The Chinese have the oldest civilization on earth, going back some four thousand years. They have the oldest government ruled by a central authority, surviving with only minor interruptions since 221 BC. China also has the largest population in the world with more than 1. 3 billion people. China is the third largest country in the world with a land area of over 3. 7 million square miles. As of 1987, China had 55 minority nationalities within its borders. the official language of China is Mandarin, there are over one hundred other dialects spoken in the country.
China is full of natural and man made wonders. Its great rives include the Yellow and the Yangtze. There are also many mountain ranges including the Himalayas along the southern border of Tibet and the Kunlun Mountains stretching east and west along Tibets northern edge. Part of the Gobi desert is located in Chinas Inner Mongolia. Chinas most popular man-made winder is the Great Wall. The Great Wall was built in the 3rd century BC. It extends for about 1500 miles from Gansu province to the Bohai Gulf.
The Asian monsoon exerts the primary control on China’s climate. In winter, cold dry winds blow out of the high-pressure system of central Siberia, bringing low temperatures to all regions north of the Yangtze River and drought to most of the country. In summer, warm moist air flows inland from the Pacific Ocean, producing rainfall in the form of cyclonic storms. Amounts of precipitation decline rapidly with distance from the sea and on leeward sides of mountains. The gross national product of China in 1992 was some $434 billion, or about $370 per capita.
Agricultural output, which also includes some small-scale industries in rural areas, forestry, and fishing, accounted for about 40 percent of national income, and industrial output, which includes manufacturing, mining, electricity generation, and building and construction, accounted for more than 45 percent. The industrial sector in China is composed of manufacturing, mining, electrical-power generation, and building and construction. Coal and oil serve as the nations two primary resources. China claims to be second only to Saudi The Communist party fully controls the national political activity.
The vast majority of significant governmental offices are filled by party members. The Chinese Communist party has more than 52 million members (although this represents only about 4. 5 percent of the total population) and is the world’s largest Communist party. China enhanced its foreign contacts in order to stay competitive on a global level. Full diplomatic relations were established with the United States in January 1979 and a trade agreement was made in July. Closer ties were also forged with Japan and Western Europe.
