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China is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.
It has the world's longest continuously used written language
system, and the source of some of the world's great inventions,
including the Four Great Inventions of ancient China: paper,
the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
China isn't a country - it's a different world. Unless you
have a couple of years and unlimited patience, it's best to
follow a loose itinerary here, such as following the Silk Road,
sailing down the Yangzi River, or exploring the Dr Seuss landscape
of Guangxi Province.
From shop-till-you-drop metropolises to the desert landscapes
of Xinjiang, China is a land of cultural and geographic schisms.
It's not that it has completely done away with its Maoist past
- it's more that the yin of revolutionary zeal is being balanced
by the yang of economic pragmatism.
Shanghai
Shanghai is a scintillating city swirling with rapid cultural
change. Since market restrictions were lifted, it has embraced
the forces of business and design and rewritten its rule book
shaping a fresh, new city that is sophisticated, innovative
and living a life it has never lived before.
While it can't match the epic history of Beijing or Xi'an's
grander sights, Shanghai is the hotspot of modern China; a cosmopolitan
city buzzing with the concept of 'lifestyle revolution', showcased
in the architectural temples of art, fine dining and contemporary
urban living on the Bund. Oriental Pearl TV Tower - one of the
tallest buildings in Asia.
Biejing
If your visions of Beijing are centred around pods of Maoist
revolutionaries in buttoned-down tunics performing exercise
in Tiananmen Square, put them to rest: this city has embarked
on a new millennium rollercoaster and it's taking the rest of
China with it.
Beijing's youth is more interested in MTV than Mao; rhetorical
slogans from the Cultural Revolution have given way to butchered
English splashed across designer-copy T-shirts, and expats,
tourists, foreign investors and a mobile phone-toting hip-oisie
are mixing it up with the bureaucrats.
The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by
Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin Dynasty
(221 B.C - 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li
Qang-Qeng" which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li =
about 5,000 km).
After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States,
the emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls
along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over
2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first
line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes
north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided
early warning of an attack.
The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction
projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of
northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is
constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over
5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about
4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25
feet) tall.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great
Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated
over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.
Terra Cotta Warriors
The archaeological site of the world- famous Terra Cotta Warriors,
consisting of an army of 2000 life-size terra cotta soldiers
and horses, each said to be an individual portrait celebrating
the unification of China.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda & Elephant
Trunk Hill
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which houses sutras collected by a wandering
Chinese monk from India, celebrating the onset of Buddhism in
China.
Elephant Trunk Hill, which is one of the Li River's most famous
sights. It looks like an elephant, dipping its snout into the
Li River, hence the name "Elephant Trunk Hill".
Li River
Li River from Guilin to Yangshou which covers a distance of
83 kilometers. This section of the river makes a unique traditional
Chinese painting with its clear water and clusters of pinnacles.
Fast Facts
Full Name
People's Republic of China
Capital City
Beijing
Area
9,596,960 sq km
3,705,386 sq miles
Population
1,286,975,468
Time Zone
GMT/UTC +8 ()
Languages
Cantonese, Mandarin
Religion
Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity
Currency
Yuan Renminbi (Y)
Country Dialing Code
86
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