China Country Guide | Guide to China

Country Guide China

Capital: Beijing

Population: 1,315,844,000

Currency: yuan (CNY)

Religions: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2% , note: officially atheist (2002 est.)

Government: Communist state

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 (see Ethnic groups entry)

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Phone Code: 86

Photos of China

Photos of China by Paul Dodson, courtesy of Observations of an Unimportant Man.

Bicycle Lane - Shanghai - Shanghai, China

Street Food - Shanghai - Shanghai, China

Everything's for Sale - Shanghai - Shanghai, China

Chenghuang Miao - Temple of the Town God - Shanghai, China

A Ciggie in the Sun - Shanghai - Shanghai, China

Festivals in China

Mid Autumn Festival - Moon Festival [article]

Chinese New Year [article]

Dongtai Lu Road Antiques Market [snippet]

Dongtai Lu Road Antiques Market [photo gallery]

Dalian International Beer Festival [video]

Asian GT Championship - Zhuhai [video]

Shanghai Fine Jewellery and Art Fair [web site]

Shanghai Jazz Festival [web site]

Click here for the full range of China festival articles, snippets, videos, photo galleries and links

China Accommodation

Hotels in China

China Flights

Air China (China) - Air China, a big airline for a big country with a huge customer base.

2camels has searched the web for airlines that fly to China. We feature only hand picked links (like the one above to Air China) through to airline sites that feature flights to China.

China Tours

Tours in China

Chinese Reading

The Dragon´s Tale : And Other Animal Fables of the Chinese Zodiac

A clever fox shows how small creatures must live by their wits. A boastful bear learns the hard way that pride invites calamity. A wise dragon teaches that the more you know, the more you know there is to know. Each of these fables about the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac contains a jewel of wisdom. Full-color illustrations throughout.

Purchase from: Amazon.com
Purchase from: Amazon.co.uk

China DVD

As seen on TV and formally known as Lonely Planet the Pilot Guides are undoubtedly champions of the travel world.

China is the third largest country in the world and, with more than a billion people, it is home of 20% of the world population. While one of the oldest civilisations, its future will undoubtedly shape the 21st century...

Traveller Justine Shapiro explores the traditional South West of China, the autonomous region of Guangxi, and the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan and Sichuan, while Megan McCormick journeys though Central China, from Shanghai to the Yellow Mountains, and from the Yangzi River to Xian, the ancient capital of China.

Along the way

Attend a traditional Long Horn Mio ceremony and listen to their amazing singing
Visit the Huangguoshu Waterfalls, the largest in Asia
See the endangered Giant Panda
Visit a silk factory in Suzhou, the silk capital of China, and attend the temple fair celebrating the end of the silk harvest
Walk among the 8,000 terracotta warriors built to guard to tomb of China's first emperor, Emperor Chin

Purchase from: Amazon.com
Purchase from: Amazon.co.uk

Further China Resources

China Today [web site]

Click here for the full range of China web resources