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China (Zhonghuá Rénmin Gònghéguó, People’s Republic of China) is the third largest country in the world after Russia and Canada. Furthermore, the Chinese population represents about 20% of the inhabitants of the entire planet. China along with India is the most populated nation in the world.
China is a Socialist People’s Republic divided into 22 provinces (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang), 5 autonomous regions (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Xinjiang and Tibet), 4 municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing) and 2 special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macao ). Finally, the country also controls some islands of the Spratly archipelago between Vietnam, Borneo and the Philippines.
The country is washed to the east by the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea and to the south-east by the South China Sea, to the north it borders with Mongolia and Russia, to the north-east with North Korea, to the south with Vietnam, Laos, Burma and India, to the south-west with Bhutan, Nepal and India, to the west with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan to the north-west with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Among the major cities of China, in addition to the capital Beijing, we find, Shanghai, the largest city in the country, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Harbin, Kunming, Tianjin, Wuhan, Lanzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang and Zhengzhou.
The Chinese territory is vast and very geographically varied, over 40% of the country is made up of mountains and plateaus that exceed 2,000 meters in height.
Vast flat areas extend in the eastern part of the country, where the most important Chinese rivers flow and where the majority of the population is concentrated, these areas make up about 12% of the country’s surface.
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THE ECONOMY OF CHINA
The Chinese economy is among the economies that have had more rapid growth in recent years, China today is the greatest power in Asia and one of the major economic powers of the world.
The Chinese agriculture produces a large quantity of cereals (rice, wheat, corn, rye, barley, sorghum), potatoes, cassava, soybeans, tomatoes, sugar cane, tobacco, cotton, apples, pears, peaches, oranges, bananas, lemons, tea.
Among the products of which China is the main world producer we find: rice, wheat, cotton and natural silk. Important resources are given by breeding (cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, sericulture), by fishing, China is in fact the largest fish producer in the world, and by the forest heritage. Fish and rice are the basis of Chinese nutrition.
MINING RESOURCES AND INDUSTRY
Remarkable and varied are the Chinese mineral resources. The richest areas are southern Manchuria and the mountainous areas of the south of the country. Among the subsoil products of which China is the first world producer we find: coal, tin, antimony, tungsten, iron. Other important products extracted are: oil, natural gas, uranium, hematite, aluminum, bauxite, magnesite, salt, talc, mica, quartz, molybdenum, mercury, manganese, lead, zinc, copper and silica. As far as industry is concerned, the textile, chemical, iron and steel, petrochemical, metallurgical, mechanical and food sectors are highly developed. Tourism is another booming sector.
The climate of China.
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- Area: 9,596,960 sqkm. (Arable 10%, Pastures 41,7%, Forests and Woodlands 13,6%, Uncultivated and Unproductive 34,7%)
- Population: 1,313,973 000 (2006 data) (Han 91,9%, Zhuang 1,2%, Manchu 0,7%, Hui 0,7% Miao 0,6%, Uyghur 0,6%, Yi 0,6%, Tujia 0,4%, Mongols 0,4%, Tibetans 0,4%, Buyi 0,2%, and Koreans 0,1%). They recognized 56 distinct ethnic groups.
- State Capital: Beijing.
- Languages: The official language is Mandarin Chinese 65%. Other languages spoken are: Wu 7%, Min 5%, Yue 5%, Xiang 3%, Hakka 2%, Gan 1%.
- Religion: Buddhism 50%, Taoism 30%, Christian 4%, Muslim 2%.
- Corrency: Yuan (CNY)
- Time: UTC +8 hours.
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