China is a huge country, the most populous nation on Earth with very old traditions. Nearly 1.5 billion people live in a mountainous country the size of the United States, divided into several provinces. Most of the population combines the two main religions; Taoism and Buddhism. Different regions share some dialects, although regions speak dialects utterly incomprehensible to people from other parts of the country and even big cities, although the official language of the entire state is Mandarin.

A nation under the rule of successive dynasties of emperors over the centuries has created a powerful empire that has grown with its base in Confucianism to one of the oldest and most important civilizations of the world. The events that took place in China in the twentieth century, led to the collapse of the empire and the creation of a socialist republic, whose real capitalism caused the astounding growth of China’s growing global, economic power.

China’s contribution to today’s world is difficult to overestimate. A large part of our global goods are produced in the factories of the Middle Kingdom. The best-known elements of Chinese culture are music and writing – a constantly expanding set of tens of thousands of complex characters. They are separate matters, but also represent syllables, and their careful calligraphy is very important to the Chinese people. The huge influence of Chinese culture has resulted in the acquisition of Chinese characters as a way to save the languages ​​of many neighboring countries. Besides the ubiquitous, serpentine red dragons, considered in China as lucky symbols of life and weather, martial arts of Kung Fu and meditation, Tai-Chi, referring to the balance and interpenetration of opposing forces in the universe, symbolized by the sign Yin-Yang are also some of the refined arts of Chinese culture.

Another a no less popular symbol of China is healthy and original cuisine, widespread and appreciated in all countries of the world, as well as the beautiful porcelain, on which it is served. Although every region and big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, have their own specific cuisine, the most well known is best known Cantonese. A common feature of regional cuisine is a combination of rice, a large amount of finely chopped vegetables and meat free cooked in a wok and eating meals two wooden chopsticks kept in one hand. An essential component of food is tea prepared with many variations according to the old traditions, to which the Chinese attach great importance.

Climate

The Middle Kingdom is a gigantic area of ​​land with a very rugged terrain. So is its climate turns a cold in the north, the south and the tropical character. Winters are cold and in the far north and in the higher altitude regions frost can be very severe.

Summer in many cities of eastern China, is the season hot and humid with plenty of rainfall. The temperature in most cities in the rest of the country is maintained above 20° C, with the exception of the higher parts of the mountains, where it is much lower, and bordering the Yangtze River “Three Furnaces” – the cities of Chongqing, Wuhan and Nanjing (also known as Southern Capital), where more than 30° C. The hottest place in the country is one of the two deepest depressions in the world, located in north-western China Turpan Depression, where 154 meters below sea level, the temperature often exceeds 40 °C

The most pleasant climate in China is a location on the south, the uplifted Yunnan province. Throughout the year there is nice weather, but the summer months bring heavy rain.

Beijing is in the zone of influence of the monsoon, which is why summer is hot, with a nice, but dry and windy weather. Summer rainfall is sudden and occur most often in the evenings, it is therefore a time of the umbrella. Winter is cold and dry. Spring and autumn are short, autumn is the best time to visit the capital of the Middle Kingdom through pleasantly mild temperatures, low humidity and a blue sky.

Shanghai also best to visit in the fall or spring, because winter can bring the temperature below zero during the summer and the air is heated to over 35° C with very high humidity.

Main Attractions:

• Beijing

Northern capital – the capital of the world largest nation in whose heart was erected the impressive Forbidden City which is the seat of the last two imperial dynasties, a quiet oasis in the center of a big city and a symbol of the power of the Chinese empire. Among the many interesting places in Beijing one of the most important is the biggest in the world, almost empty square in front of the Tiananmen leading to the Forbidden City Gate of Heavenly Peace, which owes its name. It is the birthplace of China and brutally suppressed the protests of the population. Another important place in Beijing is wrapped in a beautiful park Temple of Heaven, one of the most sacred objects of the Middle Kingdom.

