Facts: Official Country Name: People's Republic of
China
Area: 3,691,463 square miles
Population: 1.2 billion in 1995 (excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao)
Capital: Beijing (also 2nd largest city; 7.5 million people)
Nationalities: 56 ethnic groups. Han (91%); minority groups include Zhuang,
Hui, Uygur, Tibetan, and Mongolian. Most minority groups live in border regions and
the western part of China
Currency: Renminbi (People's money) is in Yuan. The symbol is Y.
One Yuan is about 12 cents in American money.
Languages: Chinese; chief dialect is Mandarin.
The Chinese Government officially adopted the "pinyin" system for spelling
Chinese names and places on January 1, 1979. This system has now replaced other
conventional spellings in Chinese English language publications. The US government
also uses the pinyin system.
In this system, most letters are pronounced as in American English with these exceptions:
Initial sounds:
c - like the t's in it's
q - like the ch in cheap
x - like the sh in she
z - like the ds in lids
zh - like the j in just
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Final sounds:
e - pronounced like "uh"
eng - like the ung in ling
ai - as in aisle
ui - pronounced way
uai - like the wi in wide
i - like the i in skin*
ua - like the wa in waft
ao - like the ow in now
ian - pronounced yen
ou - like the ow in know
uan - like the wan in wander
*When zh, ch, sh, zh are followed
by an "i", the "i" is pronounced like ur.
For example chi is pronounced like the chur in church.
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Prior to the pinyin system the Wade-Giles system of
translation was used. In documents printed prior to 1980 many spellings of Chinese
words are not pinyin, but Wade-Giles, called common English spelling. The following
chart shows some examples of both systems.
Common English Spelling |
Pinyin |
| Mao Tse-tung |
Mao Zedong |
| Peking |
Beijing |
| Yangtze River |
Chang Jiang (chang gee aang) River |
| Gobi Desert |
Gebi Desert |
| Canton |
Guangzhou (guang zhew) |
| Shumchun |
Shenzhen (shen chin) |
| Sian |
Xi'an (se an) |
| Pearl River |
Zhujiang River |
| Mount Everest |
Mount Qomolangma (cho molang ma) |
Economy:
Most people earn their living by farming although there are many other
occupations in manufacturing, mining, oil production, and fishing. Since the
late1980's, when restrictions on private industry were relaxed, private businesses such as
restaurants, repair shops, tailors, and small factories have grown. The tourist and
service industries have also grown rapidly.
One out of every four people on Earth is Chinese. Seven out of
every ten Chinese people work the land to feed and clothe the population of China.
Only 20% of China's land is farmable--mostly in the eastern part of the the
country. Every available piece of this farmable land is used for farming.
Terrace farming is used to farm on mountainsides and roadsides are often planted in
wheat of soybeans. The major food crops are rice, corn (maize), peanuts, soybeans,
sweet potatoes, sugar cane, tea, mulberry leaves (for silkworms), and wheat. The
Chinese are one of the world's leading producers of eggs and pork.
Many different minerals are mined in China. china has the largest
deposit of tungsten in the world. Because large deposits of coal are also available,
China is a world leader in steel production.
China is second only to the US in salt production using large ponds to
evaporate sea water.
Chinese fishermen catch a variety of saltwater fish including:
sturgeon, crabs, sea cucumbers, eel, herring, and sharks. Freshwater fish
including catfish, carp, and bass are also caught in the many lakes and rivers.
Other important businesses ar Import/Export, weaponry production,
tourism, and service industry.
Work hours in China depend on the business. Stores and
restaurants are open seven days a week from 9 am to 7 pm with a one-and-a-half hour lunch
break from noon until 1:30 pm. Recent changes in government policy have provided for
a two-day weekend for most Chinese. Many workers have Saturday and Sunday off even
though most Chinese do not celebrate a holy day.
The Chinese "dollar" is called the "yuan." It
is divided into 100 "fen." One Chinese "yuan" is worth about 12 cents
in US dollars. (1 yuan = 0.122699 USD as of 3/17/99)
Environment:
China is the third largest country in the world with a total land area
of 3,691,463 square miles. The topography varies from rugged mountains, deserts, and
high plateaus to rain forests and sunken basins. China is located in about the same
latitude as the United States. Northern China experiences cold, dry winters while
southern China enjoys a subtropical mild winter. The summer is usually hot in most
of China except for the mountain regions. Coastal areas experience an average of
eight typhoons (similar to hurricanes) a year.
China's vastly different topographies create a great diversity in
vegetation. Some shrubs such as the rhododendron, azalea, and camellia are found in
the US and China. Rare plants such as the ginkgo tree and the dragon spruce also grow
there. Flowers are revered. Festivals honor the goddess of the Hundred
flowers.
China's major rivers are the Chang Jiang (Yangtze), Huang He (Yellow),
the Heilong (Black Dragon), and the Zhujiang (Pearl). The Chang Jiang is about 200 miles
longer than the Mississippi and is the third longest river in the world.
Wildlife:
China is home to some rare and interesting animals. China is the
only country in the world that has wild pandas. The Bactrin camel with its two humps
has been domesticated and used for transportation. The Chinese River Dolphin can be found
in fresh water rivers. The Takin is a small (3 feet tall), four hoofed animal that grazes
in bamboo thickets. |
