Context of China

 

China (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world. With an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometres (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and largest financial center is Shanghai.

Modern China trace its origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain...Read more

 

China (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world. With an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometres (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and largest financial center is Shanghai.

Modern China trace its origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a political system to serve hereditary monarchies. Written script were developed and inscription of Bronze and engraving of Oracle bone became common. Classic literature, and the Hundred Schools of Thought emerged during this period and influenced the region and beyond for centuries to come. In the third century BCE, the Qin dynasty ended the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period when Qin Shi Huangdi assumed the self-invented title of Huangdi (Emperor of China). Fractured by the uprising peasants, the Qin was replaced by Liu Bang's Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). Together they laid the foundation for a political tradition of nearly two millennia in which the Chinese empire was one of the world's foremost economic powers. The empire expanded, fractured, and reunified; absorbed foreign religions and ideas; and made world-leading scientific advances, such as the Four Great Inventions: gunpowder, paper, the compass, and printing. After centuries of disunity following the fall of the Han, the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties reunified the empire. The Tang welcomed foreign trade and culture that came over the Silk Road and adapted Buddhism to Chinese needs. The early modern Song dynasty (960–1279) became increasingly urban and commercial. The civilian scholar-officials or literati adopted the examination system and the doctrines of Neo-Confucianism to replace the military aristocrats of earlier dynasties. The Mongol established the Yuan dynasty in 1279 before the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) re-established Han Chinese control. The Manchu-led Qing dynasty nearly doubled the empire's territory and established a multi-ethnic state that was the basis of the modern Chinese nation, although subsequently suffered heavy losses to European imperialism in the 19th century.

The Chinese monarchy collapsed in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, when the Republic of China (ROC) replaced the imperial ruling of Qing. In its early years, the country underwent a rather unstable Warlord Era before mostly centralizing in 1928 under the Nationalist government. A civil war between the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) broke out in 1927, though the war was halted when Japan invaded China in 1937. After Japan's surrender in 1945, China's civil war renewed. A division was caused in 1949 when the CCP established the People's Republic of China on the mainland while the KMT-led government of the ROC retreated to the islands in the South and East China Sea. Both claiming to be the sole legitimate government, the United Nations has recognized the PRC as legitimate since 1971. From 1959 to 1961, an economic and social campaign, the Great Leap Forward resulted in a sharp economic decline and massive famine. From 1966 to 1976, the Red Guards' Cultural Revolution led to greater political instability, economic and educational decline. Eventually, with a change in the leadership, a series of political and economic reforms began in 1978 that greatly improve the economy and standards of living.

China is a unitary socialist republic led by the CCP. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a founding member of several multilateral and regional organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund, the New Development Bank, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the RCEP. It is also a member of the BRICS, the G8+5, the G20, the APEC, and the East Asia Summit. China ranks poorly in measures of democracy, transparency, press freedom, religious freedom, and ethnic equality. The Chinese authorities is often criticized for human rights abuses. Making up around one-fifth of the world economy, China is the world's largest economy by GDP at purchasing power parity, the second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the second-wealthiest country. The country is one of the fastest-growing major economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer. China is a nuclear-weapon state with the world's largest standing army by military personnel and the second-largest defense budget.

 

More about China

Basic information
  • Currency Renminbi
  • Native name 中华人民共和国
  • Calling code +86
  • Internet domain .cn
  • Mains voltage 220V/50Hz
  • Democracy index 2.27
Population, Area & Driving side
  • Population 1443497378
  • Area 9596961
  • Driving side right
History
  •  
    Prehistory
     
     
    10,000-year-old pottery, Xianren Cave culture (18000–7000 BCE)

    China is regarded as one of the world's oldest civilisations.[1][2] Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited the country 2.25 million years ago.[3] The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire,[4]...Read more

     
    Prehistory
     
     
    10,000-year-old pottery, Xianren Cave culture (18000–7000 BCE)

    China is regarded as one of the world's oldest civilisations.[1][2] Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited the country 2.25 million years ago.[3] The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire,[4] were discovered in a cave at Zhoukoudian near Beijing; they have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago.[5] The fossilized teeth of Homo sapiens (dated to 125,000–80,000 years ago) have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Dao County, Hunan.[6] Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 6600 BCE,[7] at Damaidi around 6000 BCE,[8] Dadiwan from 5800 to 5400 BCE, and Banpo dating from the 5th millennium BCE. Some scholars have suggested that the Jiahu symbols (7th millennium BCE) constituted the earliest Chinese writing system.[7]

    Early dynastic rule
     
     
    Yinxu, the ruins of the capital of the late Shang dynasty (14th century BCE)

    According to Chinese tradition, the first dynasty was the Xia, which emerged around 2100 BCE.[9] The Xia dynasty marked the beginning of China's political system based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, which lasted for a millennium.[10] The Xia dynasty was considered mythical by historians until scientific excavations found early Bronze Age sites at Erlitou, Henan in 1959.[11] It remains unclear whether these sites are the remains of the Xia dynasty or of another culture from the same period.[12] The succeeding Shang dynasty is the earliest to be confirmed by contemporary records.[13] The Shang ruled the plain of the Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century BCE.[14] Their oracle bone script (from c. 1500 BCE)[15][16] represents the oldest form of Chinese writing yet found[17] and is a direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters.[18]

    The Shang was conquered by the Zhou, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries BCE, though centralized authority was slowly eroded by feudal warlords. Some principalities eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou, no longer fully obeyed the Zhou king, and continually waged war with each other during the 300-year Spring and Autumn period. By the time of the Warring States period of the 5th–3rd centuries BCE, there were only seven powerful states left.[19]

    Imperial China
     
     
    China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, is famed for having united the Warring States' walls to form the Great Wall of China. Most of the present structure, however, dates to the Ming dynasty.

