Page 15 - Study Report_PH Amila Nishani Piyasingha

History

China is one of the world's oldest civilizations. Over 5,000 years, it

developed from primitive society to socialist society. The start of Qin
Dynasty in 221BC marked the rise of federalism that ruled China for over

2400 years. The Year 1949 saw the founding of the People's Republic of
China, a new page has been unfolded from them.

Population

With an estimated population of over 1.3 billion, China is known as the

world's most populous country. To control the growth of population, a
family planning policy has been introduced since 1970s, which is

however loosened in recent year due to aged population.

Ethnic Groups

There are 56 ethnic groups in China. Although the Han people constitute
the 92 percent of the total population, there are 96.5 million ethnic

minority people living in China, mainly in mountainous areas. Some

ethnic groups have a population of more than one million, such as
Zhuang, Hui, Uyghur, Miao, Tibetan, etc. Sometimes it's possible to tell

what ethnic group a person belongs to from costume.

Religion

In China, there are various religious beliefs and practices, including
Buddhism, Taoism (native), Islam, and Christianity. Tibetans practice

Tibetan Buddhism and most Muslims live in northwest region. Citizens

have the freedom to choose and express their own religious faith.

Language

The national language of China is Chinese, which is also the most widely
spoken language in the world. Chinese is composed of Mandarin (the

most popular one) and many other dialects.