Located in Eastern Asia, between North Korea and Mongolia, China is bound by the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea.

China’s Facts• Population: 1.3 Billion

• Capital: Beijing

• Flag

More InfoIt is the fourth largest country in the world in terms of land area with Beijing as its capital city. It is divided into 23 sheng or provinces,.

The Chinese terrain is mostly mountainous. There are vast deserts like the Gobi in the West while fertile deltas and plains lie mainly in the east. The largest river is the Yangtze Kiang.

The official language is Mandarin Chinese , dialects like Cantonese and Hakka are also popular in some regions.

Though China is officially atheist, there are Buddhists, Taoists and a small minority of Christians and Muslims.

Currency of ChinaYuan

From top to the bottom: 5 fen (0.05 yuan), 2 fen (0.02 yuan), 1 fen (0.01 yuan)

$1US = ¥7.5

The People's Republic of China officially first issued the Renminbi , i.e. People's Currency in December 1948. More popularly known as RMB , the new currency was meant to control the super inflation that happened in the post-Kuomintang era. The basic unit is commonly known as the New Yuan or Renminbi Yuan , Yuan literally meaning “round” in Chinese . The symbol is ¥. ¥0.1 Yuan is known as 1 Jiao . ¥0.01 Yuan is known as 1 Fen . Initially, the value of RMB was absurdly high in comparison to the US Dollar . After strict control and check, according to current approximation, 1 USD is equal to 1.8 RMB .

Flag’s Meaning

The present Chinese flag was first hoisted on 1 st October, 1949 in the Tiananmen Square on the occasion of the foundation of the People's Republic of China. One of the five golden stars on the flag is bigger in size and it represents communism. The presence of five stars epitomizes significance of number five in the culture and heritage of China . The bright red color of the national flag of China depicts the communist uprising which had led to the establishment of People's Republic of China.

Communism: Everyone is equal and carry out the same work. With the transition to agriculture, the possibility to make a surplus product, i.e. to produce more than what is necessary to satisfy one's immediate needs

National Anthem of ChinaThe National Anthem is the 'Yiyonggjun Jinxingqu' or the March of the Volunteers , and was adopted in 1949 when the Communist Government came into power. The song expresses the Chinese people's desire to dedicate themselves to their country and for national liberation. The anthem is more popularly known as 'Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo Guoge' or the Song of the People's Republic of China .

Chinese Painting and Calligraphy was also highly developed. Done on silk scrolls, the exquisite brush techniques are still considered remarkable. Chinese artists were familiar with perspectives and used different brush strokes to show depth in color. Popular subjects were landscapes and detailed pictures of birds and flowers. The style was almost minimalist. Calligraphy was a prized skill in ancient China. The Chinese script has over 50,000 symbols with varying degrees of complexity.

Chinese Literature: Earliest influences on Chinese literature are said to be the mythical Book of Songs, the teachings of the great philosopher Confucius. Chinese poetry is highly allegorical and abstract. Lyrical poetry called Ci was popular during the Song Dynasty. China has a rich cultural tradition of storytelling, numerous myths and legends about beautiful and wise princesses and bold heroes are available. There is also a prolific collection of Chinese proverbs , based on the wise words of Confucius or peasant common sense.

•Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. •Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart. •Knowing is not as good as loving; loving is not as good as enjoying. •To learn and practise what is learned from time to time is pleasure, is it not? To have friends from afar is happiness, is it not? To be unperturbed when not appreciated by others is a gentleman, is it not? •Review the old and deducing the new makes a teacher. •The gentleman understands righteousness, the petty man understands interest. •Aspire to the principle, behave with virtue, abide by benevolence, and immerse yourself in the arts.

Architecture

Chinese Architecture is based on the principles of balance and symmetry. Every properly constructed building is supposed to have good Feng Shui. Aside from the Great Wall and the typical Pagoda structures, the fantastic Chinese tradition can be viewed in the exquisite Temple of Heaven and in the Forbidden City. The walls and ceilings are embellished with painting or enameled with precious red lacquer. The Kaogongji is the earliest and indisputable text available on ancient Chinese architecture.

