ABSTRACT

China is an amalgam of "small countries" constituting a whole, distinct world. Anyone contemplating the hugeness of China becomes a philosopher. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong repeatedly revived the youthful dream. The origin of Mao's dream is the notion of "small nations with few people" in a "titular ruler republic." With twenty one percent of the world's people occupying just seven percent of total land area, China's population density is three times the world average. Guangdong province is China's southern gateway. It has a land area some sixty percent of that of the Philippines, whereas the population is almost equal. China has more than fifty four minority peoples, and even the Han race differs significantly in language and eating habits from north to south and east to west. China as a whole, with per capita income of US$620, is ranked as a "low income country".