CHINA116
The Beijing
Opera performs
traditional and
new works, mainly
with political themes.Find out more
Asia
Asia, history of
Communism
Mao zedong
Mongol empireChinese writing
consists of thousands
of symbols, each one
representing a
different word
or idea.INDUSTRY
Chinese factories have been modernized since
1949, but in comparison with the factories of Japan
or the United States, some are still old-fashioned.
However, China’s economy has grown rapidly since
the 1980s. It has set up industries in partnership
with foreign companies and encouraged private
enterprise. By 2010, it became the world’s largest
economy after the United States.
MEDICINE
Medicine in China is a mixture of East and West. Modern
surgical and drug techniques are borrowed from Europe and
the United States. However, doctors still use traditional cures
which have been popular for thousands of years, including
herbs and other natural remedies. To relieve pain, Chinese
doctors sometimes use acupuncture, a technique in which
fine needles are inserted
into specially chosen
parts of the body.
“Barefoot doctors,” or
locally trained healers,
keep people healthy in
the countryside.Buddhist monks in
Tibet spend much
time studying
and writing.A Chinese apothecary
(pharmacist) makes
use of a wide range
of natural plant and
animal cures.CULTURE
China has a rich and ancient culture: paintings
found in some Chinese tombs are more than 6,000
years old. Today, artistic traditions continue in the
form of folkdancing and music; movies, opera, and
theater are all very popular. Artists are encouraged
to produce works that depict the achievements of
the Chinese people.CHINESE LANGUAGE
Mandarin, the main language
of China, is spoken in all but
the southeast coastal areas.
Within each language there
are many dialects, or regional
variations. Although each
vocabulary is different, all
the variations are written in
the same script.HONG KONG AND MACAO
At midnight on July 29-30, 1997, Hong
Kong (above) returned to Chinese
sovereignty. The city had been a British
colony for 157 years. Two years later,
Hong Kong’s neighbor, Macao, ceased to
be a Portuguese colony. It officially came
under Chinese rule at midnight
on December 19-20, 1999.FOOD
Rice is one of the
main ingredients of
Chinese food, as are
noodles and many
vegetables. Dried foods,
soybeans, fish, and meat are also
used in Chinese cooking, which varies
considerably in the different regions
of China.
The Chinese eat
with chopsticks.
They hold both sticks in one
hand and pinch the tips
together to pick
up food.Acupuncture charts
show the positions
of meridians, or lines
of energy, where
the acupuncturist
inserts needles.Most Chinese people
work in agriculture.
However, over
10 percent of China’s
750 million-strong
workforce is employed
in industries such as
textiles (left)
and electronics.