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China is the world's fourth largest country for inbound tourism. The number of overseas tourists was 55 million in 2007. Foreign exchange income was 41.9 billion U.S. dollars, the world's fifth largest in 2007. The number of domestic tourist visits totaled 1.61 billion, with a total income of 777.1 billion yuan.
According to the WTO, in 2020, China will become the largest tourist country and the fourth largest for overseas travel. In terms of total outbound travel spending, China is currently ranked fifth and is expected to be the fastest growing in the world from 2006 to 2015, jumping into the number two slot for total travel spending by 2015.
Travel within China has become easier in recent years with the lifting of travel controls, massive investment in transportation facilities such as roads, railways and airlines, and the rapid rise in incomes. The number of domestic tourists increased from 695 million in 1998 to 878 million in 2002, boosting domestic tourism receipts from Rmb239.1 billion (US$28.9 billion) to Rmb387.8 billion (US$46.9 billion).
The most popular tourist attraction in China is the Great Wall of China. Also popular are the Forbidden City in Beijing, which was the center of Chinese Imperial power, and the Terracotta Army of the Qin Dynasty Emperor's mausoleum in Xi'an, a vast collection of full-size terracotta statues of Chinese Imperial soldiers and others.
* The Bund, Shanghai, an elegant parade along the Huangpu River of colonial architecture juxtaposed with Shanghai's skyscrapers
* Caohai Lake, Guizhou, where many experience being punted along this shallow lake to see many of China's varied birdlife
* Changbai Mountains, an important nature reserve home to the rare Siberian Tiger
* Confucius Mansion, the site of this complex in Qufu, Shandong, was home to nearly eighty generations of the great sage's clan.
* Dazu Rock Carvings
* Forbidden City, Beijing, once the center of the 'Chinese imperial universe' and off-limits to the masses - now open to all
* Grand Canal of China
* Great Wall of China
* Guangzhou, Guangdong where the finest of the classic Cantonese breakfast dim sum is tried
* The Hanging Temple at Mount Heng is a temple clinging to a precipice and a series of grottoes containing a panoply of Buddhist statuary
And Much More...
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Official Name:
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhong Guo
int'l short form: China
(traditional Chinese: 中國; simplified Chinese: 中国; Pinyin: Zhōngguó
int'l long form: People's Republic of China
abbreviation: P.R.C. (People's Republic of China)
ISO Country Code: cn
Country Calling Code: +86
Capital City: Beijing (pop 7,362,426)
Beijing Municipal Government.
Government:
Type: Communist party-led state
Constitution: 4 December 1982.
Head of state: President Hu Jintao
Independence: Unification under the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221 BC;
Qing (Ch'ing or Manchu) Dynasty replaced by a republic on 12 February 1912;
People's Republic established 1 October 1949.
Geography:
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Total area: 9.6 million sq. km. (about 3.7 million sq. mi.), third largest country in the world, slightly smaller than the US and almost as large as the combined nations of Europe.
Terrain: Plains, deltas, and hills in east; mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west.
Climate: From tropical in south to subarctic in north.
Currency: Yuan Renminbi (CNY) |
