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China HistoryChina Travel Services China is one of the oldest nations in the world. Its recorded history dates back 5,000 years. For most of that time, China was ruled by a succession of dynasties, and each left its mark on the country. For instance, the Qin began construction of the Great Wall, the Sui built the Grand Canal and the Song period is known for its artistic achievements. The first Europeans to reach China were the Portuguese, who began trading on the island of Macau in the 16th century. The British soon followed, but their efforts were largely unprofitable until they began pushing opium in the mid 1800s. The Opium Wars eventually led to British control of Hong Kong, a place that was not returned to China until 1997. (Macau was reintegrated into China in 1999.) The last dynasty officially ended in 1911. The ensuing years devolved into a struggle between the capitalist forces of Chiang Kaishek and Mao Zedong's Chinese Communist Party. Chiang Kaishek held control through the 1930s, but after World War II, Mao's guerrilla army began winning the battle. In 1949, the People's Republic of China was born and Chiang Kaishek fled to Taiwan. Led by Mao Zedong, the new government transformed China into a communist nation. Land was redistributed, industries were absorbed by the state and, most unfortunately, opposition was not tolerated. Tibet was brought under Beijing's control in the 1950s. Thousands of writers, artists, teachers and others were imprisoned or killed during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1970. In 1989, 13 years after Mao's death, the students demonstrating for democracy in Beijing's Tiananmen Square were overrun by soldiers and tanks. While Mao's legacy of intellectual oppression remains intact, China's recent leaders have embraced free trade. The country was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001, which means the world's most populous nation is now officially open for global business. The first big venture is set to take place in Beijing in 2008, when the Olympic Games go to China for the first time.
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