Time Zone: GMT/UTC +8

Geography

China is the third largest country in the world, and is bordered on the north by Mongola, to the west by the Tibetan plauteau and the Himalayan Mountains, and to the east by the East and South China Seas. China's 22 provinces and five autonomous regions are governed from Beijing, along with some 5,000 islands. Hong Kong and Macau have returned to the fold as Special Administrative Regions (SAR). Disputed territories are dotted near and far around China's southeast coast.

(The statistics for population and area refer to mainland China).

Weather

The climate in China is incredibly varied and ranges from bitterly cold to unbearably hot, and a whole lot in between. Your average winter day in the north might reach 20°F and yet sit in the high eighties on many summer days. The central Yangzi River valley area also experiences extreme seasonal temperatures. In the far south, the hot and humid summer lasts from April to September and, as in north China, coincides with the wettest weather. Typhoons can hit the southeast coast between July and September. The northwest experiences dry, hot summers, with China's nominated hottest place - Turpan - receiving maximums of around 117°F. Winters here are as formidably cold as in the rest of northern China.

Ethnic Groups

There are 56 ethnic groups in China. The Han people form the largest, numbering 1.1 billion and making up 93.3% of the country's population. The other ethnic groups (minority nationalities) total 160 million, only 6.7% of the Chinese nation. Of the minority nationalities, 15 have over a million people each; 13 over 100,000 each; 7 over 50,000 each; and 20 have fewer than 50,000 people each.

All nationalities in China are equal, as stipulated by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, They take part in the administration of state affairs as equals, irrespective of their numbers or the size of areas they inhabit. Every minority nationality is represented in the National People's Congress, which is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China.

At present, because of various historical factors the minority nationality areas are less developed than Han areas economically and culturally. Over the last three decades, the Chinese Government has adopted many policies and measures, including the provision of manpower, financial and technical support, to help develop these minority nationality areas. Such help, of course, is a two-way street, for minority nationality areas have also contributed to the economic development of the areas inhabited by the Han people.

Religion

Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity

Information courtesy of LonelyPlanet.com

Cultural Festivals

Traditional festivals are important events to the Chinese, beginning right from childhood. Festivals such as the Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Winter Solstice are more or less evenly distributed across the four seasons. In China's traditional agricultural society, festivals served to mark the passing of time.

All Chinese festivals include common elements such as a desire for happiness and well-being, the warding off of misfortune, experiencing a connection between man and heaven, and family reunion. And, of course, festivals are an opportunity for rest and relaxation. The Chinese are hard workers, so festivals and celebrations are a welcome chance for a change of pace.

The lifestyles of the Chinese people have changed, but the importance of traditional festivals in their lives has not faded. Along with these major festivals, many other traditional festivals are observed in modern China that demonstrate the important place that tradition and longing for times past occupy in the life of the Chinese people. Besides the ethnic, geographic, historic, and linguistic ties that unite the Chinese, traditional festivals are one of the strongest bonds reinforcing the cultural identity of the Chinese.