China is located in the east of Asia and on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. The land area is approximately 9.6 million square kilometers. The coastline of the eastern and southern continents is over 18,000 kilometers, and the water area of the inland and border seas is about 4.7 million square kilometers. There are more than 7,600 large and small islands distributed in the sea area, among which Taiwan Island is the largest, with an area of 35,798 square kilometers. China shares borders with 14 countries and is adjacent to 8 countries by sea. The provincial administrative regions are divided into 4 municipalities directly under the Central Government, 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 2 special administrative regions, and the capital is Beijing.
The Five-starred Red Flag is the national flag of the People's Republic of China. Red symbolizes revolution. The five five-pointed stars on the flag and their interrelationships symbolize the great unity of the revolutionary people under the leadership of the Communist Party. The five-pointed star is in yellow to show its brightness on the red ground. Yellow is brighter and more beautiful than white. Each of the four small five-pointed stars has a point directly facing the center of the large star, which indicates unity around a center and also appears compact and beautiful in form. The emblem of the People's Republic of China features the national flag, the Tian 'an Gate, gears and ears of wheat and rice, symbolizing the new democratic revolution struggle of the Chinese people since the May 4th Movement and the birth of the new China under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. October 1st of each year, the great day when the People's Republic of China was proclaimed, is the National Day of the People's Republic of China. The national anthem of the People's Republic of China is "The March of the Volunteers".
China has 56 ethnic groups and is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-dialect and multi-script country. The national common language and characters are Putonghua (Mandarin) and standardized Chinese characters. Mandarin is the standard language of the Chinese language, with the Beijing accent as its standard pronunciation, the northern dialect as its basic dialect, and the exemplary modern vernacular works as its grammatical norms. Modern Chinese is divided into standard language (Mandarin) and dialects. Chinese dialects are generally classified into ten major types: Mandarin dialect, Jin dialect, Wu dialect, Hui dialect, Min dialect, Yue dialect, Hakka dialect, Gan dialect, Xiang dialect and Pinghua dialect.
The capital of China is Beijing. Beijing, abbreviated as Jing, is the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China. One of the four municipalities directly under the Central Government, it is the political, economic, scientific and cultural center of the country, as well as one of the centers for domestic and international exchanges. It is also one of the famous historical and cultural cities and ancient capitals of China.
Throughout history, China has always been one of the most populous countries in the world, with its share of the global population remaining at around 20% for a long time. China's population development has always had a significant impact on the world's population pattern. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the national population was 1,408.28 million at the end of 2024. The Chinese nation has a long history. Since ancient times, the ancestors of all ethnic groups in China have been working, living and multiplying on the land of our motherland, jointly contributing their wisdom to the development of Chinese civilization and the establishment of a unified multi-ethnic country. At present, there are 56 ethnic groups in China. Among them, the Han people account for approximately 92% of China's population, while the other 55 ethnic groups make up 8% of China's population.
China has a vast territory, spans a wide range of latitudes, and has significant differences in distance from the sea. Coupled with the varying terrain, it has formed a diverse range of climates. From the perspective of temperature zone classification, there are tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, mid-temperate, cold temperate and the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau region. In winter, there is a large temperature difference between the north and the south. The south is warm while the north is cold. The temperature in Mohe, Heilongjiang Province is below -30℃. The temperature south of the isotherm is above 0℃, among which the temperature in Sanya, Hainan is above 20℃. In summer, the temperature is generally high, and there is not much difference in temperature between the north and the south. Except for the high-altitude Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Tianshan Mountains, most areas have temperatures above 20℃, and many places in the south have temperatures above 28℃. The average temperature in the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang in July is as high as 32℃, making it the hottest center of summer in China.
Public holiday for all citizens: New Year, with a one-day holiday (January 1st). The Spring Festival holiday lasts for three days (the first, second and third days of the first lunar month). The Qingming Festival is a one-day holiday (on the day of the Qingming Festival in the lunar calendar). Labor Day, one-day holiday (May 1st). The Dragon Boat Festival is a one-day holiday (the day of the Dragon Boat Festival in the lunar calendar). The Mid-Autumn Festival is a one-day holiday (on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival in the lunar calendar). National Day holiday lasts for three days (October 1st, 2nd and 3rd). Some public holidays and commemorative days: Women's Day (March 8th), women have a half-day off. On Youth Day (May 4th), young people over 14 years old have a half-day off. On Children's Day (June 1st), children under the age of 14 have a one-day holiday. On the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (August 1st), active-duty military personnel have a half-day off. The local people's governments of the areas where ethnic minorities live in compact communities shall, in accordance with the customs of their respective ethnic groups, stipulate the dates of holidays for festivals that are customary. Other festivals and commemorative days such as the February 7th Memorial Day, May 30th Memorial Day, July 7th Memorial Day of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, September 3rd Memorial Day of the Victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, September 18th Memorial Day, Teachers' Day, Nurses' Day, Journalists' Day and Tree Planting Day are not closed. If a public holiday for all citizens falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it should be made up on a working day. If a public holiday for some citizens falls on a Saturday or Sunday, no compensatory leave will be given.
(sources) http://www.gov.cn/guoqing/