CHINA

I. China’s Past A. Dynasties 1. China is possibly 6,000 years old…making it the world’s oldest continuous civilization 2. For thousands of years, China was ruled by a succession of powerful families, called dynasties 3. Some of these dynasties ruled over China during eras of creativity…the times where impressive sculptures, paintings, and poetry were created

B. Inventions of the Chinese 1. Writing (1700 BC) 2. Compass (500 BC) 3. Abacus (counting device) (100 AD) 4. Gunpowder (200 AD) 5. Porcelain (600 AD) 6. Paper Money (800 AD)

MOST ICONIC INVENTION… The Great Wall of China

C. A Republic 1. After the Ch’ing Dynasty was overthrown in 1912, China was declared a republic 2. In 1949, China went through another enormous change a. After years of wars and rebellions, the Communist Party, led by Mao Zedong, took control b. China’s National Day (held on October 1) observes this event 3. For the next 25 years, the People’s Republic of China was isolated from much of the rest of the world (until the 1970’s)

C. Interaction with Other Countries 1. In 1972, Richard Nixon became the 1 st US president to visit China 2. Now, more than 800,000 Americans visit China each year – leaders in Beijing kept a tight grip on agriculture, manufacturing, and other sectors of China’s economy – the government began to encourage free enterprise, which has led to an incredible boom in China’s economy over the past 25 years (fastest economic growth in world history)

II. China Today A. Population 1. China has the world’s largest population (currently over 1.3 billion people) 2. 1 out of every 5 people in the world lives in China B. Geography 1. 3,705,410 square miles (close in size to the US) 2. Widespread mountainous areas 3. Less than 15% of its land is used for farming 4. 6 out of every 10 Chinese live in these rural areas 5. Capital = Beijing

C. Culture 1. 93% of the people in China can read and write 2. Chinese Mandarin is the most widely spoken native language in the world 3. Largest apple producer in the world 4. About 92% of all Chinese are Han, the nation’s largest ethnic group 5. There are 10 minority groups in China 6. China thoroughly promotes the Olympics – preparing those with incredible talents from a very early age (they hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008) D. Business 1. In 1949, China made almost NO factory products 2. Today, China is one of the world’s leading manufacturers 3. In 2004, the US and China exchanged about $200 billion worth of goods and services