Chinese civilization is very ancient. It is four thousand years old. Since the time of Marco Polo, the Celestial Empire has attracted researchers and travelers. This country has the most inhabitants - it is home to a fifth of all people on the planet. If we consider the area of China, then the state is in third place in the world in size.
Although the days of Mao Zedong have already passed, the power of the Communist Party, as well as its influence in all spheres of life, is still huge. In 1979, a state program called "2 + 1" was launched in the country. It was developed for the purpose of birth control. So, families sign an agreement with the state, according to which the spouses undertake to have one child in exchange for tax and many other benefits. Violation of the established rule entails the deprivation of financial privileges and an impressive fine.
Until the nineties of the twentieth century, the Chinese did not have the right to use private cars. All vehicles were owned by the state. For this reason, people without exception used bicycles, and even nowtwo-wheeled vehicles are no less in demand.
China Square was previously divided into five time zones. Such a system existed from 1912 to 1949. Currently, the entire territory of the country in administrative terms is in the same time zone. There is no daylight saving time.
Geographic location
The Celestial Empire is located in East and Central Asia. As the map of China shows, the country borders on Russia, India, Nepal, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Bhutan, Laos, Myanmar, North Korea and Vietnam. Formally, the state in question belongs to the island of Taiwan, but in fact it does not depend on anyone.
China Square has the following geographical features: plains in the east, highlands in the center, mountains in the west.
Administrative divisions
The state includes five national autonomous regions, four cities of special subordination, and twenty-two provinces of China.
Climatic features
The area of China lies in three climatic zones. It is temperate, subtropical and tropical. The mountain climate is sharply continental.
It is noteworthy that the country's weather conditions are largely determined by its topography, because China is a giant staircase descending from the highlands of Central Asia towards the ocean. It is she who forms a kind of screen, on the one hand, contributing to the retention of moisture,which comes during the summer monsoons from the ocean to land, and on the other hand, causes the flow of cold air masses from the high pressure zone, located in Mongolia, South Siberia and northwestern China in winter.
Most of China's area (almost 9.6 million square kilometers) is influenced by the continental climate. At the same time, the difference between the seasons is significant.
According to written sources dating back to the first millennium BC, it used to be warmer on the Great Plain of China. This fact, as well as the fertile soils of the forests, largely contributed to the emergence and successful development of agriculture in this region, which, in turn, stimulated the emergence of a great civilization.
At the dawn of our era, the climate became colder. The average annual temperatures generally corresponded to modern ones, and then a widespread cooling began, which over time covered the whole of Eurasia.
Architecture
The total area of China is simply huge - more than nine and a half square kilometers. Nevertheless, in such an impressive territory, one architectural tradition dominates, which cannot be said about any European culture. All basic constructive and decorative techniques developed many centuries ago and remain relevant to this day. At the same time, the cultural stability of the country, which has survived many foreign invasions, is striking. The secret lies in the fact that the inhabitants of this state missed all the innovationsthrough the lens of their own worldview. That is why the borrowed elements are not much different from the original Chinese.
Regular urban development was carried out on the basis of Feng Shui principles. So, all buildings were oriented to the south. There was a whole system of urban planning rules in the country, according to which the administrative and imperial parts of the city were always located in the center, they were surrounded by walls that formed a forbidden territory. The most important buildings were built along the main highways running from the south gate towards the north.
The height and location of a structure was determined based on its function and the owner's position in society. And although the population density in China was already impressive in the first centuries of our era, ordinary citizens were forbidden to build houses more than one floor high. For this reason, a unique volume-spatial composition of the settlements was formed. The picturesqueness of the resulting landscape was greatly enhanced by the color scheme of the roofs. So, at the imperial buildings they were painted in gold, at the temples and houses of officials - in green (sometimes blue). The roofs of the towers were covered with gray tiles.
The most famous drink
Describing China: population, area, climate, culture, architecture, economy and other areas - it is impossible not to mention one amazing drink. It has long been a hallmark of the country. This is tea. It is a product resulting from complex processing of the source material. Freshly picked buds and leaves are poetically calledtea emerald. Depending on what products were used in their processing, green, yellow, white, turquoise, flower, crushed, pressed, red, black tea is obtained.
Unique Therapy
Locals are actively practicing tai chi quan. This is a special kind of gymnastics, based on the ancient system of exercises. It, in turn, is based on the inseparable connection of three components - movement, consciousness and breathing. In many cities, street classes are held under the guidance of professional instructors. Their work is paid for by the Ministry of He alth, which believes that it is better to pay ten than to treat a thousand later.
The main principle of Chinese treatment is not to bring he alth from the outside, but to awaken the internal forces of the body. And gymnastics in this regard is only one of many options. For example, in the resorts of Hainan is proposed to eliminate nervous disorders by taking mineral and aromatic baths. In local balnearies, modern technologies are successfully combined with traditional methods of getting rid of ailments. Chinese medicine bases therapy on the concept of the seven emotions. If a person is overcome by anger, fear, pain, anxiety, grief, surprise or even happiness, this can shake the balance of his body, that is, lead to illness. As for the Hainan mineral waters, they just relieve the existing emotional stress due to the increased content of silver, manganese and hydrogen sulfide.
Population
China has an area of almost 9.6 million square meters. km. Representatives of fifty-six nationalities live in this vast territory. According to the national census, there are 936.7 million Chinese (Han) and 67.23 million ethnic minorities in the country.
