In the foundation of the People’s Republic during the last mid-century, around half a billion people lived in China. Today, it is the most populous country in the world with over a billion people, more than the USA and Africa combined.
language training in china
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Beijing
Beijing is the capital city of the People’s Republic of China and also the country’s political and cultural centre. Due to its three thousand year history, the city plays host to a globally unique cultural heritage.
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Shanghai
Once known as the ‘Paris of the East’, the city today is making a comeback as a cosmopolitan and culturally sophisticated metropolis. The world’s largest port is also found in Shanghai.
ANOTHER WORLD
At first glance, China does not appear to be a country but a very different world of geographic and cultural contrasts. The spectrum spans gigantic mega-cities with an overabundance of merchandise, well-preserved monuments of imperial dynasties, holy mountains, impressive caves, and the vastness of Inner Mongolia with its sparse desert devoid of people. Towards the end of the 1970’s, China began to open up to the Western world. She is therefore no longer a “far distant land” although some regions, to the outsider looking in, still appear full of mystery. The contrasts in this land are distinct, including the beauty of the countryside. A trip to China is a chance to encounter 4000 years of history and a foreign culture and way of thinking. The Great Wall stands out as the most impressive landmark of the People’s Republic of China. It is an absolute must-see for every traveller to China. UNESCO has placed China’s Great Wall, an outstanding man-made wonder, on the list of world culture and heritage monuments. Other outstanding monuments of the country are the Yuanmingyuan Garden, the Dajue Temple, the Guyau Caves, the Imperial Palace of Beijing, the ‘Temple of White Clouds, the Yungang Grottoes and Wulingyuan, a landscape in the north west of Hunan Province. China has a much to visit and see, once you have learned the art of making your way through masses of people, quickly ducking the thoughtless spitting of passers-by. If one had to name China’s unofficial symbols, without fail, you would have to mention the bicycle. Since there are more than 300 million of them in China, borrowing one is never a problem. You can find everything from a rickety old ‘forever’ brand bicycle to the most modern mountain bike. Even in little towns on the outskirts of tourist areas, you find places that rent you a bicycle. After all, even those people just passing through would like to pedal around and discover the local flavour.
