China is a large country in Asia with a rich history dating back to over a million years ago. It has been ruled by various dynasties, including the Qin, Han, Tang, Ming, and Qing. In the 19th century, Western powers began to take an interest in China, leading to the Opium Wars and the eventual formation of the Republic of China. The Communist Party of China overpowered the Kuomintang in 1949, forming the People’s Republic of China. China’s tourism industry is growing rapidly, with popular attractions including the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warrior Army, and Buddhist sites. Flights arrive daily at major airports, and overland travel is also possible.
China is a huge country in Asia. It covers 3,704,400 square miles (9,597,000 square km), making it roughly the size of the United States and smaller than Canada alone in Russia in terms of total land area. The country is also the most populous nation in the world, with over 1.3 billion inhabitants. It borders Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam.
Human ancestors first settled in China more than a million years ago. Agriculture developed relatively early in the region and extensive agriculture was practiced in the 7th millennium BC. A number of dynasties can be traced to roughly the 4th millennium BC, but the earliest well-documented history dates back to the 2nd century BC and dates Chinese history back to the 7th millennium BC and the Three Augusts and Five Emperors.
In the 2nd century BC, from a period of various warring city-states, the King of Qin was able to unify most of China and proclaim himself the first emperor. It was during this period that the Great Wall of China was begun, to protect the empire from increasingly frequent incursions by the Mongols to the north. The reign of the Qin dynasty was very short, but it set the stage for the Han dynasty that would succeed it two decades later. Under the Han Dynasty, Imperial China widely introduced Confucianism and enlarged the empire.
By the 3rd century, China had again split into three major kingdoms. The following century was a tumultuous one, with frequent changes of power and dynasties rising and falling rapidly. During the 5th century the country was divided into the Northern and Southern dynasties. At the end of the 6th century, the country was once again unified under the Sui dynasty. In the early 7th century, the Tang dynasty was formed and Buddhism was widely adopted throughout the region. The Tang ruled a prosperous China for two centuries before being overthrown in the late 9th century and plunging the country into another turbulent era, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
The Song dynasty arose in the late 10th century, controlling much of China, while the Liao dynasty, and later the Jin dynasty, ruled the rest, also controlling much of the Song lands. In the 13th century the region was invaded by the Mongols, who conquered the country. Genghis Khan’s grandson Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty and ruled over a unified China. It was during this period that Europeans began to make contacts, especially through the travels of Marco Polo.
In the mid-14th century the Mongols were driven out and the Ming dynasty took control of the country. Under the Ming, China developed rapidly, with the population booming. The Ming dynasty basically built up the navy and army and completed the Great Wall, hoping not to ensure further invasions from the north. In the 14th century, Manchus from the north invaded and overthrew the Ming dynasty, establishing the Qing dynasty.
During the 19th century, Western powers began to take more interest in China. Britain, in particular, was interested in increasing its opium trade, despite Chinese laws prohibiting the drug. This led to the Opium Wars, which severely taxed the Qing government, eventually overthrown in the 19th when the Republic of China was formed. For the next few decades the Communist Party of China (CPC) would grow, as would a rival organization, the Kuomintang (KMT). Both groups captured large amounts of the country and continued to fight even during the Japanese occupation in World War II.
By 1949, the CCP had overpowered the KMT, which in turn fled to Taiwan and continues to claim sovereignty over the island. The CCP, under Mao Zedong, declared the formation of the People’s Republic of China. For the following decades the CCP would implement a number of different communist programs. Upon Mao’s death in 1976, the country opened up the economy, forming special economic zones where capitalism could flourish relatively unhindered. In the following decades, the country’s economy grew exponentially.
China is starting to really develop its tourism industry and infrastructure is growing at an astonishing rate. There are lodgings and restaurants for travelers at any price range, and the entire country is filled with great things to do. The Great Wall of China is one of the most popular tourist attractions, as are the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace. The Terracotta Warrior Army is also a popular destination, with 6,000 Terracotta Warriors lined up in a battle formation, created more than 2,000 years ago. Buddhist sites such as the Yungang Grottoes with their 50,000 statues or the rock-carved Great Buddha near Binhe Lu are also worth visiting. The country is also home to some of the largest nature reserves in the world, with lands spanning virtually every biome in the world. planet.
Flights arrive daily at all major airports in China from all international hubs around the world. Overland travel is also possible from many neighboring countries. By far one of the most exotic ways to travel is via the Trans-Siberian Railway, eclipsed only by the prospect of arriving from Mongolia on horseback.
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