Chinese Names

The names of Chinese people have their own tradition and characteristics. Unlike westerners, the family name in China is put first, followed by the given name. Interestingly a feme covert does not use her husband's family name. The given name usually contains one or two Chinese characters but in order to avoid confusion between namesakes, newly-born babies are now entitled to be given names of three characters.

Given Name
Chinese names are meant to convey special meaning, with the given names often expressing the best of wishes on the new-born. Some imply the birthplace, birth time or natural phenomenon, like Jing (Beijing), Chen (morning), Dong (winter) and Xue (snow); Some embody the hope of virtue, like Zhong (faithful), Yi (righteous), Li (courteous) and Xin (reliable) while others express the wishes of life, like Jian (health), Shou (longevity), and Fu (happiness).

Family Name

Altogether some 22,000 family names have been used in China but over time, some of them have become reserved and only 3,500 are commonly used nowadays. The most popular three surnames in China are Li, Wang and Zhang, respectively occupying about 7.9%, 7.4% and 7.1% of the whole Chinese population. There are 270 million Chinese people who own one of these top three surnames.

Among all the Chinese family names, 100 common ones cover almost 87% of the total population. Of these, 19 are more popular than others, including Li, Wang, Zhang, Liu, Chen, Yang, Zhao, Huang, Zhou, Wu, Xu, Sun, Hu, Zhu, Gao, Lin, He, Guo and Ma, and represent about half of the whole Chinese people.

Some Chinese people have compound surnames, consisting of two Chinese characters, like Ou Yang, Tai Shi, Duan Mu, Shang Guan, Si Ma, Dong Fang, Du Gu, Nan Gong, among others. Now there are altogether 81 compound surnames existing in China.

All Chinese people have equal rights to use their own names, which are legally protected. Generally speaking, a child is always entitled to the surname of his father. However, children nowadays in China do not have to use their father's surname; they can adopt that of their mother. Nicknames are often called in their childhood or by their confidants.

Addressing Chinese People
It is considered to be polite and respectful to address a Chinese people by his/her surname, followed by honorific titles like Xian1 Sheng1 (Sir), Nv3 Shi4 (Madam) or the job position. Given names are often called between good friends. Xiao3 Jie4 nowadays is considered to be an offensive way to address Chinese young ladies. Below is the general way to address various Chinese people.

English	Chinese Pinyin
Mr. Li	Li Xian1 Sheng1
Mrs. Wang	Wan Nv3 Shi4
Ms. Zhang	Zhang Nv3 Shi4
President Hu	Hu Zhu3 Xi2
Minister Wen	Wen Zong3 Li3
Manager Wang	Wang Jing1 Li3

Mandarin

As one of the six official languages used by UN (United Nations), Chinese now has earned itself greater status in the World. The official language of China is the Mandarin (Standard Chinese), which is the very name of 'Hanyu' or 'Putonghua', belonging to Sino-Tibetan.

Putonghua, standard form of modern Chinese, is a parlance in mainland China. It is the common language of all modern Han nationality people. In Taiwan Province and Hong Kong, it is called 'Guoyu' while in Singapore and Malaysia, it is often called 'Huayu'.

Mandarin Chinese is shaped and based on the Beijing dialect and other dialects spoken in the northern areas of China. Students are often taught Chinese language as 'Yuwen' in their schoolbooks. It is beyond all doubt that Chinese is the language used as a mother tongue by the most people accounting for about one fifth of the world's population. Chinese once had very great influence on some peripheral countries with their languages and characters, such as Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese.

English is a required course and universal education in China and has great popularity. Nowadays many Chinese people can speak basic English, especially the youth, students, and staff of service trades like hotels, restaurants, airlines, banks and post offices. In large cities there are more people who can communicate with foreigners in English than smaller towns & cities. Some may master a second foreign language like French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish. However, in rural or remote areas, few people can speak English or other foreign languages.

