China is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and Canada:9.5 million square kilometers.

For more informations, please check the following link:
http://www.small-steps-coaching.com/main/china-faqs.php


Capital
Beijing

Total population
1.32 billion (estimate for end 2006)
Majority of population (93%) are Han Chinese
Other 7% include 55 different officially recognized minorities

Exact number is available on:
http://www.cpirc.org.cn/en/eindex.htm

You can see the population growth increasing every second!

Total population number at the moment of writing this: 1308845013 and total number of births in 2006 at the moment of writing: 3152717

Official language
Mandarin Chinese
Total number of languages listed for China is 236.
Of those, 235 are living languages and 1 is extinct.

Written language is the same – differences with Cantonese which uses traditional characters as opposed to the simplified ones that the majority of China uses.

Economy (2006)
GDP growth 8.0%
Inflation: 2.0%
GDP per head: $1,700

Political Orientation
Socialism with Chinese characteristics


Religion
Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Islam, Lamaism, Christianity, Judaism
Although the communist approach is atheism, the Chinese government allows religious activities although only atheists are permitted to be members of the communist party.

Climate
(temperatures are in Celsius)

North
Winter – December to March
Temperature in Beijing may not go above 0 and can be as low as -40 in Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang.

Summer – May to August
Temperature in Beijing can be up to 38. July and August are rainy season

Spring and Autumn
Best times for visiting the north.
Daytime temperatures range from 20 to 30 and there is less rain.

Central
Winter
Short and cold, temperatures going below zero. Winters can also be quite wet.

Summer – April to October
High temperatures, summers are long, hot and humid

Spring and Autumn
Also best times to visit although it is difficult to pinpoint an ideal time.

South
Winter – January to March
Winters are short and not as cold as north and central part.

Summer – April to September
Hot and humid periods with temperature up to 38. This is also the rainy season. Typhoons hit south-east coast between July and September.

Autumn and spring
Good time to visit, day temperatures in the 20 to 25 range. These seasons can also surprise with wet and cold, perpetual rain or drizzle.

North-West
Winter
Can be as cold as the rest of northern China. Average temperature in January (Urumuqi) is around -10 with minimum temperature -30.

Summer
Hot and dry with temperatures up to 47 degrees in Turpan