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China- introduction
China has one of the world's oldest and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia. It has the world's longest continuously used written language system, and is the source of many major inventions, such as what the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham called the "four great inventions of Ancient China": paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing. The first evidence of human presence in the region was found at the Zhoukoudian cave and is one of the first known specimens of Homo erectus, now commonly known as the Peking man, estimated to have lived approximately from 300,000 to 550,000 years ago. Noticeably, it is also known that the Peking man was able to control and use fire.
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History
China's multi-millennial history has been a tumultuous one. One of the world's earliest civilizations, it was ruled for thousands of years by imperial dynasties until the overthrowing of the Qing dynasty in 1911. The civil war in 1945 defined the China of today, ending with the defeated Nationalists fleeing to Taiwan, while Mao's victorious Communists founded the People's Republic of China. The Cultural Revolution in the 1960s effectively closed the country.
However, China has made up for lost time since the 1990s: it now boasts the world's fastest growing major economy and its main cities are emerging as cosmopolitan global centers. |
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Cities
China has many large and famous cities. Below is a list of the nine most important to travelers in mainland China.
- Beijing - capital city, cultural center, and host of the 2008 Olympics
- Guangzhou - one of most prosperous and liberal cities in the south of China near Hong Kong
- Guilin - popular destination for both Chinese and foreign tourists, sensational mountain/river scenery
- Hangzhou - famously beautiful city, major center for the silk industry
- Kunming - capital of Yunnan, gateway to the villages of the ethnic minorities
- Nanjing - a renowned historical and cultural city with many historic relics
- Shanghai - famous for its riverside scenery, China's largest city is a major commercial center with many shopping opportunities
- Suzhou - "Venice of the East," old city, famous for canals and gardens
- Xi'an - terminus of the ancient Silk Road, capital of China during the Western Han and Tang Dynasties, and home of the terracotta warriors
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Weather
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The climate is extremely diverse, from tropical regions in the south to subarctic in the north. Hainan Island is roughly at the same latitude as Jamaica, while Harbin, one of the largest cites in the north, is at roughly the latitude of Montreal.
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There is also a wide range of terrain to be found in China with many inland mountain ranges, high plateaus, and deserts in center and far west; while plains, deltas, and hills are to be found in the east. On the border between the province of Tibet and the nation of Nepal lies Mount Everest, at 8,850 m, the highest point on earth. The Turpan depression, in northwest China's Xinjiang is the lowest point in the country, at 154 m below sea level. This is also the second lowest point on land in the world after the Dead Sea. |
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To do
Forbidden City
Beijing's crowning glory is the Forbidden City, officially the Palace Museum. The imperial palace of the Ming and Qing emperors for 500 years, it is China's greatest surviving historical site with fabulous halls, palaces and gardens.
Beijing
Beijing is home to a large number of first-rate attractions including Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square.
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall, built over 2,000 years and stretching over 5,400km (3,375 miles). The restored stone and brick Badaling section stands 8m (26ft) high and 6m (20ft) wide, and is the closest to Beijing, 70km (44 miles) away.
Terracotta Army
Xi'an's Terracotta Army is made up of 6,000 ancient life-sized warriors and horses. They were buried with Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, who first united China in 200 BC. Also visit the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas and the old city walls.
Ming Tombs
13 of the dynasty's 16 emperors were buried in the Ming Tombs.
Shilin Stone Forest
The Shilin Stone Forest's limestone rock columns resemble petrified trees.
Buddhist monuments
The monumental carved Buddhist effigies of Yungang Caves, near Datong, or carved effigies and monuments in Luoyang's fifth-century Longmen Buddhist Caves.
Chengdu
From Chengdu, you can visit the holy Buddhist mountain of Emei Shan and the spectacular Grand Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a cliff. At 71m (225ft) high, it is so enormous that 100 people can fit on its instep. There's also the panda breeding and research centre.
Pagodas
China's oldest wooden pagodas are the Yingxian Pagoda, Kaifeng's Iron Pagoda and Fan Bo Pagoda (AD 1049 and c. AD 977), Jinan's Square Four Gate Pagoda (China's oldest stone pagoda) and Guangzhou's Huaisheng Mosque (built by Arab merchants in AD 650).
Shanghai
In the cosmopolitan atmosphere of economic powerhouse Shanghai, soaring skyscrapers contrast the European-style Bund waterfront, art deco laneways of the former French Concession and traditional delights like Yuyuan, an ancient Chinese garden surrounded by a touristy shopping bazaar, also home to the Temple of the City God.
Suzhou
2,500-year-old Suzhou is China's own Venice. Its streets lining the Grand Canal and famous water gardens are a delight. Gardens include the Humble Administrator's Garden and the Garden of the Master of the Nets. Buy exquisite Suzhou silk fabrics and embroidery.
Lhasa
Tibet's capital, Lhasa, stands at 3,700m (12,000ft). The iconic seventh-century Potala Palace, home to successive Dalai Lamas, houses exhibits including frescoes and gigantic bejewelled Buddhas. Also visit the Norbulingka (Summer Palace) and Jokhang Temple, with its golden Buddhas. |
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Map
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Photo gallery
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