Cultural Activities China Briefing China is one of the biggest countries in the world. It has an area of about 9.6 million square kilometers which comprises about 6.5 per cent of the world total land area. Its population of more than one billion accounts for 23 per cent of the world's population. China is the world's oldest continuous civilization. World Travel Organization predicts that by year 2020, China will become the number one travel destination in the world. China is situated in the eastern part of Asia on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. It is the third largest country in the world (after Canada and Russia). The distance from east to west measures over5,200 kilometers and from north to south, over 5,500 kilometers. When the sun shines brightly over the Wusuli River in the east, the Pamire Plateau in the west is in the very early morning. When blizzards wrap the north along the Heilongjiang River in the winter, spring sowing is underway on Hainan Island in the south. China has a land border of 22,143.34 kilometers long and is bordered by twelve countries: Korea in the east; Russian in the northeast and the northwest; Mongolia in the north; India, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal in part of the west and southwest; Burma, Laos and Vietnam in the south. Beside a vast land area, there are also extensive neighboring seas and numerous islands. The coastline extends more than 14,500 kilometers. Across the East China Sea to the east and South China Sea to the southeast are Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. More than 5,000 islands are scattered over China's vast territorial seas; the largest being Taiwan and the second largest, Hainan. One territorial sea and three neighboring seas altogether constitute 4.73 million square kilometers. Fifty-six ethnic groups China is a united multi-ethnic nation of 56 ethnic groups. According to the fourth national census taken in 1990, the Han people made up 91. 96 percent of the country's total population, and the other55 ethnic groups, 8.04 percent. As the majority of the population is of the Han ethnic group, China's other ethnic groups are customarily referred to as the national minorities. The Han people can be found throughout the county, though mainly on the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River valleys, and the Northeast Plain. The national minorities, though fewer in number, are also scattered over a vast area, and can be found in approximately 64.3 percentof China, mainly distributed in the border regions from?northeast China to north, northwest and southwest China. Yunnan Province, home to more than 20 ethnic groups, has the greatest diversity of minority peoples in China. In most of China's cities and county towns, two or more ethnic groups live together. Taking shape over China's long history, this circumstance of different ethnic groups "living together in one area while still living individual compact communities in special areas" continues to provide the practical basis for political, economic and cultural intercourse between the Han and the various minority peoples, and for the functioning of the autonomous national minority areas system. Beijing Opera--Performance Art That Has Enriched Itself with Merits of Other Forms of Art Peking opera is a purely Chinese opera form which dates back to the year 1790. That year four local opera troupes of AnhuiProvince came to Beijing on a performance tour on the order of the imperial court. The tour was a hit and the troupes stayed. The artists absorbed the tunes of the Hubei local opera and drew on the best of Kun Qu, Qin Qiang and Bang Zi and other local operas. Characters For the painted role, the different colors of the faces represent different characters and personality. Yellow and white represent cunning, red stands for uprightness and loyalty, black means valor and wisdom, blue and green indicate the vigorous and enterprising character of rebellious heroes and gold and silver represent mystic or super-natural power. Terminology "Sheng, dan, jing, chou," for instance, are just the terms for four different types of roles. "sheng" is the positive male role, "dan" is the positive female role, "jing" is a supporting male role with striking character and "chou" is the clown. Every type has its telltale facial makeup and decoration. But actually, "piao you" means Peking opera fans, "piao fang" means the place where fans meet to amuse themselves and "xia hai" means turning professional. When you come across with a small group of Peking opera fans singing in a street corner, that corner can beconsidered a "street piao fang." There is no lacking of social celebrities among Peking opera fans. Emperor Guang Xu of Qing Dynasty, for example, was not only a good amateur Peking opera singer, but was also a good drummer in the Peking opera orchestra (the drummer plays the role of the director of the orchestra). The Empress Dowager was an avid Peking opera fan, too. The huge three-storey theater in the SummerPalace is a proof of her love for Peking opera. Chinese Traditional Festivals, Public Holidays and Vacations Chun Jie (The Spring Festival ) The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is the most important festival in China, and its celebration dates back to some two thousand years ago. It marks the beginning of the Lunar year, and is the time when_ families get together and are reunited if they have been , separated. The date of the festival varies each year, but is usually in late January or early February according to the Gregorian calendar. On Lunar New Year's eve, the sound of firecrackers can be heard throughout the night, signifying "doing away with the old and making way for the new." Yuan Xiao Jie (The Lantern Festival) The Lantern Festival falls 15 days after the Lunar New Year. It is a tradition to hang decorative lanterns in public places and eat " Yuan Xiao " a kind of glutinous rice flour ball with a Sweet or savory filling. Qing Ming Jie (The Pure Brightness Festival) The Pure Brightness Festival, is the fifth of the 24 solar terms according to the traditional Chinese calendar, which are defined according to the position of the Sun in the zodiac. Duan Wu Jie (The Dragon Boat Festival) The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It originates as a means to propitiate the river dragon gods into a popular festival commemorating the suicide of Qu Yuan, a poetof the Warring States Period (475 - 221BC) who could no longer bear the moral degeneration of his state. Zhong Qiu Jie (The Mid - Autumn Festival) The Mid - Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth Lunar month, the middle of autumn in the traditional Chinese calendar. It takes place at harvest time on the night of the full moon, which symbolized unity. Moon cakes are eaten on this auspicious day. Chong Yang Jie (Double Nine Festival) Double Nine Festival is a traditional Chinese festival on the 9th day of the 9th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar.  In the "Book of Changes", nine (9) is defined as a positive figue ("Yang"), and "Chong" in Chinese  means "double", so it is called "Double-Nine Day" . On the day people go outing,  climbing, kite-flying, drink wine (chrysanthemum wine) and eat cakes. The day has been appointed as "Senior Citizens' Day", " Nine" pronounces the same sound as "longevity" in Chinese, so on the day when they celebrate the festival people do things to show respect and wishes of longevity to their elderly.