China Snapshot

Official Name
People's Republic of China (in Chinese; "Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo"). China was named by Europeans for the ancient Ch'in Dynasty. China's National flag was adopted in September of 1949. The flag was first flown in Tiannanmen Square on October 1, 1949, the day of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The color "red" symbolizes the revolution. There are 5, five-pointed, golden-yellow stars in the upper left hand corner. The largest star represents the Communist party. The smaller stars represent the people of China.

Capital
Beijing (This is where we will spend the first two days of our travels going to the Great Wall, Tiannanmen Square, Cloissione factories, Summer Palace, Temples, Forbidden City, acrobatic show, Hutong tour, etc.)

Geography
China is located in Eastern Asia. Countries bordering China are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. China mainland is separate from Hong Kong and Taiwan. China is just slightly smaller (physical size) than the US. Total: 9,596,960 sq km Land: 9,326,410 sq km Water: 270,550 sq km. China is the 4th largest country, after Russia, Canada, and United States.

Climate/Terrain
Extremely diverse; tropical in the south to subartic in the north. Mountains, high plateaus, deserts in the west, plains, and hills in the east. There are 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions (Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang, and Xizang (Tibet)), and 4 municipalities (Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin).

Population
1,306,313,812 (as of July, 2005) compared to 295,734,134 in the U.S.

Ethnicity
91.9% Chinese, and 8.1% other: Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi and Korean.

Religions
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim, Christian & Athiest. The government discourages religious practices.

Languages
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, and others by province.

Currency
Yuan (CNY), also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB). Exchange rates may fluxuate. In 2005, the average Yuan per $1 US Dollar= 8.19 Yuan.