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A Brief Introduction to China
Endowed with terra firma grandeur, China
is reputed as the single oldest uninterrupted civilization
in the world. It occupies an area of 9,560,9000square kilometers
(3,691,000 square miles), which is approximately 1/15 of the
land area of the world. According to the recent census, China's
entire population was estimated to be 1.2 billion as of February
15,1995. All of Europe(excluding Russia)is believed to be
only half of China in area and in population.
Lying in the northern part of the eastern
hemisphere, China is strategically situated in East Asia
of the Pacific. It extends about 5,000 kilometers from east
to west and about 5,500 kilo-meters from north to south.
The land boundary exceeds 20,000kilometers in length bordering
Korea in the east, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar (Burma in the
south, India, Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal in the southwest,
Pakistan and Afganistan toward the west, Russia, Kazakstan,
Kirighizia and Tajikstan toward the northwest and Mongolia
toward the north. China faces Japan across the Yellow Sea,
and looks toward the Philippines beyond the South China
Sea.
Running 18,000 kilometers from the mouth
of the Yalu River on the borders of Korea to the mouth of
the Beilung River on the borders of Vietnam, China is known
to possess one of the longest coastlines in the world.
The eastern part of China proper is flanked
from north to south by the Bohai, the Yellow Sea, the East
China Sea and the South China Sea, with all the waters merging
with the Pacific Over a spectacular area of the sea, there
are more than 5,000islands scattering around. Taiwan province
and Chongming Island.
In as much as China is situated in the southeastern
part of the Eurasian Continent and on the west coast of
the Pacific Ocean, China is said to encounter monsoon season
which is attributable to the heat reserves between the largest
continent and the biggest ocean in the world. The polar
continental mass of cold and dry air from Siberia permeates
l large part of china during the winter and the tropical
mass of hot and humid air from the Pacific affects the weather
during the summer. A distinctive continental climate dominates
most regions in China and the temperatures are significantly
on a daily and annual basis.
Topographically speaking, China is high
on the relief map in the west but low in the east. Consequently,
the flow of major rivers is directed eastward in a general
pattern. The land surface from west to east may be classified
as the plateau, the mountain, and the plain categories.
China is fundamentally a mountainous country with hills,
mountains and plateaus covering 2/3 of the total area but
inhabited by only 1/3 of the populace.
The total number of seeding plants is estimated
about 30,000 species representing 2,700 genera ,of which
more than 200 are seen only in China. There are about 2,500
tree species in forestry. Needless to say ,economic benefits
can be generated and derived from numerous species, i.e.,
tung oil tree, camphor tree, and lacquer tree. The varied
host of vegetation has spillover effects for animal lives
in terms of the Yangtze, the Siberian tiger of the northeast
,the giant salamander in the west, and the giant panda and
sub-nosed monkey in the southwest ,are only a few of the
renowned species in their own right.
For the purpose of administration, China
is divided into 23 provinces,5 autonomous regions and 3
municipalities directly under the Central Government .The
23 provinces are Hebei, Shanxi,Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang,
Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anui, Fujiand, jiangxi, hangdong, henan,
Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan,
haanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, and-Taiwan, which is to be unified
in due course,The 5 autonomous regions are the Inner Mongolian
Autonomous Region, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,
the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous
Region, and xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The three
municipalities directly under the Central Government are
Beijing, Tianjin and shanghai. The provinces are divided
into approximately 170 prefectures and subdivided into some
2,000 units at local county level. Governments are set up
at each of the levels to ensure the execution of laws, decrees
and ordinances in respective areas. The rights of Chinese
citizens, which are specified in the Constitution of the
People¡¯s Republic of China, are well protected
by the law.
In the light of the constitution, China
is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship
led by the working class and based on the alliances of workers
and peasants. The organs through which the people exercise
the state power are the National People's Congress and the
local congresses at different levels. the national people's
Congress is the legislative body which enacts all the important
laws in China and supervises their execution. The State
Council is the executive body of the highest organ of state
administration.
Beijing, the political and cultural center,
is the capital of the country, The national flag of China
is the five-star red flag. The national anthem is the Mach
of the Volunteers. The national badge is centered by Tian'
anmen Rostrum in the shine of five stars. encircled by grains
and a gear, which fully expresses the constitutional category
of what the People's Republic of china is.
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