China is either the third or fourth largest country in the whole world. It might seem funny that we don’t know whether it is third or fourth largest, but this is because there is land between China and India that both countries believe belong to them. If the land belongs to China, it is the third largest country. If the land belongs to India, China is fourth, because the United States would be bigger than it. Because China is so big, the land is very different depending on where in the country you go. There are mountains, jungle, rivers, cities, oceans, plains, and everything in between!
population
China has the largest population in the world…over 1 billion people! Talk about a lot of people. That’s more than three times as many as the number that lives in the United States!
capital city & important cities
The capital city of China in Beijing (which sounds like this: “Bay-jing”). China has changed its capital several times over the years. Some of the other major cities in China are Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongquing, and Hong Kong.
flag
The flag of China is red with a big gold star in one corner, and four smaller stars beside it. This has been the flag for China since 1949.
food
Chinese food is very popular in parts of the world outside of China, but the “Chinese food” that most of us know is different from the food they eat there. Chinese food usually includes rice and food that is cut into bite-sized pieces, and just like in Chinese food restaurants, they Chinese usually eat with chopsticks. While we might think it’s hard to eat with chopsticks, they might think it’s hard to eat with a fork!
music-dance
Music is a very, very big part of Chinese culture! For a long time music has been a feature of everyday life, and as the music changes all over the world, Chinese music is doing the same. Chinese rock has become popular in China, and instrumental music has always been important to the people of China. Not only to Chinese musicians use the instruments that we are used to seeing, but they also use things like bamboo pipes and gongs!
currency
The Chinese use the Renminbi for their money, and the main currency is the Yuan. The word Renminbi means “People’s currency.”
language
The main language spoken in China is not called “Chinese,” as some people think, but is actually called “Standard Mandarin.” There are also some different languages spoken in other parts of China, and the study of English has become popular for students who want to learn a second language.
Online Chinese lessons for kids: dinolingo.com
