China - Useful information for your trip

China is a sovereign state situated in oriental Asia. It is the most populated country in the world, with a population of over 1.35 billions. The majority of Chinese territory enjoys  temperate climate. The south of China is in the tropical and sub-tropical area, while the north is in the glacial area. China has a very complex morphology, because of the strong climate differences. This brings to differences in the natural landscapes and in the customs of inhabitants of this huge state. 

The history of the dynasties covers almost four millenia, since the first semi-mythological Xia dynasty in the II millenium AC. The era of the fighting kingdoms finished in 221 AC with the unification of the whole China known till then, and the Qin dynasty foundation. Hereafter Chinese history became the imperial dynasty history, that finished with the end of Qing dynasty in the 20th century, after the long-term effects of the Opium War between China and Britain, that had opened the period of concessions to foreigners. After a century of riots and turbulence, sedated with the help of the European powers and of Japan, the imperial authority weakened more and more and in December 1911 the Republic was proclaimed in Nankin, ending the "Celestial Empire".

China is today a socialist single-party state and Beijing is its capital. Beijing is one of the biggest cities in the world and it has over 19 blillions inhabitants, being the third most populated city in the world. It is recognized as the politic, cultural and scientific centre of the country but the economic centre is Shanghai. The Chinese economy is the second for GDP, after the Usa. The energetic system is still inefficient: since China is the greatest world electricity customer, It needs much more energy than other countries. China is choosing cleaner energy sources and in fact it is the second country in the world for wind energy production after Usa.

Chinese culture is one of the richest in the world and it has always stressed a deep historical sense. The cultural revolution of 1960 has radically changed lots of traditional aspects of the culture. Some of these like Confucianism, art, literature and performing arts, suffered some changes to comply with government policies and propaganda. With the rise of nationalism and the ending of the cultural revolution, there has been a strong recovery of various forms of art, of literature, of music, of cinema, fashion and architecture.

One of the most famous tourism attractions of China is the Great Wall. It is a world heritage site of UNESCO and it is part of the modern world seven wonders. Lots of tourists from all over the world go to China also for the Forbidden City, in the heart of Beijing. The Forbidden city was the imperial palace of Ming and Qing dynasties and it is also in the list of UNESCO. Other very important Chinese attractions are the terracotta army, the summer palace, the temple of heaven and the huge metropolis of Beijing. Hong Kong is also an interesting place to visit. With its 1223 skyscrapers, Hong Kong is the most vertical city in the world and it is becoming a modern architecture centre.