Facts on China

Presently China manufactures: ^[1]

• More than 50% of the cameras sold worldwide
• More than 35% of the televisions sold worldwide
• More than 30% of the air conditioners sold worldwide
• More than 25% of the washing machines sold worldwide
• More than 22% of the refrigerators sold worldwide

China based factories make 70% of the world's toys, 60% of its bicycles, half its shoes, and one third of its luggage. ^[2]

1 - The Next Empire, James Boxley Cooke, 9/25/2003
2 - "The Chinese Century" Oded Shenkar
3 - www.mofcom.gov

Government

The National People's Congress (NPC)
Hu Jintao: President, People's Republic of China
The State Council
The Central Military Commission
The Supreme People's Court
The Supreme People's Procuratorate

Major Agencies and Officials

Money

Chinese Money is called Renminbi which means "People's Currency". The popular unit of Renminbi is the Yuan.

Languages

The national language is Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. Most of the 55 minority nationalities have their own languages. Cantonese is one of the local dialects of southern China. As a written language, Chinese has been used for 6,000 years.

Nationalities

The People's Republic of China is a unified, multi-national country, comprising 56 nationalities. The Han people make up 91.02 percent of the total population, leaving 8.98 percent for the other 55 ethnic minorities. They are Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Va, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelo, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, Benglong, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Moinba, Lhoba and Gelo. All nationalities in China are equal according to the law. The State protects their lawful rights and interests and promotes equality, unity and mutual help among them.

Family Names

Chinese family names came into being some 5,000 years ago. There are more than 5,000 family names, of which 200 to 300 are popular. The order of Chinese names is family name goes first, following by given name. For instance, the family name of a person is Wang, given name is Dong, his/her full name would be Wang Dong. The most popular Chinese family names are LI, ZHANG, WANG, LI, ZHAO, LIU, CHEN. According to the most recent official statistics, the three most popular family names are: LI, WANG and ZHANG, occupied 7.9% (97million), 7.4 and 7.1  of total population in China respectively.

Rivers

China has 50,000 rivers each covering a catchment area of more than 100 square kilometers, and 1,500 of them cover a catchment area exceeding 1,000 square kilometers. Most of them flow from west to east to empty into the Pacific Ocean. Main rivers include the Yangtze (Changjiang), Yellow (Huanghe), Heilong, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe, Qiangtang and Lancang. The Yangtze of 6,300 kilometers is the longest river in China. The second longest Yellow River is 5,464 kilometers. The Grand Canal from Hangzhou to Beijing is a great water project in ancient China. It is of 1,794 kilometers, making it the longest canal in the world.

Religions

China is a multi-religious country including Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism. Various religions exert different influence on different ethnic groups. Islam is followed by the Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan nationalities; Buddhism and Lamaism are followed by the Tibetan, Mongolian, Dai and Yugur nationalities; Christianity is followed by the Miao, Yao and Yi nationalities; Shamanism is followed by the Oroqen, Ewenki and Daur nationalities; the majority Han nationality believes in Buddhism, Christianity and Taoism.

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade.

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors.