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Asia

China and Middle Asia

What is pinyin

Pinyin is a new system for transliterating Chinese into the Roman alphabet. It replaced the Wade-Giles system in 1958, when the Chinese government started using pinyin for external press announcements. It has gradually gained acceptance, and is the reason why we now call the Chinese capital Beijing instead of Peking (a Wade-Giles transliteration).



China is a leading rice producer, and the country is also famous for its remarkable rice farming terraces, such as these located in Yuanyang County.
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