TEFL Reviews

TEFL Reviews

Country Facts

TEFL Trainees / ESL Teachers

Size
Total area: 9,596,961 km2–9,639,688km2
Water: 2.8%

Population
2009 estimate 1,345,751,000
2000 census 1,242,612,226

Neighboring country
The immediate neighboring countries are:
• Afghanistan
• Bhutan
• India
• Kazakhstan
• N. Korea
• Kyrgyzstan
• Laos
• Mongolia
• Myanmar
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• Russia
• Tajikistan
• Vietnam

Currency
• Currency of China: Renminbi or RMB or Yuan
• Code: CNY
• Subunit: Jiao, Fen
• 1Yuan = 10 Jiao = 100 Fen
• Coins:
• Freq. used: ¥0.1, ¥0.5, ¥1
• Rarely used: ¥0.01, ¥0.02, ¥0.05
• Banknotes:
• Freq. used: ¥1, ¥5, ¥10, ¥20, ¥50, ¥100
• Rarely used: ¥0.1, ¥0.2, ¥0.5, ¥2
• Central Bank: People’s Bank of China

Politics:
The politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of People’s Republic of China. State power within the People's Republic of China (PRC) is exercised through the Communist Party of China, the Central People’s Government and their provincial and local counterparts. Under the dual leadership system, each local bureau or office is under the theoretically coequal authority of the local leader and the leader of the corresponding office, bureau or ministry at the next higher level. People's Congress members at the county level are elected by voters. These county level People's Congresses have the responsibility of oversight of local government, and elect members to the Provincial (or Municipal in the case of independent municipalities) People's Congress. The Provincial People's Congress in turn elects members to the National People's Congress that meets each year in March in Beijing. The ruling Communist Party committee at each level plays a large role in the selection of appropriate candidates for election to the local congress and to the higher levels.

Language
China’s many different ethnic groups speak many different languages. The main languages are:
Mandarin, Wu, , Cantonese, Min, Jin, Xiang, Hakka, Gan, Hui, Ping

Religion
• Buddhism
• Islam
• Christianity
• Popular folk religion
• Confucianism
• Daoism

Culture
The Culture of China is one of the world's oldest and most complex cultures. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces.

Today there are 56 distinct ethnic groups in China. Traditional Chinese Culture covers geological territories with each region is usually divided into distinct sub-cultures. Different periods of history have different names for the various positions within society. Conceptually each imperial or feudal period is similar, with the government and military officials ranking high in the hierarchy, and the rest of the population under regular Chinese law.
Most social values are derived from Confucianism and Taoism. The subject of which school was the most influential is always debated as many concepts such as Neo- Confucianism, Buddhism and many others have come about. Reincarnation and other rebirth concept is a reminder of the connection between real-life and the after-life. In Chinese business culture, the concept of guanxi, indicating the primacy of relations over rules, has been well documented.
China’s many different ethnic groups speak many different languages. The main languages are Mandarin, Wu, Cantonese, Min, Jin, Xiang, Hakka, Gan, Hui, Ping.

Chinese literature began with record keeping and divination on Oracle bones. Notable confucianists, taoists and scholars of all classes have made significant contributions to and from documenting history to authoring saintly concepts that seem hundred of years ahead of time. Many novels such as Four Great Classical Novels spawned countless fictional stories. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese culture would embark on a new era with Vernacular Chinese for the common citizens. Hu Shih and Lu Xun would be pioneers in modern literature.

Some of the oldest written music dates back to Confucius's time. The first major well-documented flowering of Chinese music was for the qin during the Tang Dynasty, though it is known to have played a major part before the Han Dynasty.

Different forms of art have swayed under the influence of great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political figures.

China is one of the main birthplaces of Eastern martial arts. The names of martial arts were called Kung Fu or its first name Wushu.

Different social classes in different eras boast different fashion trends. China's fashion history covers hundreds of years with some of the most colorful and diverse arrangements.
Chinese architecture, examples of which can be found from over 2,000 years ago, has long been a hallmark of the culture. Western architecture emphasize on height, though there are exceptions such as pagodas. Another important feature is symmetry. One notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as asymmetrical as possible. Like Chinese scroll paintings, the principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow, to let the patron wander and enjoy the garden without prescription, as in nature herself. Feng shui has played an important part in structural development.
The overwhelmingly large variety mainly comes from the emperors hosting a banquet of 100 dishes each mea. A number of games and pastimes are popular within Chinese culture.

Sports: China has one of the oldest sporting cultures in the world, spanning the course of several millennia. There is, in fact, evidence that a form of football was played in China in ancient times. Besides football, some of the most popular sports in the country include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball and snooker. Board games such as Go (Weiqi), and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) and recently chess are also commonly played and have organized competitions.

Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture. Morning exercises are a common activity and often one can find the elderly practicing qigong and tai chi chuan in parks or students doing stretches on school campuses. Young people are especially keen on basketball, especially in urban centers with limited space and grass areas. The NBA has a huge following among Chinese youths, with Yao Ming being the idol of many. Major sporting events were also held in Beijing such as the 1990 Asian Games and the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Many traditional sports are also played. The popular Chinese dragon boat racing occurs during the Drahorsegon Boat Festival. In Inner Mongolia, , sports such as Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrianism are a part of traditional festivals. China finished first in gold medal count at the last Olympic Games, which were held in Beijing from 8 August to 24 August 2008.

Imp cities:
There are many cities to make China glorious in world map. They are
• Shanghai (Largest city)
• Beijing (Capital and second largest city)
• Hong Kong (one of the world's leading international financial centre)
• Tianjin
• Wuhan
• Guangzhou
• Shenyang
• Chongqing
• Nanjing
• Hrbin
• Xi’an
• Chengdu
• Changchun
• Hangzhou
• Jinan
• Dalian
• Taiyuan
• Zhengzhou
• Qingdao
• Shijiazhuang etc.