A-Z of China

By Rooban Subramanian 8us

A

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medical cure which uses needles to prick pressure and nerve points all around the body to help aches and pains by using the Chinese idea about energy flowing through the body causing the pain where there is an “imbalance “The Chinese believe that it will help their spirit by using things like acupuncture.

Acupuncture is very safe and it has been used by the Chinese as a form of herbal medicine for hundreds of years but can cause injury your internal organs if pricked too hard and unsterilized needles can pass on diseases.

An acupuncture needle this is a smaller size

B

Beijing is the capital of the republic of china and the second largest city after shanghai and also host city of the 2008 Olympics at the birds nest stadium .Beijing is renowned for its palaces, temples,

and huge stone walls and gates. Its arts and universities have long made the city a centre of culture and art in China for centuries. The names of this city changed during the different dynasties and it was a small settlement of caves in that area up to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago.

There are some problems like the air pollution level is 5 times above the world health organization’s standard and dust storms. Beijing has 18 districts and is the most developed city in china. The climate is cold wet and windy in winter and hot and dry in summer

C

Communism is a big part of china as the CCP (Chinese communist party) are in power and control all of china. The communist system has been globally recognized through businesses and world trade.

The party was founded in 1921 and its party 70 million members represent 5.5%of the total population the party's highest body is the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which meets at least once every five years.

The general secretary at the present time is Hu Jintao, and he has been General Secretary since 2002.

The Chinese flag of communism

DDragons are one of the largest things people associate with china and its people.yhe far eastern mythical creature is like a long scaly snake with 4 legs. There are numerous festivals held all throughout the year for different animals and the dragon festival is the brightest, the liveliest and the most attended with large parades through the streets and people dressed as 10 metre long dragons as part of the parade.

E

Emperors have been part of china all throughout its eras. They were members of families which were known as dynasties such as the Ming dynasties (1368-1644).The emperors lived in the Forbidden City in Beijing as shown in the photo underneath.

The last emperor of china Puyi, of the Qing dynasty was forced to resign in 1921 when modern china was formed.

This photo is of the dragon’s throne, where the emperors

F

Factories are at the industrial heart of china and with almost everything bought in England with the words “made in china” stamped on the bottom we think of china as a big factory which produces everything we need and want. China’s cities have their own industrial centres making everything from toys to TVs.

This photo is of the dragon’s throne, where the emperors

The industrial revolution in china started in the years between 1910 and 1920 and large amounts of farm land surrounding the cities were built on. It all brought more people in from the country looking for jobs and this increased the population in cities and the slum areas grew in size considerably. China is very famous for exporting tea and rice to all parts of the globe.

A Chinese

G

The Great Wall of China is a symbol recognized by the world as one of the

wonders of the world. This 4000 mile long stone and earth structure

was built rebuilt and maintained between the 5th century and the 16th century.

The wall was built as a defence against raiders and invaders from the north. The

Chinese were very familiar with wall building and the walls they built before the great wall to protect themselves were just earth stamped around upright boards. The great wall was built in sections one of the most famous sections is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. At its peak the wall was guarded by just over 1 million men it is estimated that around 2 to 3 million Chinese lost their lives in building the wall, their remains where buried underneath the wall.

H

Hong Kong is located in southern china and is one of the most densely

populated cities in the world with only 1108 square km to support almost 7 million people

The city started out under British rule where Hong Kong was turned into a major port in 1842 as its position allowed trade with the west. Hong Kong is part of china’s “1 nation 2 systems” policy so Hong Kong basically governs

on its own; it has its own political and legal system and its own currency.

Hong Kong also has a cityscape t6o rival New York’s, and in these office are hundreds of businesses as Hong Kong is one of the worlds business hubs

I

Inventions .The Chinese have invented many, many things

This is an extract of a list of inventions

Pottery ,gunpowder ,football ,polo ,golf ,saddle ,rowing ,paper ,press-print ,compass ,coffins ,guns and cannons ,steamer ,bells ,acupuncture ,astrology ,archaeology and banknotes.

This is just a fraction of an endless list of things that we still use today

A handheld trigger operated crossbow from 2nd century BC

J

Jade is an ornamental stone, often green in colour. As a rock jade is found in many parts of China and is traditionally used for making decorative objects, jewellery. These pictures show the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, near Lijiang, is a very popular tourist destination.

A jade dragon

There are many ornamental and novelty things on sale made out of Jade even chopsticks.

K

Kung fu is very popular Chinese martial art which is based on different animal

movements and principles. The shaolin monks invented kung fu as one to protect themselves from attackers in the woods while foraging for food and second as a form of discipline and meditation. Kung fu was learned in purpose built dojos.

The monks lived amongst the mountains and were very tough and to develop this they pushed their bodies to and over the limit. They would generally carry a long staff with them as when kung fu was invented carrying weapons was banned.

