The People’s Republic of China commonly referred to as just China, is the second largest country in Asia and the fourth largest country in the world. It stretches over some 9,706,961 km², extending to the Pacific Ocean and sharing its borders with the Gobi Desert and the Himalayas. The country’s major cities include Beijing, the capital city, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou and others. Plus, there are two special administrative regions: Hong Kong and Macau.
Demography
As of 1 January 2018, the population of China was estimated to be over 1.41 billion people.
It is still the most populated country in the world (followed closely by India), representing nearly a fifth of the global population. The country is officially composed of 56 ethnic groups: 55 minorities and the dominant Han ethnicity making up over 91% of the population. China’s official language is Mandarin. However, several dialects are spoken throughout different regions with six dialect groups officially recognised (not including the standard Mandarin): Wu, Gan and Xiang in central China, and Min, Hakka, and Yue on the southeast coast. English learning is widespread with most children starting their English studies as early as primary school. The estimated number of Chinese nationals who speak English is 200 million, and English is increasingly used as the language of business communication.
Language
The Chinese language is fascinating and unique. Unlike most other languages, the Chinese language both has a written form and several spoken forms. The main spoken form, used officially in China, is called Mandarin.
Currency
The official Chinese currency is the Renminbi (RMB or CNY). This translates as ‘the people’s money’. The basic unit is the Yuan, and you will most commonly see it signified with the Chinese character 元 in shops.
Economy
China’s economy is classified as a socialist market economy and is the world’s second largest by nominal GDP (after the United States). It recorded a growth rate of 6.9% in the first quarter of 2017, fuelled by a substantial expansion in factories and the country remains the most significant contributor to global growth.
China is the world’s largest manufacturing hub as well as the world’s most prolific exporter. Industrial manufacturing remains the dominant sector: machine building, textiles and apparel, consumer electronics, food processing, transportation and more. The country is the world’s largest exporter of textile, laptops, TVs, cameras, watches and toys.
China is the birthplace of some of the world’s biggest tech companies including Huawei, Alibaba, Xiaomi, Tencent, DJI, and others ‘ in fact, it is home to 9 of the world’s 20 tech giants. Technology, design and innovation are some of the country’s most rapidly developing sectors. The country’s young southern city of Shenzhen has been dubbed ‘the world’s Silicon Valley of hardware’ after it has become the manufacturing base of American startups.
China possesses a lot of natural resources. Rare earth metals make the biggest contribution to the country’s economy.
Climate
China’s large size means that it has a vast diversity of climates.
The north is characterised by hot and dry summers (26°C /79°F) and harsh cold winters, temperatures falling as low as – 20°C (-4°F). The central area stretching along the Yangtze River has long and humid summers and rather cold winters. Southern China, on the other hand, enjoys long hot summers and short mild winters. Central, southern and western parts of the country are prone to flooding, and there is minor periodic seismic activity in the region.
The best time to visit China is early autumn and spring, specifically during the months of September, October, March or April when the temperatures are pleasant, and the rainfall is at its lowest.
Expatriation
China was closed to tourism from 1949 to 1974. But by the mid-1980s, over 250 of the country’s cities became open to the international public. Today, China is one of the most popular destinations worldwide: in 2018 it ranked fourth in the list of the most visited countries in the world with a total of over 59.3 million visitors. In the last decade, China has also emerged as one of the leading destinations for expats worldwide. Be it career and business opportunities, stunning geographical diversity, ancient treasures of the country’s more than 5,000-year old history or more, the expat population in the country has been on a steady rise. In 2017, the number of expats living in China was estimated at over 988,000.