    The Warring States period ended in 221 BCE after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms, reunited China and established the dominant order of autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths (i.e., the cart axles' length), and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam.[20] The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death, as his harsh authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.[21][22]

    Following a widespread civil war during which the imperial library at Xianyang was burned,[a] the Han dynasty emerged to rule China between 206 BCE and CE 220, creating a cultural identity among its populace still remembered in the ethnonym of the Han Chinese.[21][22] The Han expanded the empire's territory considerably, with military campaigns reaching Central Asia, Mongolia, South Korea, and Yunnan, and the recovery of Guangdong and northern Vietnam from Nanyue. Han involvement in Central Asia and Sogdia helped establish the land route of the Silk Road, replacing the earlier path over the Himalayas to India. Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world.[24] Despite the Han's initial decentralization and the official abandonment of the Qin philosophy of Legalism in favor of Confucianism, Qin's legalist institutions and policies continued to be employed by the Han government and its successors.[25]

     
     
    Map showing the expansion of Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC

    After the end of the Han dynasty, a period of strife known as Three Kingdoms followed,[26] whose central figures were later immortalized in one of the Four Classics of Chinese literature. At its end, Wei was swiftly overthrown by the Jin dynasty. The Jin fell to civil war upon the ascension of a developmentally disabled emperor; the Five Barbarians then invaded and ruled northern China as the Sixteen States. The Xianbei unified them as the Northern Wei, whose Emperor Xiaowen reversed his predecessors' apartheid policies and enforced a drastic sinification on his subjects, largely integrating them into Chinese culture. In the south, the general Liu Yu secured the abdication of the Jin in favor of the Liu Song. The various successors of these states became known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, with the two areas finally reunited by the Sui in 581. The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture, economy and imperial examination system, constructed the Grand Canal, and patronized Buddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and a failed war in northern Korea provoked widespread unrest.[27][28]

    Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age.[29] The Tang dynasty retained control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road,[30] which brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa,[31] and made the capital Chang'an a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was devastated and weakened by the An Lushan Rebellion in the 8th century.[32] In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and Khitan Liao. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade.[33]

     
     
    The Tang dynasty at its greatest extent and Tang's protectorates

    Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw a revival of Confucianism, in response to the growth of Buddhism during the Tang,[34] and a flourishing of philosophy and the arts, as landscape art and porcelain were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity.[35][36] However, the military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchen Jin dynasty. In 1127, Emperor Huizong of Song and the capital Bianjing were captured during the Jin–Song Wars. The remnants of the Song retreated to southern China.[37]

    The Mongol conquest of China began in 1205 with the gradual conquest of Western Xia by Genghis Khan,[38] who also invaded Jin territories.[39] In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty, which conquered the last remnant of the Song dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300.[40] A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang led a rebellion that overthrew the Yuan in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Under the Ming dynasty, China enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. It was during this period that admiral Zheng He led the Ming treasure voyages throughout the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as East Africa.[41]

     
     
    The Qing conquest of the Ming and expansion of the empire

    In the early years of the Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. With the budding of capitalism, philosophers such as Wang Yangming further critiqued and expanded Neo-Confucianism with concepts of individualism and equality of four occupations.[42] The scholar-official stratum became a supporting force of industry and commerce in the tax boycott movements, which, together with the famines and defense against Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and Manchu invasions led to an exhausted treasury.[43] In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition of peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty general Wu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-lived Shun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.[44]

    The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. Its conquest of the Ming (1618–1683) cost 25 million lives and the economy of China shrank drastically.[45] After the Southern Ming ended, the further conquest of the Dzungar Khanate added Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang to the empire.[46] The centralized autocracy was strengthened to suppress anti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, the Haijin ("sea ban"), and ideological control as represented by the literary inquisition, causing social and technological stagnation.[47][48]

    Fall of the Qing dynasty
     
     
    The Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China to defeat the anti-foreign Boxers and their Qing backers. The image shows a celebration ceremony inside the Chinese imperial palace, the Forbidden City after the signing of the Boxer Protocol in 1901.

