History & Culture in China

China consists one of the world’s most significant ancient civilizations but still manages to keep up a viciously progressive modern landscape. From ancient regal dynasties that were housed in the forbidden palace to the firmly controlled socialist regime of the modern-day China, the country has had a fascinating culture and history that demands attention from the outside world.

Did you know these facts about China?
-Football (soccer) was developed in China
- The Chinese New year festivity goes on for 15 days
- Chinese lanterns are the symbol of long life
- Martial arts in China were developed from ancient farming and hunting methods
- Facebook has been restricted in China since 2009
- Ice cream was invented in China 4000 years back.
- China is home to a group of antiquated stone columns called the stone woodland.
- China's Leshan Giant Buddha, a marvelous stone statue, has 5.5m long eyebrows
- The Forbidden City a royal residence complex in Bejing contains around 9000 rooms.

History
China is perhaps the structure of Asian civilization, as support of human settlements along the Yellow River Valley that date back to thousands of years. The country became unified by its First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, in 221 BC. Fifteen years later, China embraced a new dynasty led by Emperor Han, which rose to be the first golden age for the country. Standardized measurement, currency, written symbols, and the invention of significant products like paper and gunpowder helped China experience a period of rapid growth.

For about 2,000 years, a majestic framework was utilized in China, until the fall of the Qing tradition in 1911. This wasn’t an overnight surprise though, as decades prior to their demise colonial powers had begun to tear away parts of the vast empire, such as Hong Kong’s succession to the British, and Taiwan’s succession to Japan.

The Republic of China was founded in 1911 by Sun Yat-Sen, but turbulence followed as the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initiated conflicts with each other. KMT eventually gained control of Eastern China and prior to the Second World War, industrialized, strengthened and globalized cities like Shanghai which quickly became Asia’s grandest metropolis.

During the war with Japan, China surrendered a lot of its northern domain to the Japanese. Brutal massacres occurred, but with the combined KMT and CCP forces, plus allied assistance, China threw off Japanese occupation in 1945. Not out of the woods, civil war between the democratic and communist parties began almost immediately, lasting until 1949. The KMT were defeated and fled to Taiwan. Meanwhile, on mainland China, Mao Zedong’s communist party created the People’s Republic of China on October 1.

Despite an ‘up and down’ economy under Mao’s rule, China remains a communist state even today. Nevertheless, following President Mao’s death in 1978, new leaders began to establish Special Economic Zones and operate decentralized economic policies that helped cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai develop into powerful market economies. Even though these areas make up the country’s strongest local economies, China is, politically and govern mentally, one of the world’s strictest communist nations.

Tourists will have the option to discover the information about China's history through various destinations the majority of which are in Beijing. Investigate the Forbidden City (4 Jingshan, Qianjie, Beijing 100009) to become familiar with going before traditions, or set aside some effort to see the National Museum (22 Xijiaomin Alley, Xicheng, and Beijing). The Presidential Palace (Changjiang Road, Nanjing, Jiangsu) in Nanjing takes visitors back to China’s Nationalist government, which now thrives upon the island nation of Taiwan.

Culture
One of China’s most appealing aspects is its fascinating, distinctive culture. There are many branches of lavishness within the country, so tourists should set aside plenty of time to explore all of them. Standing as one of the four ancient civilizations, China portrays a plethora of ancient skills which includes calligraphy, painting, music, martial arts and lot more. Kung Fu is usually renowned across the world, and it is widely practiced within China. Chinese folk dancing and puppet shows play a vital role in the culture of China. Major festivals and holidays are well-known for hosting these ancient-origin cultural performances.

The Arts
Chinese art is generally influenced by the country’s rich spiritual and mystical history. Many sculptures and paintings portray spiritual figures of Buddhism, according to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Many musical instruments are connected to Chinese culture, including the flute like xun and the guqin which is in the zither family.

Eastern style martial arts were also developed in China, and it is the origin of Kung-fu. This fighting technique is based on animal movements and was created in mid-1600s according to the Black Belt Magazine.

Customs and Celebrations
The largest festival of China also called the Spring Festival — marks the start of the Lunar New Year. It falls between mid-January and mid-February and is a time to respect their ancestors. During this 15-day celebration, the locals do something in order to welcome New Year, such as eat rice congee and mustard greens to cleanse the body, according to the University of Victoria. The day is celebrated with fireworks and parades featuring dancers dressed as dragons.

Chinese Food
The historical backdrop of Chinese food in China goes back for a large number of years and has changed from period to period in every district as indicated by climate, amazing fashion and technology, and local preferences.

The "Eight Cuisines" of China are Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Sichuan, and Zhejiang cooking styles. These styles are individual from each other because of components, for example: atmosphere, topography, history, cooking procedures and lifestyle. For instance, Jiangsu food favors preparing procedures, for example, braising and stewing, while Sichuan cooking utilizes heating. Dim sums are also well-known outside China.

Buddhism
Buddhism has a long history in China and has also been active in shaping Chinese culture and traditions. From the time of Buddhism, China have faced support and even harassment under the various leaders, but the religion has remained strong, and today China hosts the world's largest Buddhist population.

Chinese Buddhism is one of the ancient forms of Buddhism in history and China’s oldest foreign religion which sets in the heart of china. Chinese Buddhists is a great blend of Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, the latter of which teaches that illumination can be achieved in a single lifetime.

Happy Travellers