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Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

author:Historical Man Item Review

As we all know, the world's land mass is mainly divided into seven continents, namely Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Oceania and Antarctica.

Among the seven continents, the smallest is Oceania, with a total area of only 8.97 million square kilometers, which is less than the territory of the mainland, accounting for about 6% of the world's total land area.

Although the area is small, but this continent is surrounded by oceans, the English name of Oceania is "Oceania", which means "land surrounded by oceans", the name Oceania also comes from, so this continent is characterized by many oceans, few countries, basically island countries.

When it comes to countries in Oceania, many people will think of Australia, New Zealand, in fact, Oceania has a total of 14 countries, in addition to Australia, New Zealand, there is also an Oceanian country is also very important, this country is larger than New Zealand, the population is more than New Zealand, but it has always been mistaken for an Asian country, which country is this?

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

1. Ranking of Oceania countries by area

The largest country in Oceania by area, without a doubt, is Australia. Australia has a total area of about 7.69 million square kilometers, accounting for about 86% of the total area of Oceania, and is also the sixth largest country in the world by land area.

We know that Australia has an abbreviation called "Australia", because Australia occupies most of Oceania, so many people are used to calling Australia Australia, and even some people mistakenly think that Australia is equal to Oceania, think that Australia is another name for Oceania, here to explain, Australia and Oceania is actually not a concept!

Although Australia has a huge land area, the country is sparsely populated and has a small population, with only 25.2 million people in the country, only one more than the population of Shanghai on the mainland!

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

The second country, I believe many people do not know very well, many people will say that it is New Zealand, in fact, New Zealand's land area is only 270,000 square kilometers, according to the area, it can only rank the third oldest in Oceania, so who is the second?

dēng dēng dēng děng!

Papua New Guinea, or Papua New Guinea for short, is a lesser-known country located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean south of the equator and northwestern Oceania. The land area is about 462,800 square kilometers, which is the same area as Heilongjiang Province on the mainland, with a population of about 8.08 million, making it the second largest country in Oceania by land area and the second most populous.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

Unexpectedly, Oceania's second-largest country is so low-key, like a "little transparent", that many people have been mistaken for Asian countries. The reason for this misunderstanding is that its geographical location is quite special.

The country is located in Asia and Oceania maritime communication artery, the meeting point of the South and North Pacific Oceans, adjacent to Southeast Asia in the northwest, Australia to the west, the Americas to the east, and the Antarctic continent across New Zealand to the south. Because it borders Indonesia to the west, some people think it is an Asian country.

From the map, this place looks like a large water bird, bounded by 141° east longitude, and the western part of the "bird's head" and the front half belong to Indonesia; The eastern part of the "bird's tail" and the back half belong to Papua New Guinea.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

So here's to say that although Papua New Guinea borders Indonesia in Asia, it is not an Asian country, but the second largest country in Oceania!

But then again, although Papua New Guinea is the number one in Oceania, it can't be too late, because it is still quite backward economically, you must know that Australia and New Zealand are developed countries, and Papua New Guinea is not more frightened than not knowing.

According to the 2018 UNDP Human Development Index, Papua New Guinea ranks 153rd out of 189 countries, with 37% of residents living below the international poverty line ($1.25/day per capita).

Many mountain dwellers still live a self-sufficient life in primitive tribes, with men sheltered with only a hide, a straw mat or a bib. Women wear bare breasts and backs, wearing only short skirts woven of plant fibers, young and old, all year round.

The reason why this country is so poor, cotton pants and autumn pants, there must be a reason, which is related to their history of being colonized by Germany, Britain and other countries for many years.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

2. A brief introduction to the history of PNG

Where to start, let's start with the recent hot topic - the World Cup! Not about this World Cup, but at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, there was a team from the Central American Caribbean called Trinidad and Tobago, the origin of the country's name, need to mention a person, Italian navigator Columbus. It is said that Columbus sailed four times in his life to find the way to the East in order to obtain gold and spices. On his third voyage, he came to the American continent and found a place that is now Trinidad and Tobago.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

Many people speculated, yes, our protagonist Papua New Guinea today is also this number, but also the geographical discovery period, from European navigators.

As early as 8000 BC, the highlands of New Guinea were already settled, but for a long time, they have been isolated from the world. In 1526, the Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes was sailing from Malacca to the Moluccas, when the sea breeze blew to a headland in the northwest of the island of New Guinea. He discovered that the indigenous people's hair was curly, and called the land Papua, which means "land of curly hair" (ta na h pepua) in Malay.

In 1545, the Spanish explorer Inigor Ortiz de Retes traveled from the Moluccas, to Mexico, landed on the northwest coast of the island of New Guinea, and found that the local climate and the skin color and hair characteristics of the indigenous people were very similar to Guinea in Africa, so he named the place New Guinea. Since then, it has come to be known as Papua New Guinea.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

The whole territory of Papua New Guinea consists of more than 600 islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, the Bismarck Islands, and the Dontelcastor Islands. The capital is located in Port Moresby, and the capital is also named in honor of a captain who sailed here, John Moresby.

You see, the opening of new shipping routes has had a lot of collateral impact on this planet, profoundly changing the world we live in.

Since the 16th century, with the opening of new shipping routes, the isolated Papua New Guinea has been integrated into the development of world civilization. However, with the colonial expansion of European powers, the people of this land were also abused.

From the second half of the 18th century, Portugal, England, Germany, the Netherlands, everyone wanted to get a piece of the pie, and successively divided the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands.

During World War II, the U.S. military and Japan fought here again. In the Pacific War, which broke out in 1941, Japan was defeated by MacArthur's American and Australian forces and eventually expelled from the area.

After World War II, the United Nations entrusted Papua New Guinea to Australia. On 16 September 1975, after a long liberation movement, it officially became independent from Australia.

After Papua New Guinea gained independence, Michael Somare was revered as the "Father of the Nation" by the people of Papua New Guinea and became the first Prime Minister.

It is worth mentioning that this country still has some relationship with our China, and there has been a Chinese prime minister, which is Papua New Guinea's second prime minister Chen Zhongmin.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

Chen Zhongmin, born in August 1939, his father Chen Bai came to Papua New Guinea to make a living in his early years, then worked as a retailer, became a wealthy businessman, married a local black woman, and gave birth to a son, Chen Zhongmin.

On March 11, 1980, Chen Zhongmin became the second prime minister of Papua New Guinea and the first Chinese prime minister. In April 2003, Chen Zhongmin returned to his ancestral hometown of Taishan, and was warmly welcomed by the villagers.

The above is a brief introduction to the history of this country, which is very difficult, sad, and worthy of people's sympathy. However, this country has many beautiful aspects, many advantages, attracting people's attention, after reading the following, do you want to travel here!

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

3. Characteristics of Papua New Guinea

(1) National cultural diversity

Papua New Guinea is one of the most ethno-cultural countries in the world, with more than 800 indigenous ethnic groups, because of the large number of tribes, and relatively closed, closed and non-communicating, so that there are 848 languages in various parts of the country, accounting for about 12% of the total number of world languages. If you can imagine that this country is not as large as a province in China, but with more than 800 languages, Papua New Guinea is arguably one of the most complex and rich countries in the world.

In PNG, if two men and women from different places break up and break up, the woman says, "We don't have a common language." "At this time, don't get me wrong, maybe they really don't have a common language!

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

(2) Abundant in natural resources

Papua New Guinea is