    In the mid-19th century, the Qing dynasty experienced Western imperialism in the Opium Wars with Britain and France. China was forced to pay compensation, open treaty ports, allow extraterritoriality for foreign nationals, and cede Hong Kong to the British[49] under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the first of the Unequal Treaties. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan.[50] The Qing dynasty also began experiencing internal unrest in which tens of millions of people died, especially in the White Lotus Rebellion, the failed Taiping Rebellion that ravaged southern China in the 1850s and 1860s and the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) in the northwest. The initial success of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s was frustrated by a series of military defeats in the 1880s and 1890s. [51]

    In the 19th century, the great Chinese diaspora began. Losses due to emigration were added to by conflicts and catastrophes such as the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879, in which between 9 and 13 million people died.[52] The Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan in 1898 to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but these plans were thwarted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 further weakened the dynasty. Although Cixi sponsored a program of reforms, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911–1912 brought an end to the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.[53] Puyi, the last Emperor of China, abdicated in 1912.[54]

    Establishment of the Republic and World War II
     
     
    Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of Republic of China, one of the first republics in Asia

    On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was established, and Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (the KMT or Nationalist Party) was proclaimed provisional president.[55] On 12 February 1912, regent Empress Dowager Longyu sealed the imperial abdication decree on behalf of 4 year old Puyi, the last emperor of China, ending 5,000 years of monarchy in China.[56] In March 1912, the presidency was given to Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who in 1915 proclaimed himself Emperor of China. In the face of popular condemnation and opposition from his own Beiyang Army, he was forced to abdicate and re-establish the republic in 1916.[57]

    After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented. Its Beijing-based government was internationally recognized but virtually powerless; regional warlords controlled most of its territory.[58][59] In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek, the then Principal of the Republic of China Military Academy, was able to reunify the country under its own control with a series of deft military and political maneuverings, known collectively as the Northern Expedition.[60][61] The Kuomintang moved the nation's capital to Nanjing and implemented "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's San-min program for transforming China into a modern democratic state.[62][63] The political division in China made it difficult for Chiang to battle the communist-led People's Liberation Army (PLA), against whom the Kuomintang had been warring since 1927 in the Chinese Civil War. This war continued successfully for the Kuomintang, especially after the PLA retreated in the Long March, until Japanese aggression and the 1936 Xi'an Incident forced Chiang to confront Imperial Japan.[64]

     
     
    Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong toasting together in 1945 following the end of World War II

    The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), a theater of World War II, forced an uneasy alliance between the Kuomintang and the Communists. Japanese forces committed numerous war atrocities against the civilian population; in all, as many as 20 million Chinese civilians died.[65] An estimated 40,000 to 300,000 Chinese were massacred in the city of Nanjing alone during the Japanese occupation.[66] During the war, China, along with the UK, the United States, and the Soviet Union, were referred to as "trusteeship of the powerful"[67] and were recognized as the Allied "Big Four" in the Declaration by United Nations.[68][69] Along with the other three great powers, China was one of the four major Allies of World War II, and was later considered one of the primary victors in the war.[70][71] After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Taiwan, including the Pescadores, was handed over to Chinese control. However, the validity of this handover is controversial, in that whether Taiwan's sovereignty was legally transferred and whether China is a legitimate recipient, due to complex issues that arose from the handling of Japan's surrender, resulting in the unresolved political status of Taiwan, which is a flashpoint of potential war between China and Taiwan. China emerged victorious but war-ravaged and financially drained. The continued distrust between the Kuomintang and the Communists led to the resumption of civil war. Constitutional rule was established in 1947, but because of the ongoing unrest, many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented in mainland China.[72]

    Civil War and the People's Republic

    Before the existence of the People's Republic, the CCP had declared several areas of the country as the Chinese Soviet Republic (Jiangxi Soviet), a predecessor state to the PRC, in November 1931 in Ruijin, Jiangxi. The Jiangxi Soviet was wiped out by the KMT armies in 1934 and was relocated to Yan'an in Shaanxi where the Long March concluded in 1935.[73][failed verification] It would be the base of the communists before major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949. Afterwards, the CCP took control of most of mainland China, and the Kuomintang retreating offshore to Taiwan, reducing its territory to only Taiwan, Hainan, and their surrounding islands.

     
     
    The founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held at 3:00 pm on October 1, 1949. The picture above shows Mao Zedong's announcement of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Tiananmen Square.[74]

    On 1 October 1949, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China at the new nation's founding ceremony and inaugural military parade in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.[75][76] In 1950, the People's Liberation Army captured Hainan from the ROC[77] and annexed Tibet.[78] However, remaining Kuomintang forces continued to wage an insurgency in western China throughout the 1950s.[79]

    The government consolidated its popularity among the peasants through land reform, which included the execution of between 1 and 2 million landlords.[80] China developed an independent industrial system and its own nuclear weapons.[81] The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million in 1974.[82] However, the Great Leap Forward, an idealistic massive reform project, resulted in an estimated 15 to 55 million deaths between 1959 and 1961, mostly from starvation.[83][84] In 1964, China's first atomic bomb exploded successfully.[85] In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, sparking a decade of political recrimination and social upheaval that lasted until Mao's death in 1976. In October 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China in the United Nations, and took its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council.[86] This UN action also created the problem of the political status of Taiwan and the Two Chinas issue.

    Reforms and contemporary history
     
     
    The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests was ended by a military-led massacre which brought condemnations and sanctions against the Chinese government from various foreign countries.

