Countries of the world - China

China (中國) is situated in the eastern part of Asia, on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is the third largest country in the world (after Canada and Russia). China has a total land area of 9.6 million squares kilometers. The distance from east to west measures over 5,200 kilometers, and from north to south, over 5,500 kilometers. When the sun shines brightly over the Wusuli River in the east, the Pamire Plateau in the west is in the very early morning. When blizzards wrap the north along the Helongjiang River in the winter, spring sowing is under way on Hainan Island in the south.

China has a land border of 22,143.34 kilometers long and is bordered by twelve countries. Especially, it has India, Pakistan in part of the west and Thailand located in it's southwest. Besides a vast land area, there are also extensive neighboring seas and numerous island. The coastline extends more than 14.500 kilometers. Across the East China Sea to the east, and South China Sea to the southeast, are Japan, the Philippians, Malaysia, and Indonesia. More than 5,000 islands are scattered over China's vast territorial seas, the largest being Taiwan and the second largest, Hainan. (Map of China).

Generally speaking, China can be divided into three natural realms: Eastern Monsoon China, Northwest Arid China, and Tibetan Frigid Plateau. There are 30 first level administrative units (provinces, autonomous regions, and national municipalities) in China. There are also three municipalities directly under the Central Government, namely Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai; 22 provinces and five autonomous regions for minority nationalities.

China is a mountainous country, with two-thirds of its total land area covered by mountains, hills and plateaus. Out of the world's twelve high peaks of more than 8,000 meters, seven are located in China. The Highest peak in the world, Mount Qomolangma (8,828m) stands on the border between China and Nepal. There are five major mountain systems in China. These mountain systems, together with numerous intermontane plateaus, basins, and plains are interwoven into three macrolandform complexes in China.

Therefore, the topography of China from the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau eastward, is broadly arranged into four great steps descending step- by-step from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the coastal area in the east. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the top of the staircase, covers 2.2 million square kilometers and averages 4,000 meters above sea level. It is the highest and largest plateau on earth and is popularly called "roof of the world".

From the eastern margin of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau eastward up to the Da Hinggan-Taihang-Wushan mountains line, composed mainly of plateau and basins with elevation from 2,000 to 1,000 kilometers. From the above-mentioned line eastward up to the coast are the largest plains of China. The plains are also interspersed with hills generally below 500 kilometers in elevation. The continental shelf, with an elevation that is generally less than 200 kilometers. Population According to the third population census of 1982, the total population of China was 1.1 trillian and by a recent estimate the population is reched to 1.5 trillian. Its 22.6 per cent of the world's total population makes China the world's most populous country. That's why in most of Chinese family, there is only one child. The government encouraged people to have one child in a family in order to control the large increased population (ex twins). Nowadays, something new to us is that because of the effectively control of the birth rate, this generation who is the only child at home may have more than one baby if they married.

Now let's talk about 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Beijing, the capital of China, is situated to the west of Bohai Sea and on the northeast fringe of the North China Plain. Covering an area of 16,800 square kilometers with a population of about ten million, it is the country's political, economics, scientific and cultural center. An ancient capital with a history of 800 years, it contains many scenic spots and places of historical interest.

After experts' examination and appraisal of a trial practice of several months, the BOCOG (The Beijing Organizing Committee for Olympic Games ) passed the standards and requirements certification of Beijing Olympiad in September 2004.

As a theme of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, Green Olympics means to prepare it in accordance with the principle of sustainable development, which calls for the protection of environment, conservation of resources and maintenance of ecological balance. The city's environmental infrastructure will be enhanced and its ecological surrounding improved.

Beijing will widely organize environmental communication and education activities to raise public awareness and leave rich environmental legacy to China and world sports.

Wish we have a wonderful Olympic Games in Beijing this year. It is not only an excited Chinese celebration, but also a well-known Greece Olympic Games as a crandleland, not to say that the whole world will be looking forward to.