China is the second largest country in Asia by area after Russia, and is considered the third largest in the world in respect to land and sea area. China borders 14 nations: Vietnam, Laos, Burma, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea. Additionally the border between PRC and ROC is located in territorial waters.
Landscapes of China
The territory of China contains a large variety of landscapes. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and theEast China Sea, there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains, while on the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hill country and lowmountain ranges. In the central-east are the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Yellow River and Yangtze River(Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the Xi, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur.
To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalayas, with China's highest point at the eastern half of Mount Everest, and high plateaus feature among the more arid landscapes such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert.
China is a very diverse place with large variations in culture, language, customs and economic levels. Indeed, it has 56 officially recognized ethnic nationalities, 55 of which enjoy affirmative action for admission to university, exemption from the one-child policy and other benefits. The economic landscape is particularly diverse, although only 10% of all land is arable. The major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai are rich and modern. However, more than half the population, some 800 million rural residents, still farm with manual labor or draft animals. The government estimates for 2005 report 90 million living on under ¥924 (US$112) a year; 26 million were under the official poverty line, ¥668 (US$81) a year; the poorest are well below that.
The cultural landscape is unsurprisingly very diverse given the sheer size of the country. Of the 56 ethnic groups recognized by the PRC government, the Han Chinese comprise about 91.5% of the population, although the Han are far from homogeneous and speak a wide variety of local dialects, with customs and divinities specific to individual villages. Indeed even the lunar new year and other nationwide festivals are celebrated in drastically different ways in different parts of the country. After the Han, the Zhuang, Manchu, Hui and Miao round out the top five. Other notable ethnic minorities include: Koreans, Tibetans, Mongols, Uyghurs and Russians. In fact, China is home to the largest Korean population outside Korea and is also home to more ethnic Mongols than Mongolia.
Some foreigners find certain Chinese manners to be unrefined, coarse or inappropriate. However, these behaviors are usually benign in nature. The lesson is this: keep an open mind; if you do this, you'll find that people tend to be warm and friendly. Besides, they think as much of some of your behavior.
Spitting: in the street, shops, supermarkets, hotel lobbies, hallways, or even in restaurants, on buses and in hospitals. Traditional Chinese medical thought believes that it is unhealthy to swallow phlegm. This has declined dramatically since the SARS epidemic of 2002.
Anyone who does not look Chinese will find that catcalls of "hello" or "laowai" are common: lǎowài (老外) literally means "old (and thus respected) outsider", a colloquial term for "foreigner"; the more formal term is wàiguórén (外国人). Calls of "laowai" are ubiquitous outside of the big cities (and even there, occasionally); these calls will come from just about anyone, of any age, and are even more likely from the very young and can occur many times in any given day. They just should not in any way be considered aggressive and if anything reflect excitement or respect on the part of the Chinese at your presence!
Staring: This is common through most of the country. The staring usually originates out of sheer curiosity, almost never out of hostility. In certain situations (e.g., on the train), the person may be hoping you'll acknowledge them and start a chat. Of course this is difficult for those who don't speak Chinese. Non-Caucasian people may be treated or seen in a different regard in rural areas.
Loud conversations, discussions or public arguments: These are very common and sometimes take place at inappropriate times and/or at inappropriate places. Full-blown fights involving physical violence are less common but do occur. Domestic violence can be an issue in public. If you witness such an event, leave the vicinity, do not get involved or look for help. Speaking on the mobile phone can be at very loud levels in public.
Pushing, shoving and/or jumping queues: This often occurs anywhere where there are queues, (or a lack of), particularly at train stations.
General disregard of "No Smoking" signs and road signs, Around 60% of adult males smoke.
Dangerous Driving: Given the high proportion of relatively inexperienced drivers on the roads today, China leads the world in traffic accidents. Be careful!
Some long-time residents say it's getting worse, others say the opposite. The cause is usually attributed to the thousands of new migrants from the countryside who are unused to city life. Some department stores put attendants at the foot of each escalator to keep folks from stopping to have a look-see as soon as they alight - when the escalator behind them is fully packed. In the same department store, others gape at that row of magic steel doors that open and close - and every time they open, it's never the same people.
On the whole, however, the Chinese love a good laugh and because there are so many ethnic groups, they are used to different ways of doing things and are quite okay with that. They are often very used to sign language and quick to see a non-verbal joke or pun wherever they can spot one. (A laugh doesn't necessarily mean scorn, just amusement.) If you have children, bring them!
China is a huge country with endless travel opportunities. However, during holidays, millions of migrant workers return home and millions of other Chinese travel, so travelers may want to think seriously about rescheduling. At the very least, travel should be planned well in advance. Every mode of transportation is crowded and tickets of any kind are hard to come by, so it may be necessary to book well in advance (especially for those traveling from remote western China to the east coast or in the opposite direction). Train and other tickets are usually quite easy to buy in China, but difficulties arising from crowded conditions at these times cannot be overstated. Some travelers who have been stranded at these times, unable to buy tickets have managed to get airplane tickets, which tend to sell out more slowly.
Around the Chinese New Year, many stores and other businesses will close for several days, a week, or even longer.
China has three major annual holidays:
National Day - October 1
Chinese New Year or Spring Festival (春节chūnjié) - late January / mid-February
Labor Day (May Day) - May 1
These aren't one-day holidays. Workers get at least a week or two off for Chinese New Year; students get four-six weeks. Both groups get about a week for National Day and Labor Day.
Also, during early July millions of university students go home and in late August they return to school, jamming transportation options, especially between the east coast and the western provinces of Sichuan, Tibet, and Xinjiang.
Spring Festival is especially busy. Not only is it the longest holiday, it is also a traditional time to visit family, much as Christmas is in the West. More or less all the university students (20-odd million of them!) go home, and more or less all the migrant workers who have left their farms and villages for better pay in the cities go home. This is often the only chance they have. Everyone wants to go home, and China has a lot of "everyone"!
A complete list of Chinese festivals would be very long, since many areas or ethnic groups have their own local ones and even among the Han Chinese, the festivals celebrated vary from region to region. See listings for individual towns for details. Here is a list of some of the nationally important ones not mentioned above:
Lantern Festival - 15th day of the 1st lunar month, just after Chinese New Year, usually in February or March. In some cities, such as Quanzhou, this is a big festival with elaborate lanterns all over town.
Qingming Festival - About April 4-6, is called "grave sweeping day" in English. Cemeteries are crowded with people who go to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes heavy.
Dragon Boat Festival - 5th day of the 5th lunar month, usually in June. Boat races are a traditional part of it.
Double Seventh Festival - 7th day of the 7th lunar month, usually August, is a festival of romance, sort of a Chinese Valentine's Day.
Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Cake Festival - 15th day of the 8th lunar month, usually in October. People meet outside, putting food on tables and looking up at the sky while talking about life.
Double Ninth Festival or Chongyang Festival - 9th day of the 9th lunar month, usually in October.