    After Mao's death, the Gang of Four was quickly arrested by Hua Guofeng and held responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and instituted significant economic reforms. The CCP loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives, and the communes were gradually disbanded in favor of working contracted to households. Agricultural collectivization was dismantled and farmlands privatized, while foreign trade became a major new focus, leading to the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs). Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were restructured and unprofitable ones were closed outright, resulting in massive job losses.[citation needed] This marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open-market environment.[87] China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982. In 1989, the suppression of student protests in Tiananmen Square brought condemnations and sanctions against the Chinese government from various foreign countries.[88]Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji led the nation in the 1990s. Under their administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated[by whom?] 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.[89][better source needed] British Hong Kong and Portuguese Macau returned to China in 1997 and 1999, respectively, as the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions under the principle of One country, two systems. The country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and maintained its high rate of economic growth under Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao's leadership in the 2000s. However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment,[90][91] and caused major social displacement.[92][93]

     
     
    Belt and Road Initiative and related projects

    CCP general secretary Xi Jinping has ruled since 2012 and has pursued large-scale efforts to reform China's economy,[94][95] which has suffered from structural instabilities and slowing growth,[96][97][98] and has also reformed the one-child policy and penal system,[99] as well as instituting a vast anti-corruption crackdown.[100] In the early 2010s, China's economic growth rate began to slow amid domestic credit troubles, weakening international demand for Chinese exports and fragility in the global economy.[101][102][103] In 2013, China initiated the Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure investment project.[104] Since 2017, the Chinese government has been engaged in a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang, with an estimated one million people, mostly Uyghurs but including other ethnic and religious minorities, in internment camps.[105] The National People's Congress in 2018 altered the country's constitution to remove the two-term limit on holding the Presidency of China, permitting the current leader, Xi Jinping, to remain president of China (and general secretary of the CCP) for an unlimited time, earning criticism for creating dictatorial governance.[106][107] In 2020, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) passed a national security law in Hong Kong that gave the Hong Kong government wide-ranging tools to crack down on dissent.[108] In December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic began with an outbreak in Wuhan; after three years of strict public health measures indented to completely eradicate the virus, mounting social and economic pressures compelled the government to loosen restrictions in December 2022.