Dialects

With a vast territory and huge population, China has many different dialects which are of great complexity. Divided into official and non-official dialects, they vary between different areas. The official dialects generally refer to the northern dialects, while the non-official dialects are often spoken in the southeast part of China. Below is a table showing the Chinese dialects in detail:

Categories	Dialects	Spoken in Areas of China
Official	North China	Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei Province, Henan Province, Shandong Province, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Part of Inner Mongolia
	Northwest China	Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, Part of Qinghai Province, Ningxia Province and Inner Mongolia
	Southwest China	Most areas of Hubei Province (southeastern and eastern parts excluded ), Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, Sichuan Province, north sides of Hunan Province and Guangxi Province
	Yangtze-HuaiRiver	Areas along the northern and southern banks of Yangtze River in Anhui Province, Northern areas of Yangtze River in Jiangsu Province (Huizhou excluded), Southern areas of Yangtze River (northernmost to Nanjing and southernmost to Zhenjiang)
Non-official	Wu	Southern part of Jiangsu Province; Zhejiang Province
	Gan	JiangxiProvince
	Xiang	HunanProvince; northern part of Guangxi Province
	Yue	GuangdongProvince; Southeast part of Guangxi Province
	Min	FujianProvince; Taiwan Province; Guangdong Province (Chaozhou, Shantou), Hainan Province
	Hakka	Eastern and northern part of Guangdong Province; Western part of Fujian Province; Southern part of Jiangxi Province; Taiwan Province

Due to the differences between each of the Chinese dialects, there are obvious obstacles to people speaking their own dialects and communicating with each other, especially among the non-official Chinese dialects.

Characters

The Chinese character has more than 3,000 years of history. It is a kind of hieroglyphic which originated from carapace-bone-script in the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC). It then developed into different forms of calligraphic handwritings like large seal script, small seal script, official script, regular script, cursive script and running script.

There are altogether 80,000 Chinese words or so that originate from ancient times; however, only about 3,000 words for daily use are available to express over 99% of the information in written form because a Chinese word contains many different meanings. The Chinese character is now of two kinds – Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. Simplified Chinese are often used in mainland China, Singapore, and oversea Chinese communities in Southeast Asia, while the latter is often accepted in Taiwan Province, Hong Kong, Macau and oversea Chinese communities in North America.

Minorities

Actually the Mandarin and Chinese characters used by Han people are also the common language for other minorities. Among all the 55 Chinese ethnic minorities, the people of Hui and Man nationalities also use Mandarin Chinese and its characters. 29 ethnic minorities have their own traditional languages like Tibetan, Yi, Mongol, Uygur, Kazak, Lahu, Chaoxian and Kirgiz. Some minorities, like Dai nationality and Jingpo nationality, use even more than one kind of language and characters.

China Ethnic Holidays

China is a large country with 55 ethnic minorities. Because of the differences in living environments, history and customs, characteristic festivals are held by the ethnic minorities besides the Spring Festival , and Mid-autumn Festival that the Han Chinese celebrate. All these traditional ethnic minority festivals are regarded as indispensable components of the minorities' customs.

It is estimated that more than 1,200 of the 1,700 Chinese festivals are ethnic minorities' festivals. Each festival there is based on its own origin or legend, and a single festival can also have different origins. Some of these festivals are related to religions and beliefs, such as the Corban Festival and Kaizhai Festival, whereas others are linked to entertainment activities, such as the Nadam Fair of Mongolia and the Tibetan New Year.

Some of the ethnic minority festivals are so grand and influential that they attract spectators from far away. The following are some of the representative festivals:

Festival	Ethnic Minority	Date
Water-Splashing Festival	Dai	April 14th to 16th
Torch Festival	Yi, Bai, Naxi, etc.	24th to 26th day of the sixth lunar month
Knife-Pole Festival	Lisu	2nd day of the second lunar month
Bullfight Festival	Miao	25th day of the first lunar month
Adult Ceremony	Jino	The day girls turn 15 years old and boys 16 years old
March Fair	Bai, Yi, Hui, Zang, etc	15th to 21st day of the third lunar month
Nadam Fair	Mongolian	July or August
End of Ramadan	Hui, Uygur, Kazak, etc.	The beginning of the tenth month on the Islamic calendar
Corban Festival	Hui, Uygur, Kazak, etc.	The tenth day of the twelfth month on the Islamic calendar

