A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO CHINA

An outline of China

China is the abbreviation of the People's Republic of China. The "Five-Star Red Flag" is its national flag while the national emblem has Tian'anmen at its centre, illuminated by five stars and encircled by ears of grain and a cog wheel. Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of china.

1. China's position in the world

A. Geology and Climate

The Himalayan is the biggest and highest mountain range in the world, on the eastern section of which looms the 8,848.13-metre high Mount Qomolangma (Everest), the world's loftiest peak rising between China and Nepal, which is known as the " Roof of the World. " Other major mountainous ranges in China include: the Tianshan, the Kunlun, the Karakorum, the Hengduan, the Qilian, the Gangdise, the Yinshan, the Qinling, the Greater Xinganling, the Changbai, the Nanling and the Taiwan. The Qinghai- Tibet Plateau, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the ILoess Plateau and the Inner Mongolia Plateau are the four major plateaus in China. The Qinghai- Tibet Plateau with an altitude of over 4,000 meters is the highest plateau in the World. The Northeast China Plain, the North China Plain and the Yangtze River Plain are China ' s three major plains.

Because of the immense size of the country, the climate varies very much in different parts of China, ranging from tropical, subtropical, warm-temperate, temperate to cool- temperate in character. A great part of China, however, lies within subtropical and temperate climatic zones and has a monsoon climate. The northern part of the northern Heilongjiang Province, for instance, has no summer while inhabitants in southern Hainan Island never experience winter condition.

Every winter from October to March, frigid winds sweep across China. As a result, winters in China are cold and dry. Between April and September, rainfall, high temperature and winds dominate. The rainfall in different parts of China also varies a great deal. The annual precipitation on the south eastern seaboard is 1,500 millimetres. And it is below 500 millimetres in north-western China.

B. Political Structure

The People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China is the highest organ of state power. It exercises the legislative power of the State and elects the President and the Vice President of the People's Republic of China. It also decides on the choice of the Premier of the State Council upon nomination by the President of the People's Republic of China, and decides on the choices for the Vice Premiers, State Councillors, Ministers in charge of ministries or commissions and the Auditor-General and the Secretary General of the State Council. When the National People's Congress is not in session, its power is exercised by the Standing Committee. The State Council, that is the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, is the executive body of the highest organ of state powers and state administration. The Premier is the head of the State Council. The Supreme People's Court is the highest judicial organ and the Supreme People's Procuratorate is the highest procuratorial organ. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a broadly representative organization of the united front under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, plays an important role in the political life of the State .

China pursues an independent foreign policy and advocates the Five Principles of mutual respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity; mutual non-aggression; mutual non-interference in internal affairs; mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence. China seeks normal diplomatic relations with all countries and promotes economic, scientific and cultural exchanges with them. It opposes imperialism, hegemonism and colonialism. It is willing to work for the unity of all the peoples of the world and contribute to the world progressive cause. As a permanent member of the Security Council of the United Nations, China has established diplomatic relations with most countries in the world and is playing an increasingly important role in world affairs.

C . Economic construction (registrar@china-tesol.org)

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the once poverty-stricken and backward country has been built step by step into a prosperous socialist country. Remarkable progress has been made in its economic construction, especially after the country carried out an economic openness policy in the late 1970s. In rural areas, the effective system which contracts collectively-owned farmland to each household has been continued and perfected. In urban areas, new reform measures have been taken to improve the State owned enterprise's management and administration.

While strengthening the publicly-owned economy, the development of self-employed, private and foreign-funded sectors are encouraged; Macro-economic adjustment and control have been improved; the role of the market mechanism has been strengthened; the markets for consumer goods and means of production have been enlarged as the markets of monetary, technology, labour, information and real estate have come into being.

Transportation and energy industries, as well as domestic and foreign trade, have been greatly developed while impressive progress has been made in the development of science, education, culture, public health and sports.

