China (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain everything about China, what their dynasties were and how is its population and geography. In addition, its characteristics, economy and more.

China

China is a national state whose official name is People’s Republic of China. It is located in Asia, and It is one of the most extensive, most populated and more culturally rich countries of the planet. It is one of the six known Cons of civilization, together with Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, Mesoamerica and the South American Andean Region.

China extends along 9,597,000 km² surface, which makes it the fourth most extensive country on the planet after Russia, Canada and the United States. It has borders with fourteen different countries: Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Bután, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tayikistan, Kyrguistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea.

This country is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities under central administrationamong which is Beijing, its capital. In addition to these divisions, China has two Special administrative regions: Hong Kong and Macao.

China is a socialist state with market economy, and has a uniparty political organization, which means that The Chinese Communist Party is the only one that governs throughout the country.

Why is it called that? The name “China” (in Chinese language: Zhong Guo) It means “the Middle Kingdom.” It is the official name used to appoint the Republic of China since 1949.

Characteristics of China

Among the main characteristics of China, the following stand out:

Its population is 1423 million inhabitants, which makes it the second most populous country in the world (after India).
It has an area of 9,597,000 km²which represents a population density of 148.2 inhabitants per km².
Its capital is the city of Beijing, which has more than 20 million inhabitants.
It presents a wide variety of climates, which include variations of tempered, aggregates, continental and polar.
Its reliefs vary between high mountain ranges in the west to extensive plains in the east.
Share with Nepal the Mount Éverest, which with 8848 meters high is the highest on the planet.
In its territory is the largest river in Asia, the Yangsté, with more than 6300 kilometers of extension.
The most spoken language is the Mandarin Chinese.
It has three predominant religions: Buddhism, Taoism and confusion.
For more than 30 years he maintained a demographic policy called “only child policy”, which sanctioned families that had more than one child.
Some of the most important writers of universal literature such as Confucio and Lao-Tse were born in China.
It is the second largest economy in the world after the United States, and its main economic activities are agriculture, livestock, industry, services and tourism.
Its official currency is Yuan, and its main economic partners are the United States, Japan and the European Union.

Extension, population and capital of China

China - Population — China ceased to be the most populous country in the world, according to demographic reports of 2023.

China has an extension of 9,597,000 square kilometers, so It is the second largest country in Asia after Russia and the most extensive room in the world. It has a population of 1,423,000,000 inhabitants, and a population density of 148.2 inhabitants per square kilometer.

China is divided into 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities under central administration. The most populous province is Guangdong, with 126 million inhabitants. If it were a national state, Guangdong would be the tenth most populated country in the world.

The capital of China is the city of Beijing. This city has a population of 20,300,000 inhabitants, representing 1.4 % of the country’s total.

The most important Chinese cities are:

Shanghaiwith 23 million inhabitants.
Beijingwith 20 million inhabitants.
Guangdongwith 15 million inhabitants.
Shenzhenwith 13 million inhabitants.
Tianjinwith 12 million inhabitants.

The only child’s policy

Due to the problems generated by its accelerated population growth, in January 1979 China adopted a demographic policy of birth control known as “policy of the only child.” It was a system that rewarded with economic and social benefits to those families that had only one child, and punished with raised fines to those that had more than one.

More than 40 years after implemented, the country faces problems linked to the aging of its population, so, as of 2015, the only child’s policy was ended and allowed to have up to two children. In 2020 the measure was further flexible and couples can have up to three children without having any sanction from the government.

Chinese climate, relief and hydrography

Because of its large longitudinal and latitudinal extension, China presents a wide variety of climates:

Temperate climate. It is located in the east and south of the country. It presents two of its variations: Wet and temperate monzonic subtropical temperate. The humid subtropical is characterized by warm summers and cold winters, and abundant rains throughout the year. For its part, the monsoonic temperate has the same temperature characteristics, but differs in that it has a marked decrease in the rains in winter and has very rainy summers.
Continental climate. It is located in areas far from marine influence, especially in the north of the country. It presents two of its variations: Temperate continental and continental hemiboreal. The temperate continental has warm summers and ice cream winters, and its rainfall concentrated in the summer. For its part, the continental hemiboreal has temperatures are much lower, with minimal winter than almost every month are below 0 ° C.
Temperate-fried arid climate. It is located in the west center of the country. It is characterized by its low temperatures (under the influence of altitude) and its few rainfall that does not exceed 250 millimeters per year. It is one of the most hostile climates for human installation in the world.
Polar climate. It is located in the Himalayas region, in its variant Alpine tundra polar. The high altitude conditions temperatures that are very low for much of the year. In addition, rainfall is scarce.

As for the relief, In southwest China are the Himalayas mountains. This region is marked by a mountainous and steep topography, with the highest peaks in the world. It is where most of the main rivers of the Asian continent are also born and from China. In addition, there is Mount Everest, which China shares with Nepal, and is the highest on the planet with 8849 meters high.

The Tibet plateau extends to the northwestknown as “the roof of the world.” This plateau is one of the highest in the world, and has a relatively flat but very high topography, with an average altitude of 4900 meters high.

In contrast to mountainous areas, There are extensive plains such as the plain of northern Chinawhich extends along the yangtsé rivers, and the plain of Chengdu in the southwest of the country. These are some of the most densely populated areas around the world and that is where the main cities of the country are located.

China culture

The official language of China is the standard mandarin.

The Chinese language is actually the composition of a series of Sino-Tibetan dialects, of which Mandarin is the most frequent (70 % of the population speaks it). Other languages spoken in the country are Wu, Yue, min, Xiang, Gan and the Hakka.

