EVERYTHIGNS ABOUT CHINA... =)

C H I N A 

China is an ancient country having a profound history. Originated in the eastern area of the Yellow River Region, the country's civilization is over 5,000 years old and was considered one of four ancient civilizations of the world, along with the civilizations of the ancient Babylon, the ancient Egypt and the ancient India. The first dynasty of Chinese history started from the Xia Dynasty (2070BC-1600BC) and the last one was the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), while the most glorious period were the Qin (221BC-206BC), Han (206BC-220), Tang (618-907) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties. During thousands of years of feudal ruling, Chinese people have created brilliant science and art culture, like the Four Great Inventions, the poetry, paintings and Chinese calligraphy. Also, a great amount of cultural relics such as the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors left by ancestors have become the treasures of the nation and the wonder of the world.

Founded in 1949 by the Communist Party, the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a unified multi-ethnic country. 56 nationalities are now living in 34 direct administrative regions including 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four directly-governed city regions–Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing and two special administrative regions (SAR)–Hong Kong and Macau. The 55 ethnic minorities mainly live in Chongqing, Gansu, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Hunan, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Liaoning, Ningxia, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Yunnan. China is also the most populous country in the world. Being over 1.3 billion (in the end of 2007), the country's population is about 22 percent of the world population. The most populous part is the eastern coastal areas. Almost 94 percent of Chinese people live in the Southeast part of the country which covers 43 percent of its land area; while the other six percent people live in the northwestern areas which cover 57 percent of the territory.

Terracotta Warriors, Xian

Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Thanks to the Reform and Opening-Up Policy, China has become stronger and stronger in economy, science and technology. Currently, the nation's economy has been growing rapidly, with the GDP dramatically increasing year by year. The GDP growth rate of the first half year of 2008 has reached 10.3. In 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2012, the country successfully launched the Shenzhou-6 and 7 manned spacecrafts, the unmannned Shenzhou-8, and the Shenzhou-9 spacecraft which carried three astronauts to the outer space. In August, 2008, the XXIX Olympiad was successfully held in its capital Beijing. Most Chinese are now living a well-to-do life and enjoy their happiness in this stable and harmonious society.

HOLIDAYS

China has seven legal holidays in a year, including New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Day and National Day. The table below provides a detailed list of 2014 / 2015 / 2016 public holidays. Hope it can help you make a good plan of your China tour.

2014 / 2015 / 2016 Major Public Holiday Calendar
Name	Date	Legal Holidays	2014	2015	2016
New Year's Day	Jan. 1	1 day	Jan. 1 off	Jan. 1 - 3 off	Jan. 1 - 3 off
Spring Festival	subject to  lunation	3 days	Jan. 31 (Jan. 31 - Feb. 6 off)	Feb. 19 (Feb. 19 - 25 off)	Feb. 8 (Feb. 8 - 14 off)
Qingming	Apr. 4 or 5	1 day	Apr. 5 (Apr. 5 - 7 off)	Apr. 5 (Apr. 4 - 6 off)	Apr. 4 (Apr. 2 - 4 off)
May Day	May 1	1 day	May 1 - 3 off	May 1 - 3 off	Apr. 30 - May 2 off
Dragon Boat	5th of 5th lunar month	1 day	Jun. 2 (May 31 - Jun. 2 off)	Jun. 20 (Jun. 20 - 22 off)	Jun. 9 (Jun. 9 - 11 off)
Mid-Autumn Day	Aug. 15 of lunar calendar	1 day	Sep. 8 (Sep. 6 - 8 off)	Sep. 27 (Sep. 26 - 28 off)	Sep. 15 (Sep. 15 - 17 off)
National Day	Oct. 1	3 days (Oct. 1 - 3)	Oct. 1 - 7	Oct. 1 - 7	Oct. 1 - 7

At the above seven festivals, Chinese people can enjoy days off. Besides, they celebrate four other festivals on which some people have a half day off - Women's Day, Youth Day, Children's Day and Army Day. Many other galas and anniversaries are celebrated even without days off, such as Arbor Day and Teachers' Day.