All these developments contribute to the raising of living standard in China. In the past few years, the country's industrial output value has registered an average annual increase of 15 per cent, and that of agriculture, 4.9 per cent. With its gross national product increasing at an average of 7.9 percent, China has become one of the countries in the world that have registered fast economic development.

However, because of its huge population and weak economic foundation, China's per capita gross national product is still low. In many fields, for instance, Science and technology, China, a developing country, still lags behind developed countries. To build China into a socialist country with Chinese characteristics, the country is deepening the economic reform and opening its door wider to the outside world. To solve problems such as shortage of funds, talented people and technology, China has been encouraging foreign investments and inviting foreign experts to work in China.

2. Administrative division system

China's administrative units are currently based on a three-level system dividing the nation into provinces, counties and townships as follows:

The country is divided into provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government;

- A province or an autonomous region IS divided into autonomous prefectures, and/or cities;

- A county or an autonomous county is divided into townships, national minority townships, and/ or towns.

- Municipalities directly under the Central Government and other large cities are divided into districts and counties. Autonomous prefectures are divided into counties, autonomous regions, autonomous prefectures, and autonomous counties are national autonomous areas.

- The Constitution of the People's Republic of China specifically empowers the State to establish special administrative regions when necessary. A special administrative region is a local administrative area directly under the Central Government.

At the end of 1999, China was divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, and 2 special administrative region (see the following table).

China's Provinces, Autonomous Regions, Centrally Administered Municipalities and Special Administrative Regions

3.  Population and ethnic groups

Population

China is the most populous country in the world, with 1.2481 billion people at the end of 1998, about 22 percent of the world's total. This figure does not include many Chinese in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and Taiwan.

The population density in China is 130 people per sq. km. This population, however, is unevenly distributed. Along the densely populated east coast there are more than 400 people per sq km; in the central areas, over 200; and in the sparsely populated plateaus in the west there are less than 10 people per sq. km.

When New China was founded in 1949, China had a population of 541.67 million. Owing to China's stable society, rapid production development, improvement of medical and health conditions, insufficient awareness of the importance of population growth control and shortage of experience, the population grew rapidly, reaching 806.71 million in 1969. In the early 1970s, the Chinese government realized that the over-rapid population growth was harmful to economic and social development, and would cause great difficulties in the fields of employment, housing, communications and medical care; and that if China could not effectively check the over-rapid population growth, and alleviate the tremendous pressure that the population growth was exerting on land, forests and water resources, the worsening of the ecology and the environment in the coming decades would be disastrous, thus endangering the necessary conditions for the survival of humanity, and sustainable social and economic development.

Then the Chinese government began implementing a family planning, population control and population quality improvement policy in accordance with China's basic conditions of being a large country with a poor economic foundation, a large population and a little cultivated land, so as to promote the coordinated development of the economy, society, resources and environment. Since then birth rate has steadily declined year by year. China's birth rate  dropped from 34.11 per thousand in 1969 to 16.03 per thousand at the end of 1998; the natural growth rate decreased from 26.08 per thousand to 9.53 per thousand, thus basically realizing a change in the population reproduction type to one characterized by low-birth, low-death and low-increase rates.

Fifty-six  ethnic groups

China is a united multi-ethnic nation of 56 ethnic groups. According to the fourth national census taken in 1990, the Han people made up 91.96 percent of the country's total population, and the other 55 ethnic groups, 8.04 percent. As the majority of the population is of the Han ethnic group, China's other ethnic groups are customarily referred to as the national minorities.

The Han people can be found throughout the county, though mainly on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River valleys, and the Northeast Plain. The national minorities, though fewer in number, are also scattered over a vast area, and can be found in approximately 64.3 percent of China, mainly distributed in the border regions from northeast China to north, northwest and southwest China. Yunnan Province, home to more than 20 ethnic groups, has the greatest diversity of minority peoples in China. In most of China's cities and county towns, two or more ethnic groups live together. Taking shape over China's long history, this circumstance of different ethnic groups " living together in one area while still living individual compact communities in special areas " continues to provide the practical basis for political, economic and cultural intercourse between the Han and the various minority peoples, and for the functioning of the autonomous national minority areas system.