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Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2013. ^ 论明末士人阶层与资本主义萌芽的关系. docin.com. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2015. ^ "Qing dynasty | Definition, History, Map, Time Period, Emperors, Achievements, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 10 November 2022. ^ John M. Roberts (1997) A Short History of the World Oxford University Press p. 272 ISBN 0-19-511504-X ^ The Cambridge History of China: Volume 10, Part 1, by John K. Fairbank, p.37 ^ 中国通史·明清史. 九州出版社. 2010. pp. 104–112. ISBN 978-7-5108-0062-7. ^ 中华通史·第十卷. 花城出版社. 1996. p. 71. ISBN 978-7-5360-2320-8. ^ Embree, Ainslie; Gluck, Carol (1997). Asia in Western and World History: A Guide for Teaching. M.E. Sharpe. p. 597. ISBN 1-56324-265-6. ^ "Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022. ^ 李恩涵 (2004年). 近代中國外交史事新研. 臺灣商務印書館. p. 78. ISBN 978-957-05-1891-7. ^ "Dimensions of need – People and populations at risk". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 1995. Retrieved 3 July 2013. ^ Li, Xiaobing. [2007] (2007). A History of the Modern Chinese Army. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-2438-7, ISBN 978-0-8131-2438-4. pp. 13, 26–27. ^ "The abdication decree of Emperor Puyi (1912)". Chinese Revolution. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2021. ^ Eileen Tamura (1997) China: Understanding Its Past. Volume 1. University of Hawaii Press ISBN 0-8248-1923-3 p.146 ^ "The abdication decree of Emperor Puyi (1912)". Chinese Revolution. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2021. ^ Stephen Haw (2006) Beijing: A Concise History. Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-415-39906-8 p.143 ^ Bruce Elleman (2001) Modern Chinese Warfare Routledge ISBN 0-415-21474-2 p.149 ^ Graham Hutchings (2003) Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change Harvard University Press ISBN 0-674-01240-2 p.459 ^ Peter Zarrow (2005) China in War and Revolution, 1895–1949 Routledge ISBN 0-415-36447-7 p.230 ^ M. Leutner (2002) The Chinese Revolution in the 1920s: Between Triumph and Disaster Routledge ISBN 0-7007-1690-4 p.129 ^ Hung-Mao Tien (1972) Government and Politics in Kuomintang China, 1927–1937 (Volume 53) Stanford University Press ISBN 0-8047-0812-6 pp. 60–72 ^ Suisheng Zhao (2000) China and Democracy: Reconsidering the Prospects for a Democratic China Routledge ISBN 0-415-92694-7 p.43 ^ David Ernest Apter, Tony Saich (1994) Revolutionary Discourse in Mao's Republic Harvard University Press ISBN 0-674-76780-2 p.198 ^ "Nuclear Power: The End of the War Against Japan". BBC — History. Retrieved 14 July 2013. ^ "Judgement: International Military Tribunal for the Far East". Chapter VIII: Conventional War Crimes (Atrocities). November 1948. Retrieved 4 February 2013. ^ Doenecke, Justus D.; Stoler, Mark A. (2005). Debating Franklin D. Roosevelt's Foreign Policies, 1933–1945. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8476-9416-7. ^ "The Moscow Declaration on general security". Yearbook of the United Nations 1946–1947. Lake Success, NY: United Nations. 1947. p. 3. OCLC 243471225. Retrieved 25 April 2015. ^ "Declaration by United Nations". United Nations. Retrieved 20 June 2015. ^ Hoopes, Townsend, and Douglas Brinkley FDR and the Creation of the U.N. (Yale University Press, 1997) ^ Gaddis, John Lewis (1972). The United States and the Origins of the Cold War, 1941–1947. Columbia University Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-231-12239-9. ^ Tien, Hung-mao (1991). "The Constitutional Conundrum and the Need for Reform". In Feldman, Harvey (ed.). Constitutional Reform and the Future of the Republic of China. M.E. Sharpe. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-87332-880-7. ^ Waller, Derek J. (1973). The Kiangsi Soviet Republic: Mao and the National Congresses of 1931 and 1934 (PDF). University of California, Berkeley. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. ^ 李丹青. "What's behind the founding ceremony of the PRC?". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 18 February 2023. ^ Ben Westcott; Lily Lee (30 September 2019). "They were born at the start of Communist China. 70 years later, their country is unrecognizable". CNN. ^ "Mao Zedong proclaims People's Republic of China". HISTORY. Retrieved 29 May 2021. ^ "Red Capture of Hainan Island". The Tuscaloosa News. 9 May 1950. Retrieved 20 July 2013. ^ "The Tibetans" (PDF). University of Southern California. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013. ^ John W. Garver (1997). The Sino-American alliance: Nationalist China and American Cold War strategy in Asia. M.E. Sharpe. p. 169. ISBN 978-0-7656-0025-7. Retrieved 20 July 2013. ^ Busky, Donald F. (2002) Communism in History and Theory Greenwood Publishing Group. p.11 ^ "A Country Study: China". loc.gov. Retrieved 3 October 2017. ^ Madelyn Holmes (2008). Students and teachers of the new China: thirteen interviews. McFarland. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-7864-3288-2. Retrieved 7 November 2011. ^ Mirsky, Jonathan (9 December 2012). "Unnatural Disaster". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 December 2012. ^ Holmes, Leslie Communism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press 2009) ISBN 978-0-19-955154-5 p. 32 "Most estimates of the number of Chinese dead are in the range of 15 to 30 million" ^ "1964: China's first atomic bomb explodes". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 18 February 2023. ^ Michael Y.M. Kao. "Taiwan's and Beijing's Campaigns for Unification" in Harvey Feldman and Michael Y. M. Kao (eds., 1988): Taiwan in a Time of Transition New York: Paragon House p.188 ^ Hart-Landsberg, Martin; and Burkett, Paul "China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle" Monthly Review Retrieved 30 October 2008 ^ Harding, Harry (December 1990). "The Impact of Tiananmen on China's Foreign Policy". National Bureau of Asian Research. Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2013. ^ "China's Average Economic Growth in 90s Ranked 1st in World". People's Daily. 1 March 2000. Retrieved 10 July 2013. ^ Carter, Shan; Cox, Amanda; Burgess, Joe; Aigner, Erin (26 August 2007). "China's Environmental Crisis". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 May 2012. ^ Griffiths, Daniel (16 April 2004). "China worried over pace of growth". BBC News. Retrieved 16 April 2006. ^ China: Migrants, Students, Taiwan UC Davis Migration News January 2006 ^ Cody, Edward (28 January 2006). "In Face of Rural Unrest, China Rolls Out Reforms". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 18 January 2020. ^ "China frees up bank lending rates". BBC News. 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013. ^ Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose (23 July 2013). "China eyes fresh stimulus as economy stalls, sets 7pc growth floor". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 25 July 2013. ^ Davies, Gavyn (25 November 2012). "The decade of Xi Jinping". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2012. ^ "China orders government debt audit". BBC News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2013. ^ Joong, Shik Kang; Wei, Liao (May 2016). "Chinese Imports: What's Behind the Slowdown?" (PDF). International Monetary Fund. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2018. ^ Yglesias, Matthew (15 November 2013). "China ends one child policy". Slate. Archived from the original on 16 November 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013. ^ "China's president boosts anti-corruption crackdown after nabbing 1.5M". NBC News. ^ "China's economy slows but data hints at rebound". BBC News. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2020. ^ "China Loses Control of Its Frankenstein Economy". Bloomberg L.P. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013. ^ Foley, John (15 July 2013). "The lowdown on China's slowdown: It's not all bad". Fortune. Retrieved 16 July 2013. ^ "Belt and Road Initiative". World Bank. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2019. ^ Cite error: The named reference :13 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). ^ Alexander Baturo; Robert Elgie (2019). The Politics of Presidential Term Limits. Oxford University Press. p. 263. ISBN 978-0-19-883740-4. ^ Matthew Kroenig (2020). The Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy Versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the U. S. and China. Oxford University Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-19-008024-2. ^ "Hong Kong national security law: What is it and is it worrying?". BBC News. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.


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Stay safe
  •  
    Stay safe

    While China is generally safe for visitors, the government has some authoritarian aspects, and the topic of human rights in China is highly contested. Despite what's written in the Chinese constitution, in practice some freedoms are strongly curtailed, such as free speech, privacy, freedom of information and the press, freedom of religion, and the right to a fair trial. As long as you're not deliberately provocative, most of these are unlikely to affect you during your visit — especially since enforcement is somewhat arbitrary anyway — but if they do, punishments can be heavy. China is known to use extrajudicial detention, torture, and (rarely, mainly for murder and drug trafficking) the death penalty. Often criticized as "hostage diplomacy", detentions and enforcement are sometimes stepped up in reaction to geopolitical events, meaning that, for example, Canadian and American businesspeople have faced extra scrutiny in 2019. Chinese dual citizens and people of Chinese heritage who are citizens of other countries have been subject to "exit bans", kept in China, sometimes for years, to compel them to cooperate with government investigations or pressure their relatives to return to China.

