China is one of the most famous ancient
civilizations, with a history spanning over 5,000 years.
China is the most populated country with a large land mass
and abundant resources. China opened up to the world in
1978, joined the world trade organization in 2001 (WTO),
and hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic games in Beijing. With
a much more open market policy, there's increasing number
of oversea visitors gaining interest in China's culture,
history, scenery, and lifestyle.
With a rich history, China boast numerous
cultural and historical sites including:
- 1271 national key cultural relics
- 177 state level scenic spots
- 101 famous cultural and historical
cities
- 342 national forest parks
- 44 national geological parks
- 153 state level nature reserves
China's Economy & China Travel Industry
Economy
Since China's opening up to the world in 1978, the country
has experienced an average growth rate of 9.4%, with its
DGP increasing from $147 Billion to $1.4 Trillion. In 2003,
China's GDP per capita surpassed $1,000 USD for the first
time.
There's a steady increase oversea visitors to China over
the past two decades. In 2003, 92 million oversea tourists
visited China, generating $17 billion (USD) in revenues,
and ranked 7th in the world.
China's Nationalities and Languages
There are 56 ethnic groups in China, with the main nationality
being the Han composing of 91% of the population. The remaining
9% of the population is made up of the remaining 55 ethnic
groups.
The main language is also the Han Language, spoken in all
parts of china and in Asia. The Hui and Manchu ethnic groups
also speak Han, while the other 53 ethnic groups use their
own languages. The Han-Tibetan language is used by 29 ethnic
groups, who live mainly in the southern regions of China.
There are also various regional dialects of the Chinese
language. While the writing and grammar are the same, the
pronunciations are very different - so different in some
cases, that a traveler from an outside region will have
a difficult time understanding the spoken dialect of that
region. For example, Szechuan people speak the Szechuan
(Sichuan) dialect, a much rougher sounding tone compared
to mandarin. As well, many words are pronounced completely
different. Depending on the region you travel to in China,
you will encounter the different spoken dialects of the
local residents.
To many foreigners, the typical Chinese languages they
encounter are either Mandarin or Cantonese. While mandarin
is the official spoken language in China, Cantonese is the
more widely spoken language in Canton and Hong Kong.
China Administrative Divisions
There are 23 provinces, 4 municipalities, 5 autonomous
regions, and 2 special administrative regions directly under
central government in China today.
The 23 provinces are:
Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei,
HeiLongJiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin,
Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shangdong, Shanxi, Szechuan,
Taiwan, yunnan, and Zhejiang.
4 Municipalities:
Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, and Tianjin
5 Autonomous Regions:
Guangxi Zhuang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui, Xinjiang Uygur,
and Tibet
2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR)
Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR
China Currency and Chinese Money
The official currency of China is the RMB (RenMinBi), or
translated as "the people's currency". The basic
unit is the Yuan (or kuai), or equivalent to what we call
the "dollar" in North America. Next unit down
is the "Jiao" (or also "mao"), or "10
cents". Finally, the smallest unit is the "Fen",
equivalent to our "penny". So basically, it goes
like this:
- Yuan is same as Dollar
- Jiao is same as a dime (10 cents)
- fen is same as a penny
The Chinese paper currency denomination comes in 1, 2,
5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 yuan notes. For under 1 yuan, there
are also 1, 2, 5 jiao notes. For coins there are 1yuan,
5 jiao, and 1, 2 and 5 fen coins. |
