Summer in Beijing: Chinese Language & Business
Host Country & City
Everything about China is big. Its population, 1.3 billion, is the
largest in the world. Its area 3,705,405 square miles (9,596,960
square kilometers) is the fourth largest, after that of Russia,
Canada, and the US, while it also has the world's largest labor force,
with 803,300,000 workers.
China has one of the world's oldest
people and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures
dating back more than six millennia. It has the world's longest
continuously used written language system, and is the source of such
major inventions like paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
Historically China's cultural sphere has been very influential in East
Asia as a whole, with Chinese religion, customs, and writing system
being adapted, to varying degrees, by its neighbors Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam. It is a multi-religious country where Buddhism, Taoism, Islam,
Catholicism and Protestantism co-exist, with the first three being more
wide spread.
The People's Republic of China is a unified,
multi-national country, comprising 56 nationalities. The Han people
make up 91.02 percent of the total population, leaving 8.98 percent for
the other 55 ethnic minorities.
Undoubtedly, as China grows and
develops it becomes more and more influential, while with its human
resources and development rate it will soon became one of the dominant
players in the world scene. By becoming acquainted with the Chinese
language and culture you will be a step forward in embracing the forces
that will be shaping the future.
Beijing
Beijing
is China's capital and second largest city, after Shanghai. It is
recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the
country, while Shanghai and Hong Kong predominate in economic fields.
Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China. Before
1949, the city was known as Peking in the Western world, while after
that the city's name returned to Beijing.
It is believed that
Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from
1710 to 1825. Now it is the 17th largest city in the world with a
population of about 17 million.
Most Beijing residents belong
to the Han Chinese majority. Other ethnic minorities include the
Manchu, Hui, and Mongol. A sizeable international community exists in
Beijing, mostly attracted by the fast growing foreign business and
trade sector. Many foreigners live in the densely populated northern
and eastern sections.
Overall, Beijing is a remarkable city to
study abroad in and will give you insight into China's past, present
and future. You will witness thousands of years of art, culture and
history that are rooted in Beijing's long-standing place in the center
of Chinese society. At the same time, Beijing is the political and
cultural hub of present-day China and, as such, is setting the pace of
China's current modernization, development and growth.
