China is an ancient country possessing many world-class heritage sites such as the Great Wall, the Terracotta WarriOrs and Horses of Qin Shi Huang, the Palace Museum and the Suzhou gardens, as well as world-famous ancient luminaries including the great educator Confucius and the author of Art of War, Sun Wu, among many others.

  China is a primer to help internationalreaders acquire a better understandingof China. While maintaining certain basichistorical facts and general information, itoffers the latest facts and figures on everyfacet of China, including its internationalcontacts, cultural exchanges, economicgrowth, environmental protection,developments in science and technology,social progress, and improvements ofpeople's livelihood.

Fast Facts

 Location of the People's Republic of China

 National Flag, Emblem and Anthem

 State Leaders

Land and Resources

 Land Area

 Mountain Ranges

 Plateaus

 Plains

 Basins

 Rivers

 Lakes

 Climate

 Land

 Mineral Resources

 Plants and Animals

History

 Ancient Civilization

 Unification and Dissemination of Civilization

 Post-17th-century Changes

 Some Key Figures in Chinese History

 Some Key Events in Chinese History After the 17th Century

Administrative Divisions and Cities

 Administrative Divisions

 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

 Macao Special Administrative Region

 Taiwan

 Urbanization Process

Population and Ethnicity

 Population

 Population Increment

 Ethnic Groups

 Spoken and Written Languages

 Traditional Festivals

 Religion

Political System and State Structure

 The Constitution

 Political System

 National People's Congress

 Presidency

 State Council

 Central Military Commission

 Local People's Congresses and Local People's

 Governments

 People's Courts

 People's Procuratorates

 Chinese People's Political Consultative

 Conference

 Political Parties and Other Organizations

 People's Army

China and the World

 Foreign Policy

 Relations with Neighboring Countries

 Relations with Developing Countries

 Relations with Major Countries

 China and SCO

 China and APEC

 China and UN

Economy

 Development

 Economic System

 Scientific Outlook on Development

 Opening up to the Outside World

 Diverse Economic Elements

 11 th Five-Year Plan

 Agriculture

 Industry

 Transportation

 Finance and Insurance

 Tourism

Environmental Protection

 Laws and Systems for Environmental Protection

 New Changes in Environmental Protection

 Air Pollution Control

 Water Pollution Control

 Control of Desertification

 Protection of Forest Resources

 Nature Reserves

 Protecting Endangered Animals and Plants

 International Cooperation

Education and Science

 Education System

 Education Development

 Education Planning

 International Exchanges in Education

 Science and Technology

 Innovations in Science and Technology

 International Cooperation

 Social Sciences

 Top 10 Sci-tech Advances in 2008

Life and Culture

 Social Life

 Sports and Physical Fitness

 Culture and Arts

 Mass Media

Events in 2008

 Events in 2008

60 Years of the People's Republic

 60 Years of the People's Republic

Appendix

 Some Commonly Used Websites