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 Where In The World?
Where in the World is China?
It's time to get out your globe! You need to know about the imaginary lines on globes and maps. These lines are called lines of latitude and longitude, and they tell a pilot or ship's captain exactly where in the world a certain place is located. Basically, latitude lines (also called parallels) are the horizontal lines on your map. Lines of longitude (also called meridians) are the vertical lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. This mapping system is written in degrees and uses the symbol . Get ready to travel the world!
 On your globe, find longitude 105 E and latitude 30 N to find the country of China. China is a very large country, and it covers a variety of climates and land formations. To the west, there are mountains and deserts. To the east, where most of the people live, there are hills and flatlands. The climates vary from tropical to arctic. China is the fourth-largest country in land size after Russia, Canada and the United States. China borders 14 other countries, including Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea. Its population is the largest of any country in the world. There are so many people in China that 1/5 of the world's population is Chinese.
The official name of China is the People's Republic of China. The capital is Beijing. China is a communist-state government, which means that the government controls the economy. Since 1978, the government has allowed more freedom in the economy. China's main exports are cloth, crops and chemicals. Farming is important to the economy, despite the growing number of factories. China is the worlds largest producer of rice, cotton cloth, pigs, chickens and eggs. China also has many metal resources. There are many coal and iron ore deposits. China has the biggest antimony deposits in the world. Antimony is a metal used for making batteries and chemical equipment.
Though Standard Chinese is the most spoken language, China has many different languages, including Mandarin, Yue, Wu and other dialects. The Chinese people practice a variety of religions, and Buddhism is practiced by the majority.
Ashley Genova is a contributing writer from Fayetteville, NC. Sources: The World Factbook prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency; Wikipedia, "China"; Encyclopedia Brittanica Online.
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