192-Part Guide To The World: China
Jeremy Atiyah
Published: 08 February 2000
Official Name
People's Republic of Language
Mandarin Chinese, based on the
Population
1.2 billion, making this the most populous country on Earth, ever.
Size
3.7 million square miles (9.5 million sq km), or 290 times bigger than
National Dish
Chinese cuisine is the most varied and sophisticated on Earth, and it makes no sense to talk of a national dish. The staples are, however, a fundamental part of Chinese life: in the south rice, in the north wheat, everywhere tea.
Of the two candidates, the
Most Famous Citizen
The founder of the People's Republic, Mao Zedong - though I wouldn't bank on his embalmed corpse still being in
Best Moment in History
The death of the aforementioned Chairman in 1976 signalled the beginning of the end of one of the most terrifying social experiments in human history, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
Worst Moment in History
If you thought the Cultural Revolution was bad, how about the 19th-century "Taiping rebellion", the bloodiest civil war in the history of the world, in which 20 million may have died?
Essential Accessory
Strong elbows and nerves of steel. And that's just to get on a bus.
What not to do
Claim sovereignty over