China Holidays

Chinese people legally enjoy over 115 days off including 104 days of weekends and 11 days of festivals. Employees have 5 to 15 days of paid annual leave. Students and teachers have summer and winter vacations for about three months. The summer vacation in China generally starts around July 1st and ends around August 31st, and the winter vacation usually falls on January or Februry according to the date of the Spring Festival.

Public Holiday Calendar
China has 7 legal holidays in a year, including New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. At the festivals, all Chinese people will be on vacation. The table below provides detailed information of 2010 / 2011 public holidays. Hope it can help you make a good plan of your China tour.

2010 / 2011 Major Public Holiday Calendar
Festival	Date	Legal Holidays	Holidays of 2010	Holidays of 2011
New Year's Day	Jan. 1	1 day	Jan. 1- 3	Jan. 1- 3
Spring Festival	subject to the lunation	3 days	Feb. 14. The holiday is Feb. 13 - 19	Feb. 3. The holiday is Feb. 2 - 8
Qingming Festival	Apr. 4 or 5	1 day	Apr. 5. The holiday is Apr. 3 - 5.	Apr. 5. The holiday is Apr. 3 - 5.
May Day	May 1	1 day	May 1 - 3	May 1 - 3
Dragon Boat Festival	the 5th day of the 5th lunar month	1 day	Jun. 16. The holiday is Jun. 14 - 16.	Jun. 6. The holiday is Jun. 4 - 6.
Mid-Autumn Day	Aug. 15 according to the lunar calendar	1 day	Sep. 22. The holiday is Sep. 22 - 24.	Sep. 12. The holiday is Sep. 10 - 12.
National Day	Oct. 1	3 days (Oct. 1 - 3)	Oct. 1 - 7	Oct. 1 - 7

Besides the 7 legals festivals on which all people can enjoy days off, Chinese people celebrate four other festivals on which some people have a half day off - Women's Day, Youth Day, Children's Day and Army Day. Many other festivals and anniversaries are celebrated even without days off, such as Arbor Day and Teachers' Day.

Categories of Chinese Holidays
Due to the long history and glorious culture of China, the Chinese people celebrate a great many festivals which can be divided into the following four major categories: national holidays designated by the government to commemorate some special events; traditional festivals - a reflection of the traditional Chinese customs; ethnic minority festivals unique to specific Chinese ethnic groups; tourism festivals associated with renowned Chinese scenic spots. Various holidays show a window through which Chinese culture and daily life can be seen vividly.

Tips for Traveling in 'Golden Weeks'
Among all the Chinese holidays, there are two 'Golden Weeks' - Spring Festival Week and National Day Week. Both of the two holidays last for three days but by combining two weekends with them, people benefit from seven consecutive days off. During these two weeks, most people go out and enjoy themselves in a great variety of ways with a resultant boost to the economy, hence the nickname 'Golden Week'. Hotel rooms, train tickets or air tickets will definitely be in great demand then. Therefore, we recommend that people who are planning China tour packages avoid these Golden Weeks in view of the huge crowds that gather at the major tourist attractions.

China

China, an ancient, mysterious and beautiful land, is always appealing to adventurous foreign visitors. As the third largest country in the world occupying an area of 9,600,000 sq km, it spans 62 degrees of longitude and 49 degrees of latitude. A wide variety of terrain and climate shape its numerous natural attractions. Abundant in a variety of resources, plants, animals, and minerals, the land has nurtured countless generations of Chinese people.

