Military
The Chinese Military is comprised of three main entities: The People’s Liberation Army, The People’s Armed Police Force, and Militia. Encompassing all three components our current military manpower is approximately 14 millions soldiers. These three sections are further subcategorized into military divisions. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is comprised of Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, and Second Artillery totaling 2.3 million troops with an additional 800,000 men in the Reserve Forces. The People’s Armed Police Force (PAP) has a total count of 660,000 troops and the militia force has a total of ten million troops.
All of these forces are under control of the Chinese Communist Party and receive orders from the Central Military Commission through a number of branches. These branches include the General Staff, General Political, General Logistics, and General Armament Departments. Each division and branch has its own ranking officials with all commanders answering to President Hu Jintao. The ranking officials are as follows: General Guo Boxiong (Central Military Commission), General Chen Bingde (General Staff Department), General Li Jinai (General Political Department), General Liao Xilong (General Logistics Department), General Chang Wanquan (General Armament Department), Admiral Wu Shengli (Navy), Air Force General Xu Qiliang (Air Force), and General Jing Zhiyuan (Second Artillery.)
Over the past few decades the PLA has undergone force downsizing, reducing the number from 4 million to the current 2.3 million troops. They currently spend 4.3% GDP on military expenditures, which amount to approximately 60 billion US$. There is currently a mandatory service period of 24 months for men, however this has not been required to be enforced because of the large numbers of volunteers.
Geography
China is a very geographically diverse country comprising 9.5 millions km making it the 4th largest country in the world. Its climate is extremely variable with tropical climates in the southeast, desert climate in the north, and mountains in the west. They have approximately 15% arable land spread throughout the country from east to west. They have a large amount of coastline with the Yellow and East China Sea going out into the Pacific Ocean. The capital of Beijing is located near the eastern coast along the Yellow Sea with much of its population concentrated along this coastline.
Safety
Crime in China is mainly comprised of petty crime with most crimes being committed in the large cities along the eastern coast. These crimes result from high population densities and upset citizens due to a number of issues. Foreigners are mostly safe but must maintain Chinese laws and recognize that they may not have the same protections as they do in their own country. They also must be aware of many scams targeted at travelers who are not familiar with China; these often involve counterfeit or pirated goods. China is also a very religiously intolerant country and anyone found to be distributing unwanted religious goods might be arrested. There are also very few privacy laws, as travelers can be subjected to searches without warning. There are also a good number of restricted areas, which no civilians can enter.
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