    As long as you behave and do not get involved in drugs or political activity, you shouldn't have any problems. Even bypassing the Internet firewall or accessing potentially subversive material is usually overlooked for the average visitor. However, it doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan in case you run afoul of the government.

    ...Read more
     
    Stay safe

    While China is generally safe for visitors, the government has some authoritarian aspects, and the topic of human rights in China is highly contested. Despite what's written in the Chinese constitution, in practice some freedoms are strongly curtailed, such as free speech, privacy, freedom of information and the press, freedom of religion, and the right to a fair trial. As long as you're not deliberately provocative, most of these are unlikely to affect you during your visit — especially since enforcement is somewhat arbitrary anyway — but if they do, punishments can be heavy. China is known to use extrajudicial detention, torture, and (rarely, mainly for murder and drug trafficking) the death penalty. Often criticized as "hostage diplomacy", detentions and enforcement are sometimes stepped up in reaction to geopolitical events, meaning that, for example, Canadian and American businesspeople have faced extra scrutiny in 2019. Chinese dual citizens and people of Chinese heritage who are citizens of other countries have been subject to "exit bans", kept in China, sometimes for years, to compel them to cooperate with government investigations or pressure their relatives to return to China.

    As long as you behave and do not get involved in drugs or political activity, you shouldn't have any problems. Even bypassing the Internet firewall or accessing potentially subversive material is usually overlooked for the average visitor. However, it doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan in case you run afoul of the government.

    Law enforcement agencies

    Private security officers in China dress similarly to the police, and also often use lights and sirens on their vehicles.

     
     
    Typical public security police officers

    The major law enforcement agency you will encounter most is the public security police (公安机关人民警察), often abbreviated as the public security (公安, Gōng'ān), or civilian police (民警, mínjǐng).

    Most officers wear navy-blue peaked caps and light-blue shirts. Officers should carry their police identification document, which must be shown when you request them to do so. They are usually unarmed. Special police officers wear black uniform, and are armed. Traffic police officers wear white peaked-caps, and in some cities, they may wear fluorescent shirts. Auxiliary police officers have limited law enforcement power, and do not have the power of arrest. Their uniforms differ from city to city; but have the words "auxiliary police" (辅警), or something similar. Detectives, including domestic security agents, wear plain clothes. Typical police vehicles bear the word "公安". Special police vehicles are painted with black, and bear the word "特警".

    All public security police officers have nationwide authority. Most of the officers are friendly, professional and reliable, yet there will inevitably be corrupt ones too.

     
     
    A typical PAP soldier

    The People's Armed Police (PAP) (中国人民武装警察部队, often abbreviated to 武警, wǔjǐng) is a branch of the Chinese military tasked with assisting the public security police, riot control and guarding key infrastructures like railway stations and airports. Soldiers wear green camouflage or olive-green military uniform with red insignia, while officers have similar uniform with that of People's Liberation Army (PLA) Ground Force.

     
     
    Chengguan officers of Shantou

    Chengguan (城管, chéngguǎn), known officially as City Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau (城市管理行政执法局), and often known as Integrated Enforcement (综合执法) or Administrative Enforcement (行政执法), may dress differently. Chengguan officers are often poorly-trained, brutal, and sometimes corrupt.

    The Chinese government is cracking down on corruption, so under no circumstances should you offer a bribe to any type of law enforcement officer, as this could result in legal consequences for you and the person accepting your bribe.

    Crime

    Crime rates vary across the huge nation, but in general it as safe as most Western countries. Many Western tourists will feel safer in China than in their home country, and it is generally not a problem for women to roam the streets alone at night. Violent crime is very rare, though scams and petty crimes are common, so it pays to be prudent and secure your valuables properly. As with anywhere else, a little commonsense goes a long way.

    Generally speaking, crime rates are higher in the larger cities than in the countryside. Nevertheless, they are no more dangerous than major Western cities, so if you avoid seedy areas and use your common sense, you'll be fine. Video surveillance is widely used in both urban and in some rural areas. CCTVs are generally welcomed by the police, due to the fact that front-line officers are often insufficient to deal with China's huge population.

    While not as rampant as in Europe, pickpocketing is a significant issue in crowded places. Be particularly vigilant when on public transport during peak hours, as it provides the perfect cover for pickpockets to get away after striking.

    Bicycle theft can be a problem. In big cities there are stories of locals who have lost three bikes within one month, but in some other places, local people still casually park their bikes. Follow what local people do. Assume your expensive lock won't help at all. Professional thieves can break virtually any lock. In China, bike parking is common outside supermarkets or shopping centers, and usually charges ¥1-2 per day (usually until 20:00-22:00). If you have an electric bicycle or scooter, be extra cautious as the battery-packs or charger may be targeted.

    The main crimes foreigners get in trouble for are around drug use (including drug use outside China before you arrived—they sometimes do a hair test for cannabis) or working illegally, with the consequence usually being a short sentence, fine and deportation. If you are accused of a more serious crime, then your first 72 hours of investigation is critical. It is during that time that the police, prosecutors and your lawyers will investigate, negotiate and decide if you are guilty. Police use hard interrogations (or torture) immediately after arrest because eliciting a confession is the quickest way to secure a conviction. Chinese law prohibits your lawyer from being present during your interrogation. If your case goes to trial, then your conviction is merely a formality (99.9% of criminal trials in 2013 ended in a conviction), and the judge's only role is to decide your sentence. Signing any document during your interrogation would be an extremely bad idea, especially if you do not understand what you are signing. You should politely insist that you be allowed access to consular services and a translator.

