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.
People and Culture of China
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.
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!
Source: http://wikitravel.org/en/China
