One of, if not the, oldest civilisations in the world. It has the longest continuously used written language, although traditionally the characters were slightly different, written from top to bottom and without punctuation marks, unlike today’s simplified writing.
China covers 9,500,000 sq km of land, which by comparison is slightly smaller than the US, but has an overwhelming population of 1,330,000,000 people; over one fifth that of the world’s. With that knowledge it’s not surprising to learn that China has contributed some of the most important inventions ever. Where it may be easy to think of a world without cars, roads or telephones, it would be inconceivable to imagine one without paper and the ability to print and mass produce important literature. China also invented the compass, gunpowder, important mathematical theorems and possibly the abacus.
China is trying to become more open to the world. It is one of the most powerful nations on Earth and it is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. However, as a nation it is still only learning the basics in what most westerners would consider manners. At a glance, the people of China and their culture appear to be quite rude; in restaurants males are often topless and rince their mouths and spit on the floor. Nobody seems to appreciate the presence of strangers and there’s almost no sense of welcome unless money is involved. This doesn’t happen so much in the major cities, which tend to be more westernised, but it is consistent through the majority of China. There’s probably a reason for that culture, maybe because most cities have a population of over 7,000,000 people and it’s too busy not to to do the little things that one might consider to be manners.
Places I visited:
