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China
China is the most populous
country on the planet and one of the oldest civilization on Earth. It is
also the fourth largest country in the world.
Facts about China
Official name: People's Republic of China
National capital: Beijing
Official languages: Chinese
National anthem: March of the Volunteers
Independence: 1949
National holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of
China, October 1st
Currency: Yuan (renmenbi)
Government Type: Communist state
President: Hu Jintao
Vice-president: Zeng Qinghong
Premier: Wen Jiabao
Political party: Chinese Communist Party
Human Development Index (HDI): 96th (2000)
Life expectancy at birth: 71.86 years
GDP per capita: $4600
Major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing
Population: 1284.303 million
(2002)
Area: 9596960 square kilometres
Longest river: Chang Jiang (also called Yangtze River)
Highest mountain: Mount Everest (shared with Nepal)
March of the Volunteers
This song was composed by Nie
Er in 1932, one year after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and was
dedicated to the volunteers who rose to defend the nation long before
Japan formally declared war on China. In 1934, Nieh Erh went to continue
his musical studies in Japan, where he was murdered. He was 24 years old
at the time of his death. His song was later adopted as the national
anthem of the People's Republic of China. The lyrics was written by Tian
Han. 
Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves;
With our very flesh and blood
Let us build our new Great Wall!
The peoples of China are in the most critical time,
Everybody must roar his defiance.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Millions of hearts with one mind,
Brave the enemy's gunfire, March on!
Brave the enemy's gunfire, March on!
March on! March on, on!
Links
Government of China
Chinatoday.com
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The world's most spoken
languages (first language speakers only):
1. Chinese (Mandarin) 14.37%
2. Hindi 6.02%
3. English 5.61%
4. Spanish 5.59%
5. Bengali 3.4%
6. Portuguese 2.63%
7. Russian 2.75%
8. Japanese 2.06%
9. German (Standard) 1.64%
10. Korean 1.28%
11. French 1.27% |
