Giant Panda - China

Limestone caves were ideal shelters for early hominids. The best known location in China is the Zhoukoudian Cave, located west of Beijing. This large cave is 171 meters long, 49 meters wide, and was occupied 700,000 years ago by an early subspecies of homo erectus referred to as Homo erectus pekinensis.

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Ailuropoda melanoleuca - The Chinese name for the giant panda is “daxiongmao,” translating as “large bear-cat.” For many years there has been debate within the scientific community to decide if the panda was more closely related to raccoons or bears. The panda’s appearance suggests it is a bear; a relative short and stocky body, powerful legs, and plantigrade feet, describing feet turned inwards when the animal is walking. Recent molecular studies have classified the giant panda as part of the Ursidea family, the bear family.

Ginkgo Tree - China

Ginkgo biloba - Ginkgo trees are native to China. It has no living relative and can be traced back through fossil records to over 270 million years. The tree grows to heights of 20 to 35 meters and has an extended root system to protect against severe winds and to tap deep water sources. Ginkgo trees can live for several hundred years; some trees are reported as being 2,500 years old. This longevity is attributed to the insect resistant wood and the tree’s ability to ward off most diseases.

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The first historical records of a Chinese civilization reveals the Shang Dynasty, a loosely assembled feudal state situated along the eastern section of the Yellow River. It is estimated the Shang Dynasty existed from 1600 BC to 1046 BC and though it is not the oldest Chinese state, it is the first to leave a record of its existence. The ruins of Yin, the last capital of the Shang Dynasty, have yielded bone fragments covered in an ancient script; it is the earliest known example of Chinese writing.

Junk - Hong Kong

Hong Kong was ceded to Great Britain following China’s defeat in the First Opium War, 1839 to 1842. The tiny hamlet had less than 10,000 inhabitants when handed over to the British, but has since grown into a thriving metropolis. Hong Kong ranks as the fourth most densely populated area in the world; Macau is first.

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The junk, a sailing vessel found throughout Asia, came into widespread use during the Song Dynasty, 960 to 1279. Junks vary in size and purpose, but the one shared feature is their use of a batten sail fastened to a mast lacking shrouds or stays. The sail is held rigid through the use of battens, light weight wood, passing horizontally along the vertical length of the sail. Large junks capable of traveling the open seas were used in Asia during the 16th and 17th century; some were three-masted and required crews of more than 100 sailors.

Sacred Lotus - Macau

Hong Kong and Macau are both located along the Pearl River estuary. With its source rising in the province of Yunnan, the Pearl River, known as the Zhujiang River in China, flows for 2,400 kilometers before emptying into the South China Sea. The drainage basin for the Pearl is over 400,000 square kilometers.

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Nelumbo nucifera - The sacred lotus is one of two extant species in the Nelumbo family; the other is Nelumbo lutea, the yellow lotus. Being an aquatic plant, the sacred lotus seed takes root in the calm waters of a pond or river bottom and extends a stalk, up to 150 centimeters, to the surface. The buoyant leaves support the plant and a single flower. Coming into bloom in June and July, the large flowers are either pink or white in color and measure 20 to 25 centimeters in diameter. Often confused with water lilies, the two plants are not related.

The Han

Most people in China refer to themselves ethnically as Han, the largest of several ethnic groups making up the country’s population. The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China and flourished, with a brief interruption, from 206 BC to 220 AD. This time span is often referred to as the “Golden Age” for China. The Han Dynasty ushered in a period of renaissance in promoting innovations such as a new method of producing better paper, the wheelbarrow, glazed pottery, hot air balloons, and an early version of a seismograph. Zhang Heng, a court astronomer, had devised the first known seismograph. When an earthquake occurred, the bronze jar would shake open the dragon’s mouth and cause a ball to fall into the toad’s mouth directly beneath it. This device had a limited range in detecting distant earthquakes, but it worked well enough on a local level.