China
Introduction
China is a country in the eastern regions of Asia. It is in fact one of the largest countries in the world, in terms of land area. Its name, in Mandarin is 中国 (pronounced zhōngguó). The country is home to around 1.34 billion people, and it is the most populated country in the world. Most speak either Mandarin or Cantonese. People have a life expectancy of around 73, and the average IQ is 100.
On the left is a map of China. China is very large, and their are a number of tourist attractions including The Great Wall of China (长城) and The Terracotta Army (兵马俑).
Climate
The climate in China is extremely diverse. It is tropical in the south and subarctic in the north. It is usually scorching hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. The north is generally colder than the south.
Terrain
There are many mountains, high plateaus, deserts in the west. On the other side of China, on the east, there are plains, deltas, and hills.
History
Yellow River Flood
There were many Yellow River Flood, but I wiill only focus on one of them. This particular flood lasted 13 years! It occured at around 2100 BC. After many failed attempts, The Great Yu finally led the water to the sea. He later became the first emperor of the Xia Dynasty.
The Battle of Mingtiao
The last emperor of Xia, Jie of Xia, was irresponsible and corrupt. This is when Tang of Shang decided that it was time to attack. They both met in Mingtiao at around 1600 BC. The Shang army fought bravely against the Xia army, and the Xia army surrendered or fled. Tang was the first emperor of the Shang Dynasty.
Yin
At around 1350 BC, The Shang Dynasty capital moved once again to Yin. This move was the most important, as it symbolled the start of the golden age of the dynasty.
The Battle of Muye
The Zhou Dynasty attacked the Shang Dynasty at Muye, during 1046 BC. The Zhou had only 50,000 soldiers, but many Shang Warriors fought for the Zhou. The Zhou Warriors were better trained, and slaughtered the loyal soldiers of the Shang, while not losing many soldiers themselves. This led to the Zhou's victory.
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty. When his father King Zhuangxiang died, after just a three year reign, he assumed the throne at the age of thirteen.
Goguryeo-Sui Wars
The ruler of the Goguryeo tribe in Korea wanted to maintain an equal relationship with the Sui Dynasty. The Sui launched a series of campaigns against the Goguryeo, but they were eventually defeated by the Goguryeo. This led to heavy losses to the Sui Dynasty.
Communist China
During 1949, after the Chinese Civil War, Chairman Mao Zedong officially proclaimed the People's Republic of China.
Wealth
China has around 2.434 trillion dollars and is the third wealthiest in the world.
Agriculture
China has a large range of agricultural products which include rice, wheat, potato, corn, tea, barley, millet, apples, cotton, oilseed and peanuts.Exports: $1.204 trillion (2009 est.)
Exports
China has exported a total of 1.204 trillion dollars until 2009.
Religion
The people of China have a variety of beliefs. There are Taoists, Buddhists, Christians, Islamic people and Judaists.
Traditional Foods
The 年糕 (year cake) is a sticky rice cake eaten on the Chinese New Year. The 粽子 is just rice covered in bamboo. It is traditionally eaten on the Dragon Boat Festival, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese Calender. The 饺子 are Chinese dumplings, that have a very long history.
Leisure activities
People play many strategic games that include Mahjong, Pai Gow and Xiangqi. Mahjong is a tile game where a player needs to eliminate all the tiles by removing pairs of tiles to win. Pai Gow is a game like poker, but using Chinese dominoes. Xiangqi is Chinese Chess, a variation of Chess.