China, (People's Republic of China), is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next to Canada and Russia, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, or one-fifteenth of the world's land mass. It begins from the confluence of the Heilong and Wusuli rivers (135 degrees and 5 minutes east longitude) in the east to the Pamirs west of Wuqia County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (73 degrees and 40 minutes east longitude) in the west, about 5,200 kilometers apart; and from the midstream of the Heilong River north of Mohe (53 degrees and 31 minutes north latitude) in the north to the southernmost island Zengmu'ansha in the South China Sea (4 degrees and 15 minutes north latitude), about 5,500 kilometers apart.
The border stretches over 22,000 kilometers on land and the coastline extends well over 18,000 kilometers, washed by the waters of the Bohai, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China seas. The Bohai Sea is the inland sea of China.
There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters, the largest is Taiwan, with a total area of about 36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.
China isn't a country - it's a different world. Unless you have a couple of years and unlimited patience, it's best to follow a loose itinerary here, such as following the Silk Road, sailing down the Yangzi River, or exploring the Dr Seuss landscape of Guangxi Province.
From shop-till-you-drop metropolises to the epic grasslands of Inner Mongolia, China is a land of cultural and geographic schisms. It's not that it has completely done away with its Maoist past - it's more that the yin of revolutionary zeal is being balanced by the yang of economic pragmatism.
| Zunyi
Zunyi is endowed with attractive scenery of verdant mountains and elegant waters. In January 1935, a group of political and military leaders, who were dressed in gray army uniforms and octagonal service cap, held a significant meeting here to turn around the future of the Chinese people and the Chinese revolution, which made Zunyi world-famous, and became a holy site for tens of millions of Chinese people and a sacred spotlight nationwide.
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| Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian County
The real name of the Wooden Pagoda in Yingxian County, located in the Fogong (Buddha's Palace) Temple in the northwestern corner of Yingxian County, is the Sakyamuni Pagoda.
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| Wide Goose Tower
Zunyi is endowed with attractive scenery of verdant mountains and elegant waters. In January 1935, a group of political and military leaders, who were dressed in gray army uniforms and octagonal service cap, held a significant meeting here to turn around the future of the Chinese people and the Chinese revolution, which made Zunyi world-famous, and became a holy site for tens of millions of Chinese people and a sacred spotlight nationwide.
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| Three Pagodas of Dali
The world-renown Three Pagodas of Dali arises on Cangshan Mountain slope, overlooking Erhai Lake within Dali of Yunnan Province.
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| Small Wild Goose Pagoda
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is located about 1 kilometers south of Jianfu Temple in Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province. Along with the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, it was an important landmark in Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Since it was smaller and built later than the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, it was named the Small Wild Goose Pagoda.
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| Pagoda of Six Harmonies
Standing by the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, the Pagoda of Six Harmonies was first constructed in 970 during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) by Qian Hongchu, King of the Wuyue State, who ruled the area of today's Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.
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| Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple
The Pagoda Forest at Shaolin Temple stands at the foot of Shaoshi Mountain about half a kilometer west of Shaolin Temple in Henan Province. It is a concentration of tomb pagodas for eminent monks and abbots of the temple. A rough count shows more than 240 tomb pagodas of various sizes from the Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (618-1911), making it the biggest pagoda forest in China.
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| Manfeilong Pagoda
The Manfeilong Pagoda is located on top of the mountain in Manfeilong Village in Jinhong County of Yunnan Province. The pagoda is a famous stupa group in Xishuanbanna. The white stupa looks like a white bottle gourd while the minarets look like bamboo shoots, hence the name "Bamboo Shoot Tower". Due to the white stupa, some people also called it the White Pagoda.
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| Iron Pagoda
Located in the Iron Pagoda Park in the northeast part of the Kaifeng City, the Iron Pagoda is called as the First Pagoda under Heaven by people for its exquisite architectural design and magnificent structure.
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| Haibao Pagoda in Yinchuan
Located about 1.5 kilometers northwest of downtown Yinchuan in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Haibao Pagoda Temple is one of the major Buddhist temples opened to public in China. And, the pagoda in the temple is the most ancient Buddhist architecture in Ningxia, and is among the first group of national key cultural relics sites.
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| Five-Pagoda Temple
The Five-Pagoda Temple is situated at Xizhimen Wai in Haidian District of Beijing. Its original name was the Temple of True Awakening (Zhen Jue Temple), which changed to the Temple of Great Righteous Awakening (Da Zhengjue Temple) after renovation in 1761. Today, however, it is popularly referred to as the Five-Pagoda Temple because there are five pagodas in the temple.
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| The Weiyang Palace of the Han Dynasty
Chang'an (today's Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province) was the capital of China in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), and was constructed and expanded on the basis of the Xingle Palace of the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC). The northern rampart was close to Weishui River and southern rampart was built along walls of the palace. Buildings in the Chang'an City were mainly palaces, among which the Changle Palace and the Weiyang Palace were the most famous ones.
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| The Shenyang Imperial Palace
The Shenyang Imperial Palace was built in 1625 when the Manchus declared Shenyang to be their capital. Upon founding the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Manchus moved their court to Beijing and Shenyang became the secondary capital, which was later called Shenyang Imperial Palace. The palace was enlarged and improved over the years and while its layout has the traditional Han style, it also blends with the Manchu, Mongolian and Han styles.
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| The Puppet Manchurian Imperial Palace
The Puppet Manchurian Imperial Palace was where Puyi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), lived and worked during his reign. During the Japanese occupation of Manchuria (1931-1945), Puyi was installed as the "puppet" ruler of the so-called State of Manchukuo. The Puppet Imperial Palace was built by the Japanese especially for Puyi to live and take part in political activities.
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| The Potala Palace
The Potala Palace is situated on a hill some 2 km northwest of Lhasa City, capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region. It is a world-renowned architectural group of palace-fortress style and embodies the essence of Tibetan ancient architectural arts and wisdom of the Tibetan people. It was the religious and political center of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas. From the reign of the Fifth Dalai Lama, major religious and political ceremonies were all held here.
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| The Lama Temple
In the northeast corner of the old city of Beijing lies a group of buildings with yellow roofs bounded by a red wall. It is the famous Yonghe Palace, or the Lama Temple, covering an area of 66,400 square meters. This temple is listed as significant historical site protected by the national government.
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| The Jianzhang Palace
The site of Chang'an, capital of the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), is located 5 kilometers north of today's downtown Xi'an.
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| The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City, now called the Palace Museum, is located in the center of Beijing. Starting in 1420, the Forbidden City was the home to 24 Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). Now, it has developed into the Palace Museum, which displays art treasures of the past dynasties and is the richest treasury of cultures and arts in China.
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| Daming Palace
The luxurious Daming Palace was one of the three large imperial architectural complexes inside Chang'an (today's Xi'an City of Shaanxi Province) of the Tang Dynasty (618-907): the Daming Palace in the east, Taiji Palace in the west and Xingqing Palace in the south. Of the three, the Daming Palace has the largest scale.
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| The Changle Palace
Chang'an (today's Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province) was originally a county neighboring Xianyang on the southern side of Weihe River in the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC). As a communications hub, it later became a strategic place many military commanders scrambled for. Suggested by his talented minister Zhang Liang, Liu Bang established his capital in Chang'an.
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