China as part of Asia
China is located on the continent of Asia in the region known as the Far East. Some of China's neighbors include Mongolia to the north; India, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam to the south; and Korea and Japan to the east. Chinese traditions and customs have had an impact on these surrounding countries, just as these countries' traditions have influenced China.

Buddhism is one of the religions which tie several of these countries together. Originating in India in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C., Buddhism reached China by the 1st century A.D., and finally arrived in Japan in the mid-6th century. Chinese Buddhist temples are reflected in the classical temple compounds preserved in Japan (Tregear, p 70).

Guanyin, Enthroned with her Acolytes
17th century
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) or early Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Blanc de Chine porcelain
© Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
Bequest of Forrest R. Brauer.
photo: Katherine Wetzel.

Much like religion, art forms are shared throughout Asia. Specifically, calligraphy - the art of the written character - originated during the second millennium B.C. in China, and later influenced the writing of. Japanese Kanji has a direct connection with Chinese calligraphy and often shares the same specific character forms and meanings.

In the 13th century, China began exporting tea and silk in exchange for gold, silver and spices from Japan and Indonesia. Japanese monks, diplomats and traders had a high regard for Chinese celadon ware, (a type of pottery) and took pieces back as treasures. Japanese monks also took dark glazed tea bowls and black wares back to Japan. These wares had a great influence upon Japanese ceramics.

The art of making kites dates back 4,000 years ago to China. Kite making was soon adopted and transformed by other Asian and Pacific Island countries. Historically used in religious ceremonies, kites were later used to recall historical events, and were eventually utilized for military purposes.

By the 9th century, images were being printed in China. Block printing from woodcuts originated in China and became a highly developed art form in Japan in the 17th century. "Japanese woodblock prints are made through a complex process that uses multiple blocks to achieve subtle and rich color affects" (Preble, Preble, p. 141). Hokusai, a world-renowned Japanese printmaker who lived in the 19th century, used as many as 20 woodblocks for each of his prints (Preble, Preble, p 141).

Geography
China is the third largest country in the world; only Canada and Russia are larger. Nearly a quarter of the world's population lives in China. More people live in China than any other country. Most of those people live in eastern China.

• Population: 1.3 billion (1 out of every 5 people live in China).
• China has 4 times the number of people as the United States.
• Capital: Beijing (sometimes called Peking), is the 2nd largest Chinese city, with a population of 10 million.
• Largest city: Shanghai.
• China is bordered by 14 countries including: India to the west; Mongolia and Russia to the north; Vietnam and Laos to the south; and the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea to the east.
• Language: is officially Mandarin Chinese, but there are thousands of dialects, some of which are unique to their respective regions.
• Major religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
• Currency: Yuan - it takes more than 8 Yuan to equal 1 U.S. dollar.

China covers one-fifth of Asia, it stretches across almost 3.7 million square miles. The country of China encompasses diverse landscapes and climates.

• Mountains, deserts, and plateaus make up the dry, western part.
• The Himalayan Mountains (the world's tallest mountains) and the Tibetan Plateau are in southwestern China.
• The highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest (part of the Himalayan Mountains), is 29,028 feet.
• Northwestern China is covered by the Gobi Desert.
• Camels, oases, and huge sand dunes are found in the Gobi Desert, which is surrounded by mountains.
• The Gobi Desert is very hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter.
• Much of eastern China is made up of hills, plains, and river valleys.
• Farmers in eastern China grow wheat in the north and rice in the south.
• Coastal plains extend along the coast of the South and East China Seas; the weather is warm and wet; 90% of China's people live in these areas.

Half of the working people in China are farmers. That is a very high percentage of farmers for a country that has very little land suitable for farming. In many regions of China the land is too steep, cold, or dry to support crops. The Chinese need to farm every bit of land they can. They often plant one type of crop between rows of others, so they can produce as many crops as possible. They even grow food on sides of roads and railway lines. Some farms are located in the middle of cities.

• The plains of northern China are covered with fertile topsoil that produces mainly wheat.
• The plains also produce good crops of beans, potatoes, cabbages, tomatoes, melons, onions, corn, and millet.
• China also produces more cotton than any other country in the world.
• Southeast China is the most productive agricultural region - the soil is extremely rich and the weather is so mild that crops can grow all year round.
• One third of China's rice crop is grown in the southeast - this area is called "China's rice bowl."
• Peanuts, lichens, citrus fruits, sweet peas, sugar cane, and tea are also grown in the southeast.
• Most of China's farming is done without modern machinery - tractors are only used on half the farms in the country.

China has two great rivers. The Huang He or Yellow River and the Chang Jiang, sometimes called the Yangtze River, both begin in central China.

• China's longest river: Yangtze (Chang Jiang) is 3,237 miles long.
• Some sources report the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) as being the 2nd largest river in the world, while others report it as being the 3rd largest in the world.
• The Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) flows into the East China Sea.
• Chang Jiang means "long river."
• The Yellow River (Huang He) is the 6th largest river in the world and flows into the Yellow Sea.
• The Chinese call the Yellow River "China's Sorrow."
• The Yellow River has overflowed more than 1,500 times over the past 3,000 years, causing much damage and costing many lives.
• To control floods, the Chinese have built high banks of earth along the edges of their rivers. Both rivers flow from the high western mountains to the lower eastern regions.