China (PRC)

By Harry Hu (a Chinese person that can’t speak

Chinese)
Introduction
■ This report will talk about the
INCREDIBLE country of China and its
Location, History, Demographics,
Settlement, Climate, Government,
Military, Culture, and its Features.
 Location
■ China is located in Eastern Asia,
bordering Russia, North Korea, India,
Vietnam, Myanmar, Pakistan, Mongolia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Bhutan, Nepal,
Laos, Macau and Afghanistan.
■ China is approximately 9.6 million
square kilometres, making it the third
largest country in the world!
■ China is located in the northern
hemisphere, it’s coordinates are
35.8617° N and 104.1954° E.
 History
■ The first signs of settlement in China dates back to 10000 BCE, but the Xia dynasty was the first dynasty of China, founded
in 2100 BCE, ruled by Yu the great. However, in 1600 BCE, the evil king (King Jie) of the Xia dynasty was overthrown by a
man named Cheng Tang, which led to the creation of the Shang Dynasty (the emperor being Cheng Tang). At around 1100
BCE - 1050 BCE, a powerful leader of the Zhou clan named Wen Wang planned to overthrow the Shang dynasty and after
many years, the Shang dynasty was overthrown and the Zhou dynasty was formed in 1046 BCE with the king being Wen
Wang’s son, Wuwang. The Zhou dynasty became the longest lasting Dynasty in Chinese history lasting over 800 years. In
221 BCE, the state of Qin conquered all of the states in the Zhou dynasty, which led to the creation of the Qin dynasty ruled
by Ying Zheng. The Qin dynasty established the first empire in China. However, only 15 years later, there was a peasant
revolt ruled by Liu Bang and the emperor of the Qin dynasty was killed, therefore, a war in between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu
started named the Battle of Gaixia. After 4 years, the Liu Bang conquered all 6 states and Xiang Lu committed suicide which
created the Han dynasty led by Liu bang in 206 BCE. But in 220 AD, china split up into three kingdoms (220 AD – 265
AD), Jin dynasty (265 AD – 420 AD), and the northern and southern dynasties (386 AD – 589 AD), due to many warlords
fighting for control over the Han dynasty. This period would be known as “The Six Dynasties.” There were many emperors
of the different kingdoms and dynasties in this period. But in 581 AD, emperor Wen took over the northern Zhou kingdom
which led to the creation of the Sui dynasty. In 618, military commander Li Yuan led a group of assassins to kill the emperor
of the Sui dynasty, Yangdi, and once Yangdi was assassinated, Li Yuan was declared emperor which led to to the foundation
of the Tang Dynasty. However, after series of rebellions and the emperor getting poisoned, the Tang Dynasty fell in 907 AD,
which led to china splitting up into 5 dynasties and 10 kingdoms. The 5 dynasties and 10 kingdoms would last from 907 AD
to 979 AD. In 960 AD, the emperor Taizu usurped the throne of the later Zhou dynasty (A dynasty which was created due to
the Tang Dynasty splitting up) and conquered the ten kingdoms, ending the 10 kingdoms and five dynasties period. In 1279,
Kublai Khan (khagan of the Mongol empire) invaded China with his Yuan fleet named the battle of Yamen, and once he took
over China, he established the Yuan dynasty. This was the first time China was under foreign rule. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang,
leader of the Red turban Rebellion, defeated the Yuan dynasty and established the Ming dynasty. In 1644, Manchurian forces
from north-east Asia invaded the crippling Ming dynasty, which led to the creation of the Qing Dynasty ruled by Emperor
Shunzi. The Qing dynasty ruled over 13 million square kilometres, which was the largest extent of China (4th largest empire
in history)! In 1911, a group of revolutionaries led a revolt against the Qing dynasty, which led to the collapse of the Qing
dynasty and the imperial system, establishing the republic of China. The ROC fought in WW1 and WW2. In 1931, Japan
invaded Manchuria (North-east china) due to china having an abundance of raw materials (known as ‘the Sino wars’). This
war ended in 1945 after the USA dropped 2 nuclear bombs onto Japan, ending the Sino wars and WW2. In 1949, the
government of the ROC relocated to Taiwan after losing a civil war against the CPC (Communist party of China created in
1921), resulting in the Chinese mainland controlled by the CPC. Also in 1949, Mao Zedong established the People’s republic
of china (PRC), under the rule of the CPC. As of 2023, the PRC’s president is Xi Jinping and its allies are Russia, Pakistan,
North Korea, etc. The ROC’s president is Tsai Ing-wen and its allies are the USA, UK, France, etc.
 Demographics
■ As of 2023, China’s population is approximately
1,450,000,000, most of the population being 30-54 years of
age and 51% of the population is male.
■ China consumed approximately 8.6 thousand terawatt
hours of electricity in 2022 which makes it the most
electricity consuming country and according to World
bank, 100% of the population has access to electricity!
■ 95% of the Chinese population has access to basic
healthcare, and on top of that, it’s free! However, only 1.6
out of 1000 Chinese citizens are doctors, and the healthcare
is inconsistent in between urban and rural areas. Even
though China spends a high 5.5% of it’s GDP on
healthcare.
■ China has a massive GDP/economy of $26.46 Trillion
AUD but the GDP per capita (average income per year for
citizens) is a low $18,739 AUD.
Settlement
■ China’s capital city is Beijing, located in North-east china.
This massive city covers over 16,411 km² and has a
population of around 21.5 Million citizens! Other major cities
are Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
■ There are over 600,000 settlements in China, the first
settlement is believed to be Yang-Shou, which is near the
Huang He River (AKA Yellow River). Most of the settlements
in China are rural towns, villages and urban metropolitan
cities.
■ Although there are over 600,000 settlements in China, over
95% of Chinese citizens live in the east, due to western China
having little arable land for agriculture and eastern China
having open access to the ocean. Western Chinese settlements
are very dispersed, with most of the land being remote.
However, eastern Chinese settlements are very clustered, with
most of the land being settlement, after settlement, after
settlement. China’s population density is 153 per km².
 Climate
■ China’s climate varies from hot-arid in the north and north-west,
continental climate in the north-east, tropical climate in the south but
most of China experiences a temperate climate (central and west China).
■ Due to China being located in the northern hemisphere, the seasons in
China are different than the seasons in the Southern Hemisphere.
Summer lasts from June-August, Autumn/Fall lasts from September-
November, Winter lasts from December-February and Spring lasts from
March-May.
■ The average temperature in Summer is 18 to 28°C and the average
temperature in winter is 6 to -6°C. The average rainfall in China is
around 500mm to 2000mm of rainfall per year! But due to China being a
large country, these numbers can vary in between different areas.
■ The weather in China is varied, with eastern china receiving a lot of
heavy rain and being very wet, inland areas being dry and humid while
northern areas receiving snow in winter.
 Government
■ China is controlled by the PRC (People’s republic of China), founded
in 1949) which is a one-party authoritarian under the CPC
(Communist party of China), a political party of China founded in
1921. The PRC’s governments consists of military, executive, judicial,
legislative, supervisory and procuratorial branches. The current
president of the PRC is Xi Jinping, in which he is the seventh
president of the PRC since March 2013, replacing the sixth and former
president, Hu Jintao.
■ The PRC is seeking to become the wold’s most influential power by
combining its economic, diplomatic, military and technological
strengths.
■ Although there are more than 200 different laws in the PRC, the legal
system covers laws at three levels: state laws, administrative
regulations and local statutes. These laws are enforced by the MPS
(Ministry of Public Security) while the laws are created by the
Administrative State Organs and the NPC (National People’s
congress).
■ The PRC is allied with Russia, North Korea, Pakistan and much more.
Military
■ China has the 3rd strongest military in the world and it’s called the
People’s Liberation Army (PLA). There are over 2,000,000 active
personnel in the Chinese military and 500,000 reserve personnel. The
Chinese ground force (People’s Liberation Army Ground Force) consists
of around 950,000 active personnel. The Chinese Air Force (People’s
liberation army Air Force) consists of over 4,000 aircraft and around
400,000 active personnel. The Chinese navy (People’s Liberation Army
Navy Surface Force) has three fleets of ships, the North Sea fleet, the East
Sea fleet and the south sea fleet which consists of 661 ships altogether
and around 260,000 active personnel. The Chinese Rocket force (People’s
Liberation Army Rocket Force) has around 280,000 active personnel and
it’s used send missiles and rockets.
■ The Chinese military (PLA) was found in 1927 by Mao Zedong but it
wasn’t enforced until 1949. Currently, the leader of the PLA is the CMC
(Chinese Military Commission) and the CMC is chaired by Xi Jinping.
The minimum age to join the PLA is 18 and China spends around 7.2% of
its GDP on its military ($451 billion AUD).
Culture
■ China is one of the four ancient civilisations, along with India,
Egypt and Babylon. Traditional Chinese culture is one of the oldest
cultures in the world, dating back thousands of years. The traditional
Chinese cultural values include Harmony, Benevolence,
Righteousness, Courtesy, Wisdom, Honesty, Loyalty and Filial Piety.

■ Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year, formerly known as

Lunar new year and Spring festival, which could vary sometime
between January 21st – February 20th with street performances
including dragons and hanging red decorations everywhere. Another
Chinese tradition is the Chinese lantern festival, formerly known as
Yuanxiao Jie and Shangyuan Jie, is a festival celebrated on the 15 th
day of the new year. This event is used to mark the first full moon of
the new year and it’s celebrated to bring good fortune and happiness.
■ Most of the Chinese people are atheists or believe in the Chinese
folk religion, but other popular religions in China are Buddhism,
Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Confucianism.
Features
■ China’s topography varies from mountainous regions mostly in
the west and a little bit in the south covering 1/3 rd of the land
in China, grassy plains in the east and south, the loess plateau
in central China and the Gobi desert in the north.
■ One of the most well-known structures in China is the Great
Wall of China. Construction of the Great Wall was started way
back in 7th century BC and was opened in 220 BC (although
construction of the Great Wall fully finished in 17 th century
AD). The Great Wall was built to protect China from invasions
and is around 21,196 km long! The Great Wall of China is
made mostly out of yellowish stone bricks, but in some places,
marble bricks were used.
■ Another famous Chinese landmark is the Forbidden city. The
forbidden city is a walled city located in the centre of Beijing.
The forbidden city was built from 1406-1420 AD and it was
used as the political centre of China until 1912. The forbidden
city is 720 square kilometres and it has 980 buildings with the
Hall of Supreme Harmony being the central building.
Conclusion
■ That concludes this report on the
INCREDIBLE country of China and its
Location, History, Demographics,
Settlement, Climate, Government, Military,
Culture and its Features.
■ In my opinion, this is one of the best
countries you can visit in Asia, due to its
Vast culture, beautiful history, its magical
landscapes and its wonderful landmarks.
There so much to do and learn in this
wonderful country, the possibilities are
endless! Thank you for your time!