China Overview

A China trip offers its travelers the opportunity to explore one of the world’s oldest civilizations as well as one of the world’s greatest travel destinations. The sheer enormity of China’s populous (over one billion inhabitants) invite the culturally curious visitor. But the country also boasts a rich diversity of long-preserved traditions, and the recent embrace of an erupting technological economy.

A country of contrasts, China is quickly becoming a popular tour destination for many inquisitive travelers. Known for its complex history including dynasty uprisings and constant civil wars, a growing economy and stable political atmosphere are still in conceptual infancy. As such flexibility and patience are requirements for those traveling within this nation’s borders.

Given its dramatic economic growth in recent years due to loosened restrictions previously imposed on trade and enterprises, many predict that this great culture will rise to become a world superpower in the near future. China’s most widely recognized places of interest include the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square. While the country claims some of the world’s most popular tour attractions, China has only recently begun to build an infrastructure to support foreign tourism, inviting others to come revel in the artistry of its rich history.

China contains 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Even Chinese food ranks at the top of the world’s great cuisines. China's distinct culture, identified so readily by certain unique hobbies such as acrobatics, martial arts, and calligraphy, is sure to awe and inspire any traveler in search of new experiences.

Geography

China is the fourth largest country in the world (next to Canada, Russia, and the USA) and constitutes a total land area of 9.6 million square kilometers, which is slightly smaller than the United States. China borders twelve countries, has a coastline extending for 14,500 km, and also holds claim to a large area of territorial seas.

The vast country’s climate is extremely diverse, tending to be tropical in the southern regions and subarctic in the north. Two-thirds of China's terrain is mountainous; the remaining terrain is comprised of highland plateaus, deserts in the west and plains, deltas and hills in the east. Mt. Everest, along the China Nepal border, is the nation’s highest peak at 29,035 ft. China’s landscape offers beautiful mountain views and picturesque scenes of the Yangtze River (the longest in Asia) and Yellow River.  Both rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean.  Numerous lakes dot the land. There are salt-water lakes in the northwest and fresh-water lakes in the southeast. 

Its spectacular geography has been encouraging travelers to come to the country, offering its visitors a variety of terrain to explore. Travelers will be amazed by the magnificent landscapes revealed on their China trip.

The Environment’s Role in China Tours

The fourth largest country in the world, filled with vast resources and various ecosystems, China has only just begun to scratch the surface of maintaining and respecting the land they inhabit. China travel has helped to promote maintenance, while recognition has increased the environment’s appeal to foreign visitors, as well as the general support of sustainable travel.

For China tours to continue their success, conservation efforts need to improve even further. In a country with one of the largest populations and recent fast economic growth, the environmental movement is working to alter mindsets and reverse practices that have contributed to China’s pollution problems.

China ranks lower than almost all developing countries when compared based on the Environmental Performance Index and the Environmental Sustainability Index, which has spurred many to action. China’s environmental movement, now boasting over 2,000 officially registered Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), has grown rapidly in recent years and is beginning to learn how to navigate China’s political scene.

Environmentalists have begun to move from focusing on politically neutral issues of environmental education and species protection, to influencing government policy more aggressively and holding polluting industries accountable. While environmentalists have studied and taken tips from western approaches to environmental activism, they have largely sought to find an approach based in a more holistic Chinese context. These educators try to take principles embedded in Chinese culture and philosophy and show how these ideas, such as humanity living in harmony with nature, are out of balance. Advocates working from a holistic context seek not only to protect the environment and educate citizens regarding things like pollution and watershed quality, but also to encourage improvements in gender roles and community responsibility.

China’s central government has generally maintained a supportive attitude recognizing the need to protect the environment. This leaves environmentalists optimistic about future policies and fulfilling their global obligation to protecting the environment within China’s borders.