The People’s Republic of China, or China, is situated in the eastern part of Asia and on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. It has a total land area of 9.6 million square kilometers, and its borderline runs 22,800 kilometers. The nation borders the D.P.R.K. in the east; Mongolia in the north; Russia in the northeast; Kazakstan in the northwest; Kirghizia, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in the west; India, Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan in the southwest; and Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam in the south. The coast of China’s mainland is 18,000 kilometers. More than 5,000 islands are scattered around China’s vast territorial seas.

China’s vast territory spans nearly 50 latitudes. The large majority of its area is situated in the temperate zone, and some parts of south China are located in tropical and subtropical zones, while the northernmost part is near the frigid zone. Because of its location in monsoon area and complex landforms, China has a diverse climate. In the northern part of Heilongjiang Province, winter is long and there is no summer. Hainan Island has an all-year-round summer, without winter. The Huaihe River Valley has distinctive four seasons. The southern part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau has a mild temperature all the year round. The Northwestern regions feature big difference in temperature. The southwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, a special alpine-cold zone, has low temperatures all year round. Some deserts are drought-stricken, with no rainfall.

China is an ancient country with more than 5,000 years of civilization. After a long period of primitive existence, the Xia Dynasty was established in the 21st Century B.C., heralding the beginning of a slave society in China. The Xia, Shang, Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn, and Warring States Periods (C. 2100 B.C.-256 B.C.) experienced the slave society. In 221 B.C., Qin Shihuang, or the First Emperor o the Qin Dynasty, established the first centralized, unified, feudal dynasty in Chinese history. Subsequently, one dynasty replaced another. They included the Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing. In 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing Dynasty through bourgeois democratic revolution, ended the feudal monarchical system which had lasted for over 2,000 years in China, and founded the temporary government of the Republic of China. On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded. In 1978, as the reform and opening policies was implemented, China embarked on the road of constructing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

China is one of the world’s four ancient civilizations. As early as the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century B.C.), the Chinese invented copper and iron smelting techniques. Following that, a great number of outstanding thinkers, scientists, artists, and writers made brilliant achievements in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, agriculture, and architecture. In particular, China’s “four major inventions?papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and compass made great contributions to the world.

China has a population of 1.3 billion, amounting to 22 percent of the world’s total. The coastal areas in the east are densely populated, with more than 500 people per square kilometer; the western regions are sparsely populated, with fewer than 50 people per square kilometer.

China is a united, multinational country with 56 ethnic groups: Han, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Dai, Li, Wa, Gaoshan, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Tu, Qiang, Maonan, Deang, Bao’an, Jing, Hezhe, Jino, Uygur, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, Bouyei, Kazak, Korean, Lisu, She, Lahu, Kirgiz, Daur, Mulam, Gelo, Xibe, Salar, Blang, Tajik, Nu, Pumi, Achang, Ewenki, Ozbek, Yugur, Moinba, Drung, Oroqen, Tatar, and Lhoba. While the Han people account for 92 percent of the nation’s total population, the other 55 ethnic groups represent a minority of population. No matter of the populations, all of the ethnic groups share equality, unity, and common prosperity. The Han people are found in all parts of the country, but mainly in the eastern and central areas. The areas mainly inhabited by the ethnic minorities are mainly in the border regions of southwest, northwest, and northeast China.

China is a multi-religion country, and its citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief. Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism have prevailed in China for ages. Ethnic groups have their own religious preferences. Most of the Tibetans and some of the Mongolians are the followers of Tibetan Buddhism. More than 10 ethnic minorities, including Hui and Uygur, believe in Islam. All normal religious activities are protected by the Constitution and related laws.

The spoken and written language of the Han people is commonly used throughout China, and is one of the five working languages of the United Nations. Because of historical and geographical reasons, the Han language includes dialects of different places, and mandarin is the standard Chinese. In China, ethnic minorities enjoy the freedom of using and developing their own languages, and most of the 55 ethnic minorities use the spoken languages of their own for communication.

The Han written language derives from the inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells some 6,000 years ago. More than 30 of the ethnic minorities have their own written languages.