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General Information About China

Culture and History of China

China is the world's oldest continuous civilization. Records date back 3,500 years, but many claim that the history stretches over 5,000 years. The area of China is 3,696,100 square feet which makes it the third largest country in the world. It is bordered to the west by India, countries of the former soviet republic, and Pakistan. To the north are Mongolia and the Russian Federation, and to the southwest are Burma, Nepal, Laos and Vietnam. It has a varied topography with mountainous and plateau regions such as the "Roof of the World", in the central area, standing 16,000 feet above sea level to the Mongolian Plateau in the north containing part of the Gobi desert. The country is comprised of 21 provinces, five autonomous regions, and approximately 5,000 islands. China also controls Hong Kong. Due to the varying topography, China experiences much diversity in climate.

93% of the 1,298,848,000 population of China is comprised of Han, or ethnic, Chinese. The other 7% is comprised of 55 minority populations such as the Tibetans, Mongols, and Manchu. The official language of China is Mandarin, however, many dialects exist.

The culture of China is as interesting as its history. Due to its history, large population, the many different ethnic backgrounds of its people, as well as the enormous size of the country, China is rich in culture. An example is food- from the Cantonese dim sum in Guangdong Province, to the spicy Sichuan food in Hunan Province. Another example of the cultural vastness of the country is the language variation. In the southern provinces Cantonese is spoken frequently, whereas in the northern provinces Mandarin is spoken more frequently. In more rural areas, many different dialects exist.