Nearby Beijing are well-preserved parts of the Great Wall of China – the largest buildings in the world, many branched and stretching for almost 6,000 kilometers, a defensive wall with its numerous watchtowers, which was built at the cost of many lives and protect an empire from invaders of the Great Steppe and today meanders among the hills, being visible even from space.

• Shanghai

Located in the Yangtze River Delta is China’s largest city and one of the largest cities in the world – Shanghai – an unusual combination of East and West, where traditions of the Chinese hide in the shadow of fancy skyscrapers, symbols of mighty economies of the Middle Kingdom. A glowing neon metropolis, futuristic and Oriental at the same time, it is a place where modern technology flits between traditional temples of all major religions. The unique atmosphere of this city is best seen in a place called the Bund, which simply means the waterfront where the limited height of buildings reveals a panorama of the city.

• Xi’an

The capital of Shaanxi Province is one of the most important cities in Chinese history, a seat of 13 dynasties and 73 emperors. The city is filled with monuments of the glorious past, but the biggest attraction is outside its walls. It is the Terracotta Army, 8,000 life-size soldiers (each has individual characteristics and features) surround in defense the tomb of the first emperor of China. Xi’an was also the place where the distant lands stretched along the Silk Road caravan of merchants and where the same route explorers set off to meet the West.

• Silk Road

The titer of the Silk Road bore the intertwined routes by which more than two thousand years ago, merchants, explorers, soldiers and pilgrims trudged almost 10,000 km. of Asia on the way to the Mediterranean Sea, to India, the Arabian Peninsula and to the vast deserts of Africa, starting or ending their journey in Xi’an, at the crossroads of all roads. Roving merchant caravans along the Silk Road were carrying valuable goods and ideas, dear travelers, helping to combine the great civilizations of China, India, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome, and making the Silk Road a foundation of the world as we know it. It’s two main routes led north and south, bypassing the inhospitable Tibetan Plateau to branch out into the lands of many peoples of Asia and the Middle East. Traveling the Silk Road brought Europe not only Chinese silk but also gunpowder, printing, knowledge of astronomy and navigation. It was the Silk Road that enabled one of the first Westerners, the Venetian adventurer Marco Polo, to get to the Far East. Thanks to the existence of the way, East and West can engage in dialogue, endowing each other with the spoils of their cultures.

• Yunnan Province

Bordering on Tibet and Burma, Laos and Vietnam, Yunnan province is an ethnic melting pot, on the borders of the influence of neighboring states. Separation of provincial culture can be seen in the UNESCO World Heritage City Lijiang, deviating from the Chinese tradition. Name of the province is South of the Clouds, a mysterious name which adds charm to the fact it is a one of the places considered to be the inspiration of the Himalayan utopia of Shangri La as described in “Lost horizon” by John Hilton. Yunnan province is also home to a healthy and valued worldwide Pu Erh tea.

• Tibet

Tibet an Autonomous Region annexed by China in the mid-twentieth century, on whose border is the highest mountain in the world Chomolungma (Mount Everest). The current leader of Tibet – Dalai Lama – was forced to emigrate from the Potala Palace in the capital, Lhasa, after the occupation of the state by the Chinese army. The seat of the Dalai Lama is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest residential building in the world and also the world’s highest palace is located. The life of Tibet’s Dalai Lama XIV was made famous by two films”Kundun ‘and” Seven Years of Tibet “, showing the life of the young leader and dramatic history of the country . An interesting fact is that the name of any place in Tibet can be pronounced at least four ways, and for the purposes of tourism forms found on signs and tickets were standardized. In Tibet Buddhism survived, despite attempts to eradicate it by the Chinese authorities, ancient beliefs and practices, which include the honorable exclusive “celestial burial” for the monks, consisting of leaving the body of the deceased to be devoured by vultures, and practices of the customs of polyandry and polygamy.

Currency – Yuan Renminbi (CNY)