China is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia.
The last Chinese Civil War (with major combat ending in 1949) has resulted in two political entities:
People's Republic of China (PRC), commonly known as China, has control over mainland China and the largely self-governing territories of Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999).
Republic of China (ROC), commonly known as Taiwan, has control over the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu.
China has one of the world's oldest and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia.[citation needed] It has the world's longest continuously used written language system,[citation needed] and is viewed as the source of many major inventions. Historically, China's cultural sphere has extended across East Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs, and writing systems being adopted to varying degrees by neighbors such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The first evidence of human presence in the region was found at the Zhoukoudian cave and is one of the first known specimens of Homo erectus, now commonly known as the Peking Man, estimated to have lived approximately from 300,000 to 550,000 years ago.
Source text :: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during various successive dynasties. Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains; it lay farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty.
Terracotta Army
The Terracotta Army are the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China. The terracotta figures, dating from 210 BCE, were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausouleum of the First Qin Emperor. The figures vary in height (183–195 cm - 6ft–6ft 5in), according to their role, the tallest being the generals. The figures include strong warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians. Current estimates are that in the three pits containing the Terracotta Army there were over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which are still buried in the pits.
Yangtze River
The first turn of the Yangtze at Shigu , Yunnan Province, where the river turns 180 degrees from south- to north-bound.The Yangtze River, or Chang Jiang , Tibetan: 'Bri-chu, is the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America.
The river is about 6,385 km long (3915 mi) and flows from its source in Qinghai Province, eastwards into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It acts as a dividing line between North and South China, although geographers generally consider the Qinling-Huai River line to be the official line of geographical division. As the largest river in the region, the Yangtze is historically, culturally, and economically important to China. One of the dams on the river, the Three Gorges Dam, is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world. The section of the river flowing through deep gorges in Yunnan province is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas: a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Silk Road
The ruins of a Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province, the eastern terminus of the Silk RoadThe Silk Road (or Silk Routes) is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe. In recent years, it has also come to be used for the maritime as well the overland routes.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of the Emperor and his household, as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.
Li River
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara.[1] The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959. Today the Potala Palace has been converted into a museum by the Chinese.
The Li River or Li Jiang is a river in Guangxi Province, China. The Li River originates in the Mao'er Mountains in Xing'an county and flows through Guilin, Yangshuo and Pingle, down into the Xi Jiang, the western tributary of the Pearl River in Wuzhou, its course of 437 kilometers is flanked by green hills. Cormorant fishing is often associated with the Lijiang. Its unusual karst topography hillsides have often been compared to those at Halong Bay, Vietnam.
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