Many Hollywood films were based on kung fu with people like Bruce lee and Jackie Chan and many people learn around the world.

L

The lotus flower is a very important plant to the Chinese and is a sacred

plant to Buddhists as they believe that it symbolises peace and beauty. Its also used in many forms of traditional Chinese cooking

a lotus flower

M

Maglev is a high speed train (Magnetic Levitation) in Shanghai, which connects the centre with the airport. Trains travel

at 430 km per hour. Maglev is a new technology which has been protested against by some but the Chinese government is keen to spread these systems.

N

Noodles have been a part of Chinese culture since AD 25 and there are many varieties of noodles from the Far East.

This is noodle making in Taiwan

Noodles of all sorts are being sold today soup noodle (the first kind) or served with meat and seafood or in a stir fry. There have also been other inventions such as pot noodles. Acorn

wheat, millet, buckwheat, mung beans and potato are all common raw materials for noodles to be made from. A noodle itself made from unleavened dough that is cooked in a boiling liquid. Depending upon the type, noodles may be dried or refrigerated before cooking.

O

The one child policy has been with china for just over 30 years and was introduced to combat the rise in Chinas population and for the following reasons

To have more jobs available To help try to stop the poverty To have more spaces in schools To help try and stop famine

The one child policy also indirectly lowered levels of STDs because people use contraceptives more to stop getting pregnant.

However there is a lot of talk about the one child policy being against human rights because it doesn’t allow a person to have as many children as they want and also forced abortions. Other problems are people only want boys as the boy is expected to look after the parents in old age this means that female babies are being aborted or even

killed or abandoned after birth. The impact is that the amount of boys and girls is uneven.

It also means that only one child is left to look after his parents and grandparents, children are spoilt and the law isn’t held very well in rural areas.

P

P is for Pagoda, a tired tower which is usually

a religious building and the y can be found all over china. The multiple eaves are common in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to house religious ceremonies, most commonly Buddhist, and were often located in or near temples.

QThe Qing Dynasty was the last ruling dynasty of China from 1644 to 1912 before the emperor resigned due to the public thinking that this wasn’t what china needed to become modern.

the last dynasty palace.

R

Rice is a staple food for many Chinese people and is one of their main exports, Chinese and Indian

rice are some of the best quality in the world. In china rice can be found everywhere they are bought in large sacks of about 10 or 12 kilos would last a Chinese family typically 10 days.

This picture is of Chinese polished rice

The rice grains are grown in large paddy fields which are frequently flooded to provide the extra nutrition from the mineral rich

water. There are many types of rice available.

A paddy field

S

Shanghai is the largest city in China with 18 million people. It is on the banks

of the delta of the river Yangtze. Much of the city is very modern. This view across the river is towards the new Pudong

area. Shanghai has been a village then a market town in AD 960 and then a full on city.

The centre of the city is the business area and many large companies have their base. Surrounding the centre are the wealthier areas with large shopping centres and market streets even today shanghai is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world.

Huge amounts of development have been

happening recently.

T

Tai Chi is a form of Chinese martial art which is generally practised alone; it is

also a form of

calming yourself down, which many Chinese do before work or at lunchtime, or in the morning, often in parks.

Tai chi is a variation of kung fu but it’s meant to teach only discipline and calmness whereas kung fu teaches that and how to break someone’s neck. Tai chi classes have become popular in hospitals, clinics, community and senior centres in the last twenty years and there is a competitive version known as wushu.

U

Everyone in China seems to carry an umbrella! They are very useful in case of a sudden downpour or to keep the strong sunshine off you. They come in all shapes, colours and sizes and are often made of silk.

V

Vegetables are used a lot in Chinese cooking; some are ones which are

familiar with – carrots, cabbage, onions and

mushrooms. There are others which are a little less familiar - water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, sweet corn, lotus root and eggplant. The markets are full of fresh food and meals are often eaten around a large round table with the food in the centre.

W

Wuhan is a city on the Yangtze River where it meets the Han River; it has flooded often in the past, but the

Chinese are hoping that the new dam will stop this happening. The river is

very wide here and is used a lot by boats and people swimming in the water even though it is dirty and full of rubbish and debris and fast flowing!

this is a picture of the river at one of its wider points

X

X’ian is the capital of Shaanxi Province where there is an underground Army of Terracotta Warriors of the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi. In 1974, farmers digging a well found these life-size horse and warrior figures. There were around 7,000 figures from the tomb have been restored by archaeologists and have been placed in a hall built above the excavation site.

Y

The Yangtze, also known as Chang Jiang, is a huge river, about 6300 km long. It is the longest river in Asia and

the third longest in the world. It has been with china since humans have walked the earth and humans use the river for many different things including fishing and bathing.

a small inland port

one of the large ferries, this one is carrying goods for trading

Z

Zai jian is Goodbye in Pinyin

(Pinyin is a form of the language mandarin)