Chinese Music

The music of China dates back to the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC). Today, the music continues a rich traditional heritage in one aspect, while emerging into a more contemporary form at the same time. In summary the uncensored commercialized segment is in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The more diverse genres are in mainland China.

Dynasty era (1122 BC - 1911)The Imperial Music Bureau, first established in the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), was greatly charged with supervising court music and military music and determining what folk music would be officially recognized. In subsequent dynasties, the development of Chinese music was strongly influenced by foreign music, especially that of Central Asia.

The oldest written music is Youlan or the Solitary Orchid, attributed to Confucius.

In ancient China the position of musicians was much lower than that of painters, though music was seen as central to the harmony and longevity of the state.

Republic of China era (1912 - 1949)The New Culture Movement of the 1910s and 1920s evoked a great deal of lasting interest in Western music. A number of Chinese musicians returned from studying abroad to perform Western classical music, composing work based on Western musical notation system.

Symphony orchestras were formed in most major cities and performed to a wide audience in the concert halls and on radio. Many of the performers added jazz influences to traditional music, adding xylophones, saxophones and violins, among other instruments.

After the 1942 Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, a large-scale campaign was launched in the Communist controlled areas to adapt folk music to create revolutionary songs to educate the largely illiterate rural population on party goals. Musical forms considered superstitious or anti-revolutionary were repressed, and harmonies and bass lines were added to traditional songs. One example is The East Is Red, a folksong from northern Shaanxi.

People's Republic of China era (1949 - 1990s)

Moaists considered pop music as a decline to the art form in the mainland. In 1949 the Kuomintang relocated to Taiwan, and the People's Republic of China was established. Revolutionary songs would become heavily promoted by the state.

After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, a new fast tempo Northwest Wind style was launched by the people to counter the government. The music would progress into Chinese rock, which remained popular in the 1990s. However, music in China is very much state-owned as the TV, media, and major concert halls are all controlled by the Communist party. The government mainly chose not to support Chinese rock by limiting its exposure and airtime. As a result, the genre never reached the mainstream in its entirety.

Tibet

Music forms an integral part of Tibetan Buddhism

Monks use music to recite various sacred texts and to celebrate a variety of festivals during the year.

Other secular genres include nangma and toshe, which are often linked and are accompanied by a variety of instruments designed for highly-rhythmic dance music.

Nangma karaoke is popular in modern Lhasa.

A classical form called gar is very popular, and is distinguished by ornate, elegant and ceremonial music honoring dignitaries or other respected persons.

Guangxi

The Gin people are known for their instrument called duxianqin (lit. "single string zither"), a string instrument with only one string, said to date back to the 8th century.

YunnanPerhaps best-known from the province is the lusheng, a type of mouth organ, used by the Miao people of Guizhou for pentatonic antiphonal courting songs.

The Hani of Honghe Prefecture are known for a unique kind of choral, micro-tonal rice-transplanting songs.

The Nakhi of Lijiang play a type of song and dance suite called baisha xiyue, which was supposedly brought by Kublai Khan in 1253. Nakhi Dongjing is a type of music related to southern Chinese forms, and is popular today.

Traditional MusicTraditional music in China is played on solo instruments or in small ensembles of plucked and bowed stringed instruments, flutes, and various cymbals, gongs, and drums.

The scale has five notes. Bamboo pipes and qin are among the oldest known musical instruments from China

Instruments are traditionally divided into categories based on their material of composition: skin, gourd, bamboo, wood, silk, earth/clay, metal and stone. Chinese orchestras traditionally consist of bowed strings, woodwinds, plucked strings and percussion.

Instruments

Bangdi Sheng

GongGuanzi

Bells

More InstrumentsEhru Jinghu

Guqin

Pipa