Page 9 - China Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

THE LAND China is bordered to the North by Russia and Mongolia; to the East by Korea (Dem Rep), the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea; to the South by Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal; and to the West by India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. China has a varied terrain ranging from high plateau in the West to flatlands in the East; mountains take up almost one-third of the land. The most notable high mountain ranges are the Himalayas, the Altai PAGE 3 Mountains, the Tian Shan Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains. On the Population | Time | Visas border with Nepal is the 8,848m (29,198ft) Mount Qomolangma (Mount Insurance | History Everest). In the west is the Qinghai/Tibet Plateau, with an average elevation of 4,000m (13,200ft), known as 'the Roof of the World'. At the PAGE 4-6 History base of the Tian Shan Mountains is the Turpan Depression or Basin, China's lowest area, 154m (508ft) below sea level at the lowest point. PAGE 7 China has many great river systems, notably the Yellow (Huang He) and Government | Language Yangtze River (Chang Jiang, also Yangtze Kiang). Only 10% of all China PAGE 8 is suitable for agriculture. Climate PAGE 9 THE PEOPLE The Land | People | Religion The demographics of China are identified by a large population with a relatively small youth division, which is partially a result of the People's PAGE 10 Currency | Credit Cards Republic of China's one-child policy. The population policies Changing Money | Tipping implemented in China since 1979 have helped to prevent several million births. The largest city in China is Shanghai with a population of over 20 PAGE 11 Etiquette | Health & Vaccinations million, with Beijing coming in second with a population of over 15 million. PAGE 12 Communications | What to Pack RELIGION China is officially Atheistic, but PAGE 13 the stated religions and Shopping | Customs philosophies are Buddhism, PAGE 14-15 Daoism and Confucianism. Food & Drinks There are 100 million Buddhists and approximately 60 million PAGE 16-17 Culture & The Arts | Religion Muslims, 5 million Protestants (including large numbers of Evangelicals) and 4 million Roman Catholics, largely independent of Vatican control.