China is known as having the longest continuous
cultural identity in the history of the world.
The very size of China lends itself to great
variation in landscape and climate, and
interactions between different regional cultures
result in wide differences in beliefs, customs,
and languages.
Within China, the wind-swept regions of the
north were the heartland of the ancient states
while the south, marked by lakes, tropical river
valleys, and delta lands, became the economic
engine of the country. Along China's busy
network of rivers, lakes, and canals, the
development of art and other craft products
thrived. Bronzes, lacquers, porcelains, silks,
books, calligraphy and paintings, and
architecture characterized China to the world
while having a tremendous impact on the cultures
of Korea and Japan, its close neighbors.
Nearly two thousand years of imperial rule
ended in 1912, when China became a republic. The
Chinese Communist Party has been in power since
1949, and its economic policies have evolved
greatly. Beijing, the Chinese capital, dates to
1420, and today traditional sites such as the
Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City stand
side by side with modern high-rises.
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