Human Rights
Although China's economic growth is making it increasingly easy for the developed world to forget about its human rights abuses and Asian foreign policy, these issues have certainly limited its international standing. Don't be fooled by all the neon lights and Western amenities - internally, China is still a police state where media (including the Internet) is restricted, religions are suppressed and political beliefs can send you to jail. There are estimated to be hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in China's gulagsin the northwest of the country, kept in harsh conditions and forced to work as slave labor.
Taiwan & Tibet
China's external outlook is another sensitive area and the continued occupation of Tibet and claim of Taiwan are regarded as internal rather than foreign policy. While the US initially supported Chiang Kaishek when he established the Republic of China in 1949, as the PRC has grown in stature, the rest of the world is succumbing to its wants and Taiwan is stifled in almost any international venture which it attempts. Financial ties remain strong and it is hoped these will win out over military might. However, the 2005 Taiwan Anti-Secession Law, which threatened use of force if Chen Shui-bian, Taiwan's first democratic leader, continues to move towards independence, showed China's true colors once again. Tibet, which was seized in 1950, is another tricky subject. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 and the party proceeded to populate Tibet with Han Chinese in order to secure their border. When the Dalai Lama selected a new Panchen Lama in 1995, the chosen one was arrested and the Chinese government installed their own representative. Standing in front of Lamaism's grandest building, the Potala Palace, which overlooks Lhasa, you are confronted by the bold red flag of the PRC. Chinese guides speak of Tibet's "liberation,” while impoverished Tibetans pass you on the street, and the stunning old city of Lhasa resembles a Han enclave more everyday. The 2006 completion of the China-Tibet railway has further cemented the territory's status as a Chinese province.
Money Makes the World Go Round
"Internal” problems aside, China's growing economic stature is difficult to ignore for the financial fixers of the developed world. Entry into the World Trade Organization, hosting the 2008 Olympics and flourishing Special Economic Zones are all testament to China's improved international standing, but the problems which the country must really address lie with its tremendous population. If the country is to continue supporting its meteoric growth, it is crucial to ensure that wealth filters to the discontented urban and rural sectors. If not, then the danger is that people will once again question their social and political rights and rise against the system which they see as inherently corrupt and oppressive.
However, while inequality is perhaps now more stressed than ever, China is certainly a far more tolerant place than it was even 20 years ago, looking back to its past with more pride. Many of the old beliefs and teachings are managing to find their place in the modern China and for the first time, even farmers dare to dream beyond their station. China truly has been a sleeping dragon for the past few centuries and now it is stirring as the rest of the world watches. If it can deliver the economic goods to a large proportion of the population, then the CCP looks set to survive and the world balance of power will look very different in 2020.
Geography
At 3.7 million square miles China is the world's fourth-largest country (and is bordered by 15 countries, including Afghanistan to the west, Mongolia to the north, North Korea to the east and Laos to the south). As you'd expect from a country stretching over such a vast area there is enormous geographic diversity. You'll find everything from the world's highest mountains, the Himalayas, to one of its lowest points, the Turpan Depression. There are lush jungles in Yunnan, tropical beaches in Hainan, the vast Gobi Desert in the northwest, frozen wildernesses in the northeast and expansive floodplains in the east. All the mountains, deserts and water, along with the poor quality of much of the country's soil, means that only about 14% of China's land is cultivable. The country has had a large population for a long time and this scarcity of farmable land has resulted in every possible strip being utilized, unintentionally giving rise to some incredible scenery, such as the impossibly steep rice terraces at Longji in Guangxi.
The Yellow River
Geology & Topography
Broadly speaking, with the Himalaya as the highest point in the west, the farther east you travel, the lower and flatter the land becomes, although there are mountainous outcrops across the country. Much of Xizang (Tibet) and Qinghai rest on the Tibetan Plateau, which has an average height of 12,000 feet and makes altitude sickness a serious possibility for travelers to this region. China holds half the world's limestone and the southwest's landscape is dominated by a limestone belt that stretches all the way from Yunnan through Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi and Guangdong and even extends to parts of Fujian. Here lies the inspiration for many a Chinese scroll painting, most notably in the Li River region of Guangxi, where you'll find magnificently eroded karst pinnacles stretching for the sky.
Rivers
China has enough mountains and rainfall to provide a water source for most areas of the country, primarily distributed by its three major watercourses, although industry and the immense population has resulted in the pollution of many rivers and lakes. In spite of the generally high rainfall, droughts do occur, particularly in the arid northwest.
The Yangzi & Yellow Rivers
Tiger Leaping Gorge
The 4000 mile long Yangzi (known as changjiang, or Long River, in Chinese, an apt title for the world's third longest river) and the Yellow River (named for its silt-laden color) both run west to east, starting their lives high on the Tibetan Plateau. The Yangzi then turns south, skirting Szechuan and running through the mountains of Yunnan and makes its first bend through the 13,000-foot-deep Tiger Leaping Gorge near Lijiang. Little by little the river gains strength and is a mighty expanse of water by the time it reaches Chongqing, where it commences its journey through the famous Three Gorges, now dammed at Sandouping, near Yichang. The Long River supplies the massive Dongting and Poyang lakes with fresh water and then continues through the mighty cities of Wuhan and the former imperial capital of Nanjing, before spilling into the sea at Shanghai. The Yellow River's source is close to the Yangzi's, but soon diverges, running some 3,400 milesthrough Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan before emptying out through Shandong in the east.