 China
takes up most of East Asia with its enormous expanse of
land bordering Russia and Mongolia in the north, Korea
in the east, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Laos, Nepal and
Bhutan in the south and Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in the west. The
official language is Mandarin Chinese as well as an
enormous number of local dialects, and Beiijing is
China’s capital, even here it is not easy to find
someone who speaks English, only tourist guides do.
The country is so large its landscape varies greatly
from the flatlands in the east the high plateaus in the
west and the mountains, which cover almost two thirds of
the country. The Himalayas are the most well-known
rising over 8,000 meters above sea level, other ranges
include the Altai Mountains, the Tian Shan Mountains and
the Kunlun Mountains, here the more daring of climbers
face the famous Mount Everest (8,848m).
China boasts thirty seven UNESCO World Heritage sites
amongst which are the Forbidden City in Beijing, the
Great Wall, Xi’an’s Terracotta Army, the peaks of
Huangshan and the Suzhou gardens. Chinese culture and
traditions go way back in the past, it is in fact one of
the earliest world’s civilizations with its numerous
succeeding Dynasties. The country is a chest of
cultural, architectural and historical riches, not to
mention its cuisine famous worldwide.
Sites to visit are Beijing with its blend of futuristic
monuments and ancient buildings, Shanghai, the heights
of Tibet, the rivers of Guizhou amongst many other sites
of historical and natural beauty.
The climate in China varies considerably depending on
the areas, from extremely hot and arid temperatures to
biting cold winters. There are areas with tropical
climates and many regions are subject to seismic
activity.
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