China Great Wall

One of China's greatest treasures is her long, rich history. As early as 1.7 million years ago, the earliest humans evolved on this land. The first dynasty, the Xia Dynasty, dates to about the 21st century BC. For 4,000 years, feudalism was the dominant economic and cultural model. Then, in 1911, the revolution led by Sun Yat-sen brought the monarchy to an end. On October 1st, 1949, modern China was founded as the 'People's Republic of China'. Since then, China has developed independently and vigorously. Most recently, reform and opening-up policy has energized life in China.

China is proud of her many people, long history, resplendent culture and distinctive customs. Among her greatest gifts to the world are the 'four great inventions' (paper, gunpowder, printing and the compass) . Chinese arts and crafts, including painting, calligraphy, operas, embroidery and silk are distinctive and unique. Martial arts, which have only recently begun to enjoy popularity in other parts of the world have been part of Chinese culture for centuries, and Chinese literature is testifies to the country's rich heritage. And, of course, there is Chinese cuisine, which has been exported to every corner of the globe.

Basic Details:

Full Name: The People's Republic of China

Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Area: 9,600,000 sq km

Population: 1.3 billion (as of 2004)

Capital City: Beijing

National Flag: Five-Stars-Red-Flag

Location: middle and East Asia, bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean

Territorial Seas: the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and the South China Sea

Climate: mainly continental monsoon climate (Tibet: vertical climate zone)

People: Han Chinese (93.3%), plus 55 ethnic groups like Miao, Li, Mongolian

Language: Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua) based on Beijing dialect, plus local dialects

Main Religions and Beliefs: officially atheist, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam (over 22 million), Catholicism (over 4 million) and Protestantism (over 10 million)

Currency and Monetary Unit : Renminbi/Yuan

Form of Government: system of National People's Congress

Administrative Demarcations: 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 Special Administrative Regions

Chinese President: Hu Jintao

China History

China, one of the countries that can boast of an ancient civilization, has a long and mysterious history - almost 5,000 years of it! Like most other great civilizations of the world, China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded till they became the great country we have today.

It is recorded that Yuanmou man is the oldest hominoid in China and the oldest dynasty is Xia Dynasty. From the long history of China, there emerge many eminent people that have contributed a lot to the development of the whole country and to the enrichment of her history. Among them, there are emperors like Li Shimin (emperor Taizong of the Tang), philosophers like Confucius, great patriotic poets like Qu Yuan and so on.

Chinese society has progressed through five major stages - Primitive Society, Slave Society, Feudal Society, Semi-feudal and Semi-colonial Society, and Socialist Society. The rise and fall of the great dynasties forms a thread that runs through Chinese history, almost from the beginning. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st, 1949, China has become a socialist society and become stronger and stronger.

List of Chinese Dynasties

Chinese Dynasties	Period
Prehistorical Times	1.7 million years - the 21st century BC
Xia Dynasty	21st - 17th century BC
Shang Dynasty	17th - 11th century BC
Zhou Dynasty	Western Zhou (11th century BC - 771 BC)
	Eastern Zhou ---- Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC - 476 BC) ---- Warring States Period (476 BC - 221 BC)
Qin Dynasty	221 BC - 207 BC
Han Dynasty	Western Han (206 BC - 24 AD)
	Eastern Han (25 - 220)
Three Kingdoms Period	220 - 280
Jin Dynasty	Western Jin (265 - 316)
	Eastern Jin (317 - 420)
Northern and Southern Dynasties	Northern Dynasties (386 - 581)
	Southern Dynasties (420 - 589)
Sui Dynasty	581 - 618
Tang Dynasty	618 - 907
Five Dynasties and Ten States	Five Dynasties ---- Later Liang (907 - 923) ---- Later Tang (923 - 936) ---- Later Jin (936 - 946) ---- Later Han (947 - 951) ---- Later Zhou (951 - 960)
	Ten States (902 - 979)
Song Dynasty	Northern Song (960 - 1127)
	Southern Song (1127 - 1279)
Liao Dynasty	916 --- 1125
Jin Dynasty	1115 --- 1234
Yuan Dynasty	1271 --- 1368
Ming Dynasty	1368 --- 1644
Qing Dynasty	1644 --- 1911