Listen to Chinese Anthem




Background:
China (Zhōngguó) is a cultural region and multinational entity in East Asia. It's  one of the world's oldest civilization. with the world's longest continuously used written  language system.  China is also best  known for its invention of paper, the compass,gunpowder,and printing.

Climate:  
Extremely diverse weather; it is often tropical in south and subarctic in the north

Currency:        
Yuan (CNY) - also referred to as the Renminbi (RMB)

Exchange Rates:        
Yuan per US dollar - 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005

Ethnic Groups: 
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Government Type:  
Communist state

Holidays
International Women Day            Mar. 8th
Labor Day                                  May 1st
Chinese Youths' Day                   May 4th
Int'l Children's Day                      Jun. 1st
Birthday of the CCP                    Jul. 1st
National Day                               Oct. 1st

Languages:  
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages

National Capital:  
Beijing

National Holidays: 
Anniversary for Founding of the People's Republic of China 1 Oct. 1949

Population:   
1,313,973,713 (July 2006 est.)

Provinces:
China is divided into 23 provinces which include: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan , Yunnan, Zhejiang (Taiwan still under KMT government)

Religions: