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Chapter 1
Introduction: Background Information on China
GEOGRAPHY
Located in the eastern part of Asia and on the western bank of the Pacific Ocean, China is one of the largest countries in the world. The whole country covers an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, about the same size as the United States or Canada or all of Europe (see Tables 1.1 and 1.2). The country is divided into thirty-one provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. In addition there are the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, plus the island of Taiwan.
TABLE 1.1. Comparison with Some Countries in Area
| Country | Area (km2) |
| Russian Federation | 17,075,400 |
| Canada | 9,976,139 |
| China | 9,600,000 |
| United States | 9,372,614 |
| Brazil | 8,511,965 |
| Australia | 7,682,300 |
| France | 551,602 |
| Japan | 377,748 |
| United Kingdom | 244,100 |
| Singapore | 618 |
Source: CIA World Factbook, available at <www.odci.gov>.
TABLE 1.2. Railway Distance Between Some Chinese Cities
| City to City | Railway Distance (km) |
| Beijing—Kunming | 3,179 |
| Beijing—Harbin | 1,388 |
| Beijing—Urumqi | 3,774 |
| Beijing—Shanghai | 1,462 |
| Kunming—Urumqi | 4,164 |
| Kunming—Harbin | 4,567 |
| Manzhouli—Urumqi | 6,097 |
Source: Practical China Travel Atlas, Mapping Publishing House, Beijing, 1997.
Administrative areas under the direct central authority are divided into four categories: provinces, municipalities under the central administration, minority nationality autonomous regions, and the special administration regions. The twenty-two provinces are Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Zhejiang. The four municipalities are Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing. The five autonomous regions are Guangxi Zhuangzu, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Huizu, Tibet, and Xinjiang Uygur. The two special administrative regions are Hong Kong and Macao.
As a large country, China possesses a variety of landscapes and climates. The Himalayas in the west contain the highest mountain peak in the world, the Yangtze River (Chang) is the world's fourth largest, and the Yellow River (Huang He) is the largest colored river in the world. Qinghai Lake in Qinghai Province, Northwest China, is full of salt water. A vast flat plain covers a large area in the north, while deserts with few inhabitants stretch for thousands of miles in the Northwest. Although most provinces in the country have four distinct seasons, some of the southern provinces lie in the tropical zone with plenty of rain year round, and some provinces in the northeastern areas have long and severe winters where the temperatures may drop down to – 40°C or lower. Some other areas, such as the Flaming Mountains in Xinjiang, are very dry with annual rainfall of less than 20 mm and evaporation of over 2,000 mm. It seems that every natural phenomenon can be found in this country.
China has fourteen bordering countries: Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan in the north, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in the west, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar in the south, and North Korea in the east. China is separated by sea from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
POPULATION AND CULTURE
China has the largest population in the world. Table 1.3 shows there were 1.266 billion people living in the country on November 1, 2000, accounting for some 20 percent of the world's total population (see Table 1.4). This figure excludes the populations of Hong Kong (6.78 million), Macao (0.44 million), and Taiwan (22.28 million).
According to official information, people of fifty-six nationalities live in China, the major ones being Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, and Tibetan. Han is the largest nationality, accounting for over 90 percent of the population scattered throughout the country. The minority nationalities are concentrated in specific areas due to historical reasons (see Table 1.5). All nationalities enjoy the same status politically and socially. Yunnan, a province in southwestern China, has some twenty-four minority nationalities, each with a distinct tradition and culture.
Table 1.3. China's National Census Results, 1953-2000
| Year | National Census | Total population (millions) |
| 1953 | First National Census | 582 |
| 1964 | Second National Census | 695 |
| 1982 | Third National Census | 1,008 |
| 1990 | Fourth National Census | 1,134 |
| 2000 | Fifth National Census | 1,266 |
Source: China Statistics Bureau, data released at Economic Daily, March 29, 2001.
Table 1.4. Population Comparisons with Other Countries (2001)
| Country | Population (millions) |
| China | 1,279.2 |
| India | 1,034.2 |
| United States of America | 287.7 |
| Russian Federation | 145.0 |
| Brazil | 179.9 |
| Japan | 127.1 |
| United Kingdom | 59.9 |
| France | 59.9 |
| Canada | 31.9 |
| Australia | 19.5 |
| Finland | 5.2 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, International Database, 2002.
In addition to the various minority languages, people living in different provinces or regions may have different dialects, such as Guangdong (Cantonese), Sichuan, Shanghai, Fujian, Hunan, Beijing, and Shandong. Putonghua (standard dialect or Mandarin) has been encouraged by the central government throughout the whole nation, and it should be used in all educational institutions.
Presently, Chinese or people of Chinese origin can be found everywhere in the world, from the United Kingdom to Iceland, from Singapore to Japan, from the United States to Australia, and from South Africa to Latin America.
China is one of the oldest countries in the world with an ancient civilization. According to archaeological findings, China has a recorded history of over 5,000 years. Peking man, which was discovered in Zhoukoudian, some 50 km south of the country's capital Beijing, proves that human history of Beijing is over 500,000 years (see Table 1.6).
Table 1.5. Major Chinese Nationalities and Their Primary Locations
| Nationality* | Major Location |
| Han | Everywhere |
| Zhuang | Guangxi |
| Manchu | Jilin, Liaoning, Beijing |
| Hui | Ningxia |
| Miao | Yunnan, Guizhou |
| Uigur | Xinjiang |
| Yi | Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou |
| Tujia | Sichuan, Hunnan |
| Hazak | Xinjiang |
| Mongolian | Inner Mongolia, Qinghai |
| Tibetan | Tibet |
| Buyi | Guizhou, Yunnan |
| Dong | Yunnan |
| Yao | Yunnan, Guangxi |
| Korean | Jilin |
| Bai | Yunnan |
| Hani | Yunnan |
| Dai | Yunnan |
Source: Adapted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_minority>.
*Chinese nationalities with a population over 1 million each.
Because of its long history, China has brilliant cultures comparable to India, Egypt, and ancient European countries. China led the world in ancient scientific inve...