4. A brief outline of Chinese history

China is a country with a long history of civilization, having evolved through three developmental stages:

- primitive society, slave society and feudal society,

China's slave society began about 4, 000 years ago and ended about 2,500 years ago. Following the downfall of the slave society, feudal society came into being and lasted until 1840 when the Opium War broke out. China was ruled during the period by the dynasties of the Warring States, Qin, Ran, the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, the Five Dynasties, Song,  Liao, ]in, Yuan, Ming and Qing. As the Opium War victors, imperialist powers invaded China, the country which had been so cruelly ruled by feudal classes, was gradually turned into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Chinese fought hard against imperialist and feudal rulers.

The 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty, thus ending the more than 2, 000 years of feudal, monarchic rule in China. However, the 1911 Revolution failed to change China's semi-feudal and semi-colonial status.

In 1921, the Communist Party of China was established. Led by this Party, the Chinese finally overthrew the rule of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism in 1949 and established the People's Republic of China - a new type of country under the a people's democratic dictatorship under the leadership of the working class.

After the establishment of New China, the Communist Party of China has been leading the Chinese people (except those in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao) in defending the country's security; undertaking reforms in the ownership of means of production; and going into large-scale socialist construction. The Third Plenary Session of the 11th Party Central Committee in 1978 thoroughly summed up the experience in the previous decades and decided to focus on socialist modernization.

The session marked the dawn of a new development stage. Today, under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, China is moving toward modernization along the road.

Chinese timetable

Starting from March 1, 1994, Chinese, who had long been working for 40 hours every week, began to work 44 hours or five days a week .To make the best use of electrical power supplies, which are running short in many cities, employees of many enterprises have to work on Saturdays and Sundays while having weekdays off in lieu.

Office hours are usually between 8 : 00 - 12 : 00 in the morning and 2 : 00 - 6: 00 in the afternoon.
In Beijing, the working hours are 1: 00- 5: 00 in the afternoon.
There may also be local changes for winter and summer seasons elsewhere.

Chinese living habits

Chinese are accustomed to calling each other Tong Zhi ( comrade), for example, " Comrade Zhang " or "Comrade Wang " . Such an address has been used to show that people enjoy the same political views, trust each other and are on good terms. In recent years; however, Xian Sheng ( Mr. ), Nu Shi ( Madam) and Xiao Jie (Miss) have grown in usage and acceptance.

Those who are familiar with each other may prefix family names with "Lao" or "Xiao". "Lao" which means senior or old is used to address elders and show respect, while "Xiao", meaning little of young, is used as a prefix for younger persons. It would be considered rude if a youngster calls an elder colleague by name.

Nodding, waving and handshaking are the friendly gestures used by Chinese in meeting each other or bidding farewell. On finishing these gestures, people usually say "Ni Hao" (How are you) or "Zai Jian" (Good bye) to each other. Handshaking is also, used as a gesture of congratulation or encouragement. In many rural mountain areas, hand- shaking is not popular and in fact is disliked by some elders. Instead, the traditional greeting gesture like "Zuo Yi" (cupping one hand in the other before one's chest) is more acceptable.

When Chinese meet, they often greet each other with such questions like .'Have you eaten?" or 'What are you going to do?" Don't be annoyed if you are asked "How old are you?" by your new friends. It's just a gesture of friendship in China.

It's unusual for people to embrace or kiss each other when they meet. Such gestures, unless conducted between marriage partners, are considered blunt and embarrassing.

Chinese Traditional Festivals, Public Holidays and Vacations

China is a country with many nationalities. Each nationality has its own customs and traditional festivals and each festival usually has fascinating legends associated with it.

