Overview

China is a vast land with various landforms, different climate zones and a large number of rivers and lakes. As one of the four oldest recorded civilisations in the world, China has a long history without being interrupted. From ancient times till now, Chinese people, consisting of the Han and other ethnic groups, have been living on the vast land, creating and developing her unique culture.

As one of the famous ancient capital cities in China, Beijing is famous for its many places of historic interest and scenic beauty, like the Forbidden City, the largest and best-preserved collection of ancient buildings in China; the Temple of Heaven, a platform for the Ming and Qing emperors to perform sacrifices and solemn rites; the Summer Palace; the Ming Tombs; the Badaling section of the Great Wall.

Located in the east of the Asian continent, on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, the PRC has a land area of about 9.6 million square kilometres, and is the third largest country in the world, next only to Russian and Canada.

From north to south, the territory of China stretches from the midpoint of the Heilongjiang River, north of the town of Mohe, to Zengmu'ansha at the southernmost tip of the Nansha Islands. From west to east, the country extends from its westernmost point on the Pamir Plateau to the confluence of the Heilongjiang River and Wusulijiang River.

China is bordered by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The Chinese mainland is flanked to the east and south by the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. A total of 5400 islands scatter across the sea. The largest of these is the Taiwan Island. The Diaoyu Island and Chiwei Island are located to the northeast of the Taiwan Island. China's southernmost island groups are called the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha, Nansha and Zengmu'ansha.

Scattered throughout China are more than 2800 natural lakes each having a surface area of over one square kilometre.

It (指京杭大运河) played an important role in facilitating trade between the south and the north and was regarded as the country's transportation and information "highway" before the advent of railway.