In the Chinese Constitution, the right to freedom of worship is enshrined, since it is a secular state. Howeverhis particular religiosity consists of a syncretism between three main doctrines: confucionism, buddhism and Taoism. In much lower proportions there are those who practice Christianity and Islam.

Chinese culture enjoys great historical importance given its Great infrastructure works (bridges, temples, the great Chinese wall) and the invention of writing, gunpowder, silk worm breeding, compass and numerous other implements, techniques and knowledge.

In the field of literature, Important writers considered some of the most important in history are highlighted as Confucius, Lao-Tse and Zhuangzi. In recent times, writer Eileen Chang, author of the work, is very well -known The gold padlockconsidered one of the great masterpieces of Chinese literature.

Artists such as Zhang Zeduan (whose paintings are almost a thousand years old) and Xu Beihong and Pan Yuliang in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Chinese cuisine is characterized by The predominant presence of rice, pork and noodles as main ingredients. Dishes such as Chop Suey, Dracking Spring, Souring Pork and Wantan They are some of his typical meals. Tea is its characteristic drink, which is consumed in more than 700 varieties.

Patrios of China symbols

The current flag of China was implemented in 1949.

China’s national symbols are:

The Chinese flag. It was implemented in 1949. It consists of a red background with five stars of five yellow points that are located at the upper right end. One of them is bigger and the other four surround it.
China’s national anthem. It is called “the march of the volunteers.” The lyrics are based on a poem written by Tian Han in 1934. Music was composed of Nie Er.
The National Emblem of China. It consists of a red circle that appears in Dorado the door of Tiananmen, the entrance to the forbidden city, and five stars also brown at its upper end. The circle is surrounded by a golden frame. It was implemented as a national emblem in 1949.

China’s economic activities

China has the second largest economy in the world, behind the United States. In recent decades it has had unprecedented economic growth, an average of 8 % per year. It is the main exporter in the world, and the second importer.

Most of the planet’s countries have China as one of its main economic partnersand currently it is common to find Chinese companies in almost all countries in the world.

Its main economic activities are:

Agriculture He is the main producer of rice on the planet and one of the main producers of wheat, corn, soybeans, potatoes and tea.
Livestock He is the main world producer of eggs, pork and chicken, and one of the main producers of sheep and cattle.
The industry. The textile industry, agri -food, food and drinks, automaker, electronics and toys stand out. In addition, he is the main steel producer in the world. It is the headquarters of important multinational companies such as Chery, Xiaomi, Lenovo and Huawei.
The services. The financial and technological services, with global companies such as Tiktok (social networks), Alibaba (electronic commerce), ICBC (financial services) and Tencent (video game producer).
Tourism. It is an important growing activity in the country. Its main tourist destinations are the city of Beijing, Shanghai, the forbidden city and the Great Chinese wall.
Its official currency is el yuanand its main commercial partners are the United States, Japan and the European Union.

You may be interested: Rural and Urban Population

Chinese history

The Chinese Empire was born with the Qin dynasty (221 BC) and lasts until 1912.

The first Neolithic cultures in the current Chinese territory emerged in the valleys of the Yangtsé River and the Yellow River in the Millennia VII and VI a. C. During the final phase of the Longshan culture (2600-2000 BC) the first fortified settlements were formed in the Yellow River Valley.

The Erlitou culture (1900-1600 BC), which introduced the work of bronze, was identified by some archaeologists with the Xia dynasty, considered the first ruling dynasty in China. From the Shang dynasty (1700-1100 BC) there are written testimonies.

The Shang dynasty was overthrown by the Zhou dynasty (1100-221 BC), which was divided into two stages: Western Zhou (1100-771 BC) and Eastern Zhou (771-221 BC). The latter was characterized by the emergence of schools of thought such as confucianism and political fragmentation. Due to the military confrontation between kingdoms, the 481 to 221 a. C. They are known as “Period of the Combatant Kingdoms.”

In 221 a. C., one of the Chinese combatant kingdoms. This moment marked the beginning of the imperial era. The first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty (221-206 a. C.), followed by the Han dynasty (206 BC.-220 d. C.), which extended the borders to much of the territory of the current China.

The Chinese Empire had to face internal conflicts, peasant uprisings and pressures of the nomadic peoples of the north. After some periods of political division, the sui dynasties (589-618), Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) followed. The latter fell to the Mongol Empire, which established the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368). At this time the Marco Polo explorer made his trip to China.

Then the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) followed, which ended with foreign domination and reinforced the northern border through a reconstruction of the great wall. However, an internal rebellion caused its fall and facilitated the entrance of Manchou populations that established the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). In the nineteenth century conflicts with the Western powers were filed and in 1911 a nationalist revolution overthrew the imperial dynasty and proclaimed the Republic (1912-1949).

After the Chinese-Japanese war (1937-1945), The communist militias of Mao Zedong defeated the nationalist government (which took refuge in Taiwan) and founded the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Since 1978, the Chinese government implemented economic liberalization measures but maintained political authoritarianism that led to facts such as the Tiananmén massacre in 1989.

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References

China from the south (2020) The National Anthem of the People’s Republic of China. https://www.chinadesdeelsur.com/
Kenk, J. (SF) October 29, 2015. China ends the only child’s policy. https://elordenmundial.com/
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2023) China. Country record. Diplomatic Information Office of Spain. https://www.exteriors.gob.es/
National Geographic (SF) China. https://www.nationalgeographic.es/