Chun Jie ( The Spring Festival )

The Spring festival, or Chinese New Year , is the most important festival in China, and its celebration dates back to some two thousand years ago. It marks the beginning of the Lunar year, and is the time when families get together and are reunited if they have been separated. The date of the festival varies each year, but is usually in late January or early February according to the Gregorian calendar.

On Lunar New Year's eve the sound of firecrackers can be heard throughout the night signifying "doing away with the old and making way for the new." The practice of letting off firecrackers, however, is on the decline because many cities have banned their use to prevent fires and accidents caused by the paper bombs.  It is an old custom for people to stay up late or all night on New Year's eve. In cities, most people stay up late watching TV, playing cards, dancing or preparing food for the next day.

Yuan Xiao Jie (The Lantern Festival)

The Lantern Festival falls 15 days after the Lunar New Year. It is a tradition to hang decorative lanterns in public places and eat "Yuan Xiao, " a kind of glutinous rice flour ball with a sweet or savoury filling.

Qing Ming Jie (The Pure Brightness Festival )

The Pure Brightness Festival, is the fifth of the 24 solar terms according to the traditional Chinese calendar, which are defined according to the position of the sun in the zodiac. The festival takes place on the fourth or fifth day of the fourth month of the Gregorian calendar, and on this day people usually go to tidy or "sweep" the graves of their departed friends and relatives, and of revolutionary martyrs.

Duan Wu Jie (The Dragon Boat Festival )

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It originates as a means to propitiate the river dragon gods into a popular festival commemorating the suicide of Qu Yuan, a poet of the Warring States Period ( 475- 221BC) who could no longer bear the moral degeneration of his state. On the fifth day of the fifth month in the Lunar calendar dragon boat races are held in commemoration of those who tried to save the poet and as an offering to the river gods. Dragon boat racing has now become a popular sport in China.

Zhong Qiu Jie (The Mid- Autumn Festival )

The Mid- Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth Lunar month, the middle of autumn in the traditional Chinese calendar. It takes place at harvest time on the night of the full moon, which symbolized unity. Moon cakes are eaten on this auspicious day. These are round cakes filled with dried fruits, and are symbolic of the perfect roundness of the moon at the time of the festival.

Chong Yang Jie ( Double Nine Festival )

Double Nine Festival is a traditional Chinese festival on the 9th day of the 9th month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar . In the "Book of Changes", nine (9) is defined as a positive figure ("Yang"), and "Chong" in Chinese means "double", so it is called "Double-Nine Day" , On the day people go outing, climbing, kite-flying, drink wine (chrysanthemum wine) and eat cakes. The day has been appointed as "Senior Citizens' Day" , " Nine" pronounces the same sound as "longevity" in Chinese, so on the day when they celebrate the festival people do things to show respect and wishes of longevity to their elderly.

Other festivals: Water Splashing Festival is New Year's Day of the Dai and some other minority nationalities residing on Hainan Island, which falls on the 15th day of the 6th month of the Dai calendar usually on a mid-April day. Early in the morning during the festival, female villagers would gather to pour water over Buddhist sculptures " to wash the dust off. " After that, villagers, especially boys and girls, would sprinkle water on each other, believing that diseases and germs can thus be eliminated.

Christmas and Easter for Chinese Christians, and Corban and Ramadan for Muslims are also observed among some people in some places.

Public holidays:

New Year's Day  (January 1,one day off) ;
Spring Festival  ( January/February, three to seven days off) ;
May Day    ( May 1, three to seven days off) ;
The National Day   (October 1, three to seven days off).

Foreign experts are entitled to the above holidays and many activities are arranged both locally and Nationally to which experts will be invited. In addition, experts are entitled to holidays on occasions of important festivals in their own countries, such as Christmas, water-splashing festival, Corban, etc. Work schedules must be arranged to fit in with such holidays, as the Chinese do not normally celebrate them.

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