THE CHINESE By Hannah Lodge

Chinese POPULATION- In 2007 there was approximately 1,325,639,982 Chinese residents, RELIGIONS- They range from Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Muslim 1%- 2%, Christian 3%-4% CLIMATE- china has a very diverse climate, it is very tropical in the South and subarctic in the North CAPITAL- Beijing LANGUAGE- In % of the population spoke Mandarin, 29% speaking Cantonese and 4% English. Many speak Chinese at home manly when they have both parents born Chinese, the 4% that could speak English around 65% considered themselves to be able to speak it well.

Map of China

Chinese people visiting Australia NUMBER COMING TO AUSTRALIA TO LIVE OR VISIT- In 2008 there were over people planning to stay for less than one year from china. In were Chinese born Australians. For example over half of the Chinese population (53%) call Sydney home.

Chinese culture and traditions. Chinese food is roughly separated in the Northern and Southern types of cooking. For example Northern foods are oily without being ‘cloying’ and pastas are very big. Color, aroma and flavor are big parts of their cooking yet are not the only aspects they go by. Meals must be eaten while sitting down, there is an order of who is to be seated first starting with men then the oldest women to the youngest, the main courses are to be eaten in order of table, each of these tables normally able to seat ten to twelve people. The meals usually start with four appetizers, six to eight main meals then one savory type meal then finish it off with a desert. Education in China is very ‘socialist-orientated. Their classrooms can fit up to fifty students in at one time. Learning is done in groups more then individual, this is done to establish team work and cooperation. Many students are only excepted by scholarship otherwise parents work really hard to get their child into the best school, this is done because they believe that if you don’t go to the best school/ most expensive then you are not getting the best education you should be.

Chinese cultures and traditions. Many houses in China are very traditional, they are rectangle shaped, many containing a wooden structure with pillars and beams and earthen walls covering three sides of the home, there are usually a number of rooms that are brought together by the pillars. The main source of transportation is the bicycle, it is the main cause of accidents in china. They are said to provide that basic Chinese person with a mean of transport to get around china to and from work.

Chinese festivals Chinese people are known very highly for their festivals, as they are always seen celebrating something different each month, some of these celebrations include: The lantern festival is on the 15 th day of the first month of the Chinese year. It is the mark of the end of the New Year’s holidays, lanterns are placed everywhere. Chinese new year is seen as one of the most important festivals to the Chinese people, new clothes are worn as a sign of a new beginning, houses are cleaned until spotless, flowers are used as decorations. It is a time of ‘settling all debts and spreading good intentions to family and friends. Mid autumn festivals, the moons orbit the lowest angle to the horizon, which makes the moon look brighter and bigger. This festival is similar to the American thanks giving holiday, celebrated by spending the night out side under the moon, eating moon cakes.

What the Chinese expect The Chinese believe everyone should be very calm and they strive for harmony, they use facial expressions, tone of voice and posture to tell what a person is feeling or thinking. Frowning to them is a form of discomfort, it is also considered disrespectful to stare a person in the eye so don’t not maintain eye contact with them for too long. When greeting you must always greet the oldest as a form of respect Shaking hands is a sign of meeting this is usually done to foreigners or people they don’t not know. When addressing a Chinese person use their full name until they tell you that you can use just their first name or what ever they are comfortable you using. Don’t feel as if they don’t like you if they don’t invite you to their home, many like to entertain outside of their house, yet if they invite you into their home feel this as a great honor.

What Chinese expect Business cards are exchanged at the start of a greeting, you should try and have one side of your business card written in Chinese so that they can read if it they cannot read English. Make sure you hold it with both hands during an exchange, if you don’t look at it before you put it away they will find this very rude so to be polite make sure you read it before you put it down. Also never write on any of their business cards unless they have instructed you to. There are a large number of places that Chinese people can go and purchase or eat the food that they would be able to get if they were at home. Many will like to eat their food with chop sticks, this to them is seen as a big essential, instead of a napkin they like having a hot towel provided at the end of the meal to wipe their face.