China's population density map shows the uneven distribution of people. Thus, the bulk of the Han people live in the basins of the Yangtze, Huang He and Zhujiang rivers, as well as in the northeast of the country - on the Songliao Plain. As for national minorities, despite their relatively small numbers, they occupy about 60% of the territory of the state. They live in Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Huen, Guangxi Zhuang, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regions, and fourteen provinces.
China area in sq. km is very large, and the internal migration of millions of people plays a significant role in the distribution of the population. Often, residents of megacities move to underdeveloped areas.
At present, the country is witnessing a change in the administrative management of fertility by material incentives. An example of this is the new slogan of population policy, which reads: "The fewer children you have, you will get rich faster." According to the National Bureau of Statistics, on January 6, 2005, the population of China reached one billion three hundred million people. Local authorities are trying to do everything possible so that the natural population growth is zero. It is assumed that by 2030 the number of Chinese will reach its peak andwill be 1.46 billion. At the same time, it is expected that the maximum number of able-bodied citizens will be in 2020 and will be 65% of the total population (940 million people).
Experts note that if the authorities of the republic do not soften the current legislation that limits the number of children, then by the middle of this century the title of the most populous state in the world will pass to India.
Features
Provincial map of China displays twenty-two territorial units. Each of them has not only an administrative role, but also cultural differences. Most of today's provinces have borders established during the Ming Dynasty. Since that time, the territorial division has been seriously transformed only in the north-eastern part of the country.
In mainland China, the strict subordination of the provinces to the central government is established, but in reality, local government is endowed with fairly broad powers in the conduct of economic policy. Some researchers in this area call the current system of federalism with Chinese characteristics. At the same time, an analogy is drawn with socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Most of the provinces of the country (with the exception of the northeastern) gained borders during the reign of the Yuan, Qing and Ming dynasties. Moreover, the division was often not based on linguistic, geographical or cultural differences. This was done in order to prevent separatism and the rise of local authorities. The locals themselves say that the borders between the provinces are interspersed like clenched teeth of a dog. Despite this, such a divisionimportant cultural significance. Residents of each province are endowed with certain traits that fit into existing stereotypes.
Among the latest changes in the territorial division of the republic, the following are distinguished: giving Chongqing and Hainan the status of a province, as well as the establishment of special administrative regions of Macao and Hong Kong. What are the current provinces of China? The list is impressive:
- Shanxi.
- Shandong.
- Guangxi.
- Zhejiang.
- Macau.
- Qinghai.
- Jiangsu.
- Anhui.
- Jiangxi.
- Gansu.
- Jilin.
- Guangdong.
- Henan.
- Guizhou.
- Heilongjiang.
- Liaoning.
- Hebei.
- Sichuan.
- Hunan.
- Fujian.
- Qinghai.
- Hubei.
Attractions
Millions of tourists visit China every year. The area of the country, equal to 9.6 million km², includes a great variety of architectural monuments, which attracts travelers from all over the world. The state carefully takes care of the preservation of the unique historical heritage. Even whole cities (24 in total) are declared protected and properly protected, not to mention individual monuments.
The most famous example of fortress architecture in the world is, of course, the Great Wall of China. Its length is four thousand kilometers. A unique building guards the northern borders of the country. It began to be erected in the fourth or third centuries BC.era, during the period when individual Chinese states were engaged in the creation of defensive structures to protect themselves from the raids of nomadic tribes from Central Asia. According to historians, about four hundred thousand people took part in the process of building the Great Wall of China. After the formation of a centralized state, some of its sections were connected. Thus, a single defensive complex was formed. The construction work was completed in the third century AD. The wall was a defensive shaft, the height of which reached ten meters. Troops and wagons could move along the wide top. Defensive towers rose every two hundred meters.
Beijing is famous for the largest state museum in China called Gugong. In the past it was the imperial palace. The construction of a unique architectural monument began in the first half of the fifteenth century. Subsequently, the palace was rebuilt and increased in size. Modern Gugun is a grandiose complex, which includes more than a hundred buildings. Along the perimeter it is surrounded by a wide canal and surrounded by a high stone wall. The total area of the palace is 720 thousand square kilometers, and the number of exhibits is 800 thousand. The latter are represented by antique values, including ritual palace utensils, ancient copper mirrors, jade and porcelain items, unique books and archives of the royal palace, and eight thousand of them are classified as treasures of national importance. Every day the museum receives thirty thousandvisitors.
In China, a great variety of landscape gardening complexes are broken. Basically, they are located in the former imperial palaces and in private parks of various landscape types. Of particular interest are the most beautiful man-made mountains, ponds, cozy gazebos, bridges and bizarre heaps of stones.
A classic example of the work of masters of landscape art - Yi He Yuan, the park of serene relaxation. It is located on the territory of the summer imperial palace in the vicinity of Beijing.
In the capital of China, there is a park called Hai Bei, which literally means "North Sea". It is famous for its artificial lake, on the banks of which there are interesting pavilions, pavilions and temples.
Suzhou is rightfully called a green city. Currently, there are more than a hundred garden and park complexes. All of them are designed to please the eye and give coolness in the summer heat.
Conclusion
It's not only the impressive area of the country that causes admiration. China is the state that gave the world paper, gunpowder, compass. In addition, the role of national culture is striking. It influenced the vast majority of spheres of people's lives and the development of the country and continues to do so until now.
