An Introduction to China

March's story, The Empty Pot, originated in China. With each country that Tales from Around the World "visits," I like to share information and activities -- to encourage everyone to learn more about this amazing world we live in!

Below you will find beautiful photos from China and additional information. Please enjoy viewing and reading:

A Brief Introduction to China
National Flag:
The flag of the People's Republic of China is the "Five-Starred Red Flag.

Map of China:
China is situated in the eastern part of Asia, on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, bordering Japan, India, Mongolia, Russia etc. The territory area of China is as much as that of the United States.
At present, China is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Region).

Population & People:
With around 1.3 billion people, China is the world's largest and most populous country. This is about one-fifth of the world's population!!
China has 56 ethnic groups, among which Han is majority, and makes up an estimated 90% of the population. China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minority groups. Most of them are from the Northwest, Southeast and Northeast regions of China. Almost all of the minority groups have their own languages, and each of them displays a unique culture.
China is the most ethnically diverse country in the world! Chinese culture is also markedly diverse, and reveals strong regional characteristics.

Chinese Language:
The Chinese character is one of the most ancient character systems, and the only one which continues in use today. Chinese characters are known as pictographs, however, the vast majority of Chinese characters are truly pictophonetic characters consisting of a radical and a phonetic element.
Over its four thousand years of history, Chinese characters have experienced several different writing styles. They were engraved on oracle bones, bronze, stones, and later written on paper.
As a language family, Chinese has an estimated 1.3 billion speakers, outnumbering any other language in the world. Mandarin is the official language of the China, and has around 850 million native speakers.

Chinese History:
China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations. China has a long history, with written records dating back 5,000 years ago. For over three thousand years since 2000 BCE, China was ruled by Emperors and their dynasties. Dynastic China went through Xia Dynasty, Shang Dynasty, Zhou Dynasty, Qin Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, which is a country alternating between periods of political unity and disunity .
In the early 1900s, the country came out from under dynasty rule to create the Peoples Republic of China. In 1949, People’s Republic of China was established. China has been under control of a communist government from then and now.
Now enjoy the video “Welcome to China “ :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzRKJNwNy9Y&feature=related