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General Information Area: 9,571,300 sq km (3,695,500 sq miles). Population: 1,284,303,705 (2000). Roughly a quarter of the world’s population lives in China. Population Density: 134.2 per sq km. Capital: Beijing (Peking). Population: 12,460,000 (1998). The largest city in the country, Shanghai, has a population of over 14 million and, as of 1997, 12 other cities had a population over 2 million and 22 cities had a ppulation of 1-2 million. GEOGRAPHY: China is bounded to the north by Russia and Mongolia; to the east by North Korea, the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea; to the south by Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan and Nepal; and to the west by India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. China has a varied terrain ranging from high plateaux in the west to flatlands in the east; mountains take up almost one-third of the land. The most notable high mountain ranges are the Himalayas, the Altai Mountains, the Tian Shan Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains. On the border with Nepal is the 8848m-high (29,198ft) Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest). In the west is the Qinghai/Tibet Plateau, with an average elevation of 4000m (13,200ft), known as ‘the Roof of the World’. At the base of the Tian Shan Mountains is the Turpan Depression or Basin, China’s lowest area, 154m (508ft) below sea level at the lowest point. China has many great river systems, notably the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze Kiang (Chang Jiang). Only ten per cent of all China is suitable for agriculture. Government: People’s Republic. China comprises 22 Provinces, five Autonomous Regions, two Special Administrative Regions and four Municipalities directly under Central Government. Head of State: President Hu Jintao since 2003. Head of Government: Premier Wen Jiabao since 2003. Jiang Zemin however retains much actual power in China. Language: The official language is Mandarin Chinese. Among the enormous number of local dialects, in the south, large groups speak Cantonese, Fukienese, Xiamenhua and Hakka. Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang, which are autonomous regions, have their own languages. Translation and interpreter services are good. English is spoken by many guides. Religion: The principal religions and philosophies are Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. There are 100 million Buddhists and approximately 60 million Muslims, five million Protestants (including large numbers of Evangelicals) and four million Roman Catholics, largely independent of Vatican control. Time: GMT + 8. Despite the vast size of the country, Beijing time is standard throughout China. Electricity: 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. Two-pin sockets and some three-pin sockets are in use. Communications:   Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 86. Outgoing international code: 00. Antiquated internal service with public telephones in hotels and shops displaying a telephone unit sign. It is often easier to make international phone calls from China than it is to make calls internally. Mobile telephone GSM 1800 and 900 networks provide coverage in Beijing, Guangzhou (Canton) and Shanghai; GSM 900 networks also exist in most other major urban areas in the southeastern and eastern regions including Chengdu and Chongqing. Networks are operated by China Mobile (website: www.chinamobile.com) and China Unicom (website: www.netchina.com.cn). Fax A growing number of hotels offer fax facilities but are often incoming only. Rates are generally high. Faxes can also be sent from internet cafes. Internet ISPs include Eastnet China Ltd (website: www.eastnet.com.cn). There are Internet cafes in main towns. Post Service to Europe takes from between two days and a week. Tourist hotels usually have their own post offices. All postal communications to China should be addressed ‘People’s Republic of China’. Press The main English-language daily is the China Daily and China Travel. There is also the weekly news magazine Beijing Review, with editions in English, French, Spanish, Japanese and German. National newspapers include The Worker's Daily and The Guangming Daily, with many provinces having their own local dailies as well. BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change. BBC (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice): MHz 15.28 11.95 9.740 6.195 Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov): MHz 17.74 11.71 9.645 6.110 From www.columbusguides.com, Copyright © 2004 Highbury Columbus Travel Publishing Terms and Conditions apply.