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IT IS AN EXTREMELY DAUNTING TASK to introduce China, my homeland, and its people all in just a few pages. As one of the world's oldest civilizations, China has occupied an important place in human history, and it continues to play a critical role in today's world.
China is located in eastern Asia. It extends eastward into the Pacific Ocean and shares borders with numerous countries, including Russia, Afghanistan, and India. Its total land area is about 9.6 million square kilometers (3.7 million square miles), a size similar to that of the United States. In China, one can find mountains, high plateaus, and deserts in the West whereas plains, deltas, and hills are found in the East. The climate in China varies greatly from region to region. Farthest north, the climate is subarctic with no summer throughout the year, while there is no winter farthest south. China includes twenty-three provinces, five autonomous regions, and four municipalities. Hong Kong and Macao are its two special administrative regions. Beijing is its capital. People in different regions speak different dialects of Chinese. The official Chinese language is called Putonghua (the common language) or Mandarin. Everyone learns to speak, listen, read, and write Mandarin at school. Having the same national language allows people from all over the country to understand one another without difficulty.
China has a chronicled history of more than five thousand years. It experienced an extended period of primitive society and slavery before Qin Shihuang, the first emperor, united the land and established the first dynasty in China in 221 B.C.E. Since...