roman Catholics are also found there. Literacy: Adult Literacy - 69% and Children Literacy - 75%. Government: Single Party Rule (Communist) Executive & Legislature: The chairman of the congress serves as the head of the State. President and Vice President are elected by National People's Congress for 5 years. President in turn can appoint or remove the Premier and other member of State council, issue orders of special pardon, proclaim martial law and receive foriegn diplomats on behalf of People's Republic of China. The Vice President may succeed as President if the office of Presidrnt falls vacant. Judiciary Branch: The Supreme People's court is the highest judicial organ in China and is responsible for the National Congress and Standing Committee. Constitution: Adopted on December 4 1982 after founding People's Republic under the leadership of Communist Party of China, based on the Marxism, Leninism and Mao Zedong thought. Ruling Party: The Communist Party of China and President is Jintao. Currency: Yuan Flag: Adopted in September 1949 and it first went ip in Tiannamen Square on October 1, 1949 with announcement of the formation of People's Republic of China. It is red in colour with five yellow stars. Red colour symbolises spirit of revolution and 5 stars of unity of the people of China under Chinese Communist Party. National Anthem: March of Volunteers National Emblem: It shows Tianammese under the light of 5 stars, framed with ears of grains and cogwheel. Published in Central People's government in september 20, 1950. Economy: 69% of the work force are employed in agriculture. China ranks third after Japan and Soviet Union in the world's fishing industry. China Sea is great fishing zone. It grew to 9.9% in 2005. Rice and Tea are main crops. China is also flourishing in other industries and mining. China has led the world in the production of steel, coal, cement, chemical fertilizers and television sets. Calendar: The People's Republic of China uses the Gregorian calendar for official purpose, but Chinese Lunar calendar is also important there. Official Holidays: New Year's Day - January 1. Chinese lunar New Year's Day falls between January and February (date varies). Labour Day - May 1. National Day --October 1, teachers Day - September 10 and International Women's Day - March 8. Festivals: Spring Festival - a National 3 day holiday on New Year's Day according to Lunar Calendar. Lantern Festival - fifteenth day of the first Lunar month, on the night of first full moon. Pure Brightness Day - April fifth every year. Dragon Boat Festival - fifth day of Lunar month, it started to honour the memory of patriotic poet Qu Yuan. Mid Autumn Festival - on fifteenth day of eighth Lunar month comes in autumn. Famous Places: Great Wall of China. Military Museum Tiananmen Square. China famous Temple of Heaven. Buddhist Caves in Longmen Hongkong. Tibetian River Valey. Largest City: Shanghai |