    Traffic See also: Driving in China
     
     
    Traffic in Shenyang

    The mortality rate per person for car accidents in China is lower than that of many Western countries. But, in general, driving in China can range from anywhere from nerve-rattling to outright reckless. Traffic can appear chaotic. Cars are allowed to turn right on a red light and do not stop for pedestrians, regardless of the walk signal. Cars drivers, cyclists and electric scooter drivers will all drive assuming they all have right of way/priority at once. Pedestrian crossings are a guide for the driver where pedestrians are more likely to cross.

    In cities, however, it is unlikely drivers will be traveling fast enough to cause significant damage. Do as the locals do: cross the road with confidence, be aware of your surroundings, know that cars, bikes and scooters will tend to continue rather than stop.

    It is advisable as a foreigner not to drive, since in an accident you will be poorly equipped to deal with the nature of Chinese compensation.

    Terrorism

    Although rare, terrorist attacks in China have occurred, mostly in Xinjiang, where Uyghur Islamist separatists are fighting for independence against the Chinese government, though there have also been high-profile attacks on people in Guangzhou station, Kunming station and Beijing. There is airport-style security at all major train stations, metro stations, and long-distance bus terminals. You will have your bag X-rayed and take water bottles out of your bag to be scanned separately, but there is no need to empty your pockets.

    Begging

    Chinese people traditionally disapprove of begging, so begging is not a major issue in most places. It is, however, never far off the scene and particularly common just outside the main tourist attractions and in major transportation hubs.

    Be aware of child beggars who could be victims of child trafficking. While it is becoming less common, you should avoid giving them any money.

    In China, local people usually only give money to those who have obviously lost the ability to earn money. Professional beggars have clear deformities, and some syndicates have been known to deliberately maim children as it is seen as more effective in soliciting pity. If you feel like giving them some, bear in mind that the minimum hourly wage ranges from ¥11 to ¥24 (2020).

    Buddhist monks

    The presence of foreign tourists unaware of local Buddhist customs has also given rise to many scams, with many fake monks and temples preying on unsuspecting visitors. Buddhism in China generally follows the Mahayana school, whose monks are required to be vegetarian, and usually grow their own food in the temples, or buy their food using temple donations. As such, they generally do not beg for food.

    Monks also do not sell religious items (these are sold by laymen), and neither do they offer "Buddha's blessing" in exchange for money, or threaten you with misfortune should you not donate. Most temples will have a donation box in the main hall for devotees to make donations should they wish to do so, and monks will never go out in public to ask for donations. According to traditional Buddhist philosophy, it is entirely up to an individual to decide whether and how much he/she wishes to donate, and genuine Buddhist temples will never use high-pressure tactics to solicit donations, or ask for any amount of money in exchange for services.

    Nature
     
     
    The Chinese bamboo viper

    Being a large country, China is affected by a range of different natural disasters. Pacific typhoons hit the coast in the summer and autumn months, bringing physical destruction and torrential rain. Floods also occur, in particular around the large rivers. Northern parts of the country have winter storms. Much of the country is prone to earthquakes and tornadoes.

    China has a variety of venomous snakes. Be careful when hiking and seek immediate treatment for any snakebite. The bright green bamboo viper (Trimeresurus stejnegeri) is especially notorious.

    Scams See also: Common scams, Pickpockets

    Chinese people are in general hospitable to foreigners, and want to leave a good impression on tourists visiting their country. However, as with anywhere else, there are also scam artists who operate at tourist hot spots, so it pays to be prudent and remember that if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

    High prices do not necessarily indicate a scam. In a teahouse or bar, ¥50-200 per cup or pot of tea (including hot water refills) and ¥15-60 per bottle of beer is not uncommon. Tea samplings may also charge high prices for each sample.

     
     
    Shanghai skyline

    Touristy parts of Beijing and Shanghai have become notorious for various scams. If you are keen to avoid being scammed, the following are good rules of thumb:

    It is less likely for scammers to operate outside of the usual tourist spots If you are approached in a touristy area by a person who appears too enthusiastic about going to a particular place (teahouse or otherwise), you are likely to pay a premium and maybe get a better time elsewhere If you are uncomfortable, walk away. Most ordinary Chinese people are unable to speak English, so be on your guard if someone approaches you spontaneously and starts speaking to you in English.

    The police are sensitive to foreigners being targeted in this way and giving the country a poor reputation. In China, you have a legal right to ask for a "fa piao" (发票, lit. receipt/invoice) which is an official sales invoice issued by the taxation department. It is against the law for an owner to refuse to give it to you. For scams, they generally will refuse since it is legal evidence of their extortionate price.

    Accident scams occur, too, and even 'good samaritans' who help people genuinely in distress have been sued for compensation by the people they were trying to help. These scams are not tried on foreigners too often, but be careful when using a vehicle and always record your journey with a dashboard or bicycle camera.

    If you find yourself being or having been scammed then call 110 and report it immediately. Suspicious phone calls can be enquired through 96110, a hotline established in view of soaring telecommunications scams. The police may also notify you by this number with area code prefix if you encountered suspected scam calls, which is similar to a reverse-911 call itself.

    Illicit drugs

    Acts related to illicit drugs are dealt with harshly in China. Although drug use alone and the mere possession of small quantities of drugs (for example, less than 200 grams of opium and less than 10 grams of heroin or methamphetamine) are not prosecuted and are only subject to lengthy detention and/or a fine, smuggling, trafficking, transporting, and manufacturing illicit drugs are crimes punishable by death, and there are plenty cases of foreign drug traffickers being executed in China. In addition, the possession of large quantities of drugs is a crime punishable by up to life imprisonment, and sheltering others to take drugs is a crime punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment. Chinese people usually associate drugs with national humiliation (due to an unlimited influx of opium after Opium Wars); publicly doubting the death penalty for drug offences or advocacy for drug liberalization will most likely get you publicly criticized.

    For recorded drug addicts, you may be subjected to sudden raids by the police, in order to verify that you did not consume any illicit drugs.

    Be particularly wary in the provinces of Yunnan and Guangxi, as these provinces border the Golden Triangle, a major drug-producing region in Southeast Asia. Police now target bars and nightclubs that foreigners frequent with drug-testing kits, with detention and deportation the likely consequence of a positive drug test. In a hair test, you may test positive even for drugs that you consumed three months before arriving in China. If you are driving from Chinese-Burmese border (eg. Xishuangbanna), you may also encounter layered narcotics checkpoints, in which you and your vehicle will be thoroughly searched or even partially dismantled (if suspicion arise) to intercept drug smugglers.

    Banned items

    Due to the fast pace of change in China, you may find some items (especially media) continue to be banned by customs although they are readily available for purchase in the country itself. Searching your belongings for illicit items such as the ones below could potentially happen when entering China through an airport, although in practice it is rare these days.

    Materials considered by the authorities as Anti-Chinese will be confiscated. This has a fairly wide interpretation, but can include the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan lion-mountain flag and literature about the Falun Gong religious group, independence movements in Xinjiang, Tibet, Hong Kong and Taiwan or the Tiananmen Square protests. As a rule of thumb, do not bring anything critical of the Communist Party of China; if some literature refers to the government of the PRC as the Communist Party of China (中共), then it's either from Taiwan (as the local official term when referring to the Chinese government), and/or its stance is likely to be critical of the party. The Epoch Times (大紀元時報) and Ming Hui Times (明慧周刊/明慧周報) are two examples of Falun Gong literature. The Falun Gong sect is known to print proselytising words on Chinese yuan bills, so consider checking your bills to avoid unnecessary hassle. A heavy penalty is imposed on all pornography and penalties are counted based on the number of pieces brought into the country.Religion

    Visitors to China rarely get into trouble for practicing their religion. As a communist country, China is officially atheist, and religion is banned for people working in government jobs. Although religion was targeted for extermination during the Cultural Revolution, in modern times, visitors and private citizens are generally free to practice a religion if they wish. However, proselytising is prohibited and taken very seriously by the government, and could potentially lead to arrest and imprisonment, especially if there is any fear that it could undermine the government's authority.

    Catholics in China are split between the state-sanctioned Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, 中国天主教爱国会 Zhōngguó Tiānzhǔjiào Àiguó Huì), which is run separately from the Vatican, and an underground church which is illegal; visitors should not associate with the latter for legal reasons.

    Falun Gong is illegal and heavily censored in China. Visibly supporting it will make you subject to arrest.

    Despite all that, modern Chinese society is in general rather secular, and religiously-motivated hate crimes are exceedingly rare.

    Racism

    Although unprovoked violent racist attacks are virtually unheard of, foreigners, particularly darker-skin ones, often suffer discrimination in employment and are the subject of stereotyping from Chinese people. Even white foreigners, who allegedly enjoy significantly better treatment than locals, have been occasionally confronted by Chinese people during politically sensitive periods. Xenophobia has intensified amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with many restaurants now refusing service to foreign customers. Discrimination is particularly severe against black people, some of whom have been evicted by their landlords and denied rooms in hotels.

    If your skin tone doesn't match people's assumptions for someone from your country, and especially if you're ethnically Chinese, you may be treated like the country on your passport isn't where you're really from. Visas on arrival are sometimes denied on this basis.

    Gay and lesbian travelers

    China is generally a safe destination for gay and lesbian travelers. There are no laws against homosexuality in China, though there is censorship of homosexual-themed content in the media. Gay scenes and communities are found in the major cities in China, but are generally non-existent everywhere else. Most Chinese are reluctant to discuss their sexuality in public, as it is generally considered to be a personal matter, and acceptance of homosexuality by Chinese people tends to be mixed. Same-sex marriages and unions are not recognised anywhere in the country. While openly displaying your sexual orientation in public is still likely to draw stares and whispers, gay and lesbian visitors should generally not run into any major problems, and unprovoked violence against homosexual couples is almost unheard of. In general, the younger generation tend to be more accepting of homosexuality, and gay dramas have been gaining in popularity among young Chinese women since the 2010s.

    Staff in hotels and guesthouses may assume that a mistake has been made if a same-sex couple has reserved a room with one large bed and try to move you to another room. However, they will generally back down if you insist that it is not a problem.

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