CHINA; By Cara & Kendall

WHERE IS CHINA? China is located in Asia and is in the northern hemisphere. It is known as the largest land mass on earth. On the west coast of the world’s largest ocean, The Pacific ocean.

THE SIZE OF CHINA; China has a land area of 9.6 million square kilometers. The third largest country in land area in the world. From north to south, the territory of China spans 49 latitudes. From east to west, the nation expands over 60 longitudes.

POPULATION; The population of China is 1,330,044,605 as of mid With those numbers it makes china the world’s largest and most populous country. China’s population has somewhat slowed because of the one child law.

GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES; A total of 5,400 dot China’s territorial seas. The largest of these, with an area of about 36,000 square kilometers, is Taiwan, followed by Hainan with an area of 34,000 square kilometers. The proportion of various landforms is as follows: Mountains, 33%; plateaus, 26%; basins, 19%; plains, 12%; and hills, 10%.

CROPS AND FOOD GROWN IN CHINA; In the north of China, including Beijing, they don’t grow much rice; they grow wheat, millet, barley and soybean. In the west, in Sichuan especially, they grow a lot of chillies because their cuisine is rather spicy. In the east they grow a lot of rice. And in the south, which is the most fertile region, with the warmest weather, they grow rice and a big variety of fruit and vegetables.

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS IN CHINA; China exports a lot of silk and rice. And they import gun powder and a lot of other products.

TRADITIONAL DISHES IN CHINA; The Chinese often had to adapt new eating habits because of the scarcity of food. Meat was scarce, so dishes were created using small amounts of meat mixed with rice or noodles, both of which are more filling. Vegetables were added, and then they started to stir fry, the most common way of cooking, became a way to conserve fuel by cooking food quickly. The Chinese eat many foods that are not familiar with us Australians such as; shark fins, seaweed, frogs, snakes and even dog and cat meat. Rice is China’s staple food. Rice may be served with any meal and is eaten several times a day. Scallions, bean sprouts, cabbage and gingerroot are other traditional foods of China. Tofu is an important source of protein for the Chinese. There are four main types of regional Chinese cooking they are; Cantonese Cuisine, the Mandarin Cuisine, Shanghai Cuisine and Szechuan Cuisine. Some traditional recipes of China are; Wonton Soup, Eggdrop Soup, Sweet And Sour Pork, Baat Bo Fon which is also known as rice pudding, Fried Rice, Peking Duck, Spiced Chicken, Almond Cookies, Fried Wonton and Fu Yung Don or Egg Fu Yung.

NUTRITIONAL ADEQUACY; China’s nutrition is very good, because most of their meals have a lot of meat and vegetables; they are as healthy as it can be. Because Chinese people eat a lot of pasta and carbohydrates and vegetables they are both at the bottom of the food pyramid they are the healthiest things to eat so the nutritional adequacy of China is extremely good.

CUSTOMS ON FOOD IN CHINA; As a visitor or guest in either a Chinese home or Chinese restaurant you will find that table manners are essential and the courtesies displayed will invariably add to the enjoyment of your meals. The practice of presenting the best food first to the senior members of the family has been observed for countless generations. When hosts place dishes on the table, they will arrange the main courses at the center with the supporting dishes evenly placed around them.

CONTINUED CUSTOMS; China is the hometown of chopsticks. On the wedding day, it is also customary to serve Chinese dates, peanuts, longan and chestnuts together as wish that the couple will soon have a baby in accord with the Chinese proclamation. To most Chinese people, returning home after long absence or departure from home are both significant and there are food customs associated with this. The return home is greeted with noodles and off home while a farewell is offered with dumplings. During the Dragon Boat Festival, though many people cannot reach the river zone to watch the boat race, almost all of them eat the unique food -zongzi, a pyramid- shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. In Central China, when a baby is born, the happy father will send red boiled eggs to announce the news. Eggs with a black pointed end and dots in an even number such as six or eight, indicates a boy's birth; those without a black point and in an odd number like a five or seven will say the baby is a girl. In addition to these, fish has always been used to suggest the accumulation of prosperity and wealth with meals on New Year's Eve.