China's Economy
Since the founding of the new China in 1949, the economy of China has seen fairly rapid development. Especially since China initiated reforms and opening up to the outside world, China's economy has been advancing healthily and has achieved a sustained annual growth of around 9 percent. In 2005, the GDP of China was more than US/$ 2,200 billion and the average per-capita GDP was US/$ 1,703. At present, China's GDP comes fourth in the world. Its share of the world economy is 5 percent and it is only next to America, Japan, and Germany. The average per-capita GDP only comes 110th in the world.

 

 

Public Health
A number of the larger cities have western style medical facilities with international and local staff. Some other hospitals in major Chinese cities have “gaogan bingfang” -wards which are equipped with reasonably up-to-date medical technology and physicians who are both knowledgeable and skilled. Many of these wards will provide medical services to foreigners and have English-speaking doctors and nurses.  There are also some foreign-operated medical providers who cater to expatriates and visitors.
Almost all hospitals have emergency rooms to provide emergency assistance to needy patients. When foreigners need emergency ambulance, the hospitals can pay medical costs for the foreigners in advance and provide emergency treatment and medical rescue, escort abroad and other foreign medical services. There are "120" in many cities to give emergency first-aid. You may call "120" to request this type of first-aid.
The technical level of public health has improved greatly, and the management and supervision of medical work have been strengthened. An urban and rural medical insurance system combining state planning and fee paying has been established. Traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine have been promoted simultaneously. The incidence of many epidemic diseases has dropped considerably, and some endemic diseases are now under control. Rural health work has been improved, greatly contributing to the overall health of the population. The average life expectancy of Chinese people, the death rate of infants and childbirth death rates have almost reached the levels of developed countries.

 

Marriage Customs
In China, marriage is considered to be one of the three most important things in one's whole life. Traditionally, a whole wedding consists of 6 different steps in advance and then the wedding ceremony. The Chinese wedding ceremony first began at the end of the Prehistoric Times (1.7 million years ago – 21st century BC) perhaps with an engagement proposal with a complete deerskin in ancient times. In the Xia and Shang Dynasties (21st – 11th centuries BC), the 'Meeting the Bride' ritual was formalized. During the Zhou Dynasty (11th – 221 BC) the more complex and ceremonial tradition of 'six rites' was recognized: presenting gifts to the girl's family, knowing the girl's general background, engagement, presenting betrothal gifts to the bride's family, asking the fortuneteller to choose an auspicious day, and meeting the bride. This established the traditional Chinese marriage customs. Thereafter, the wedding ceremony becomes even more colorful and lively.
Along with society's progress and the transformation of people's thinking, pre-marital sex has become increasingly popular in China, thus current Chinese marriage customs are not as complicated as the traditional ones. They primarily involve the engagement and wedding ceremony. Betrothal gifts are usually gold or diamond jewelry, with the wedding ring different from the engagement ring. The dowry has been changed into some modern electrical appliance such as a fridge or washing machine or TV set, or perhaps a sofa set or even an apartment. On the wedding day the bride wears both a white wedding dress and festive red clothes, while the bridegroom still wears a special suit; a bridesmaid and a groomsman attend the new couple at the wedding; the bridegroom takes a decorated car to meet his bride instead of a carriage or sedan chair; hotels have become the favorite place to hold the wedding feast, the whole wedding ceremony is often organized by a master of ceremonies in the hotel; and the new couple will also attend the feast together and propose toasts for the guests; after the wedding, some new couples will even have a honeymoon .

 

Funeral Customs
Funerals have many superstitious customs. But most of them emphasize expensive coffins and grand burial ceremonies. The dead person should be bathed before encoffined. The rites of burial can be divided into simple ones and grand ones. In a simple burial ceremony, the dead will be covered with new clothes; while in a grand one, the dead should be laid into a coffin. The Coffin should be well made, and for rich families the coffin is made of rare woods and painted with colored paintings. Burial ceremonies should be solemn. After that there is the memorial ceremony which usually lasts ten days or more. Sometimes monks or Taoists are invited to chant scriptures because local people believe it can help the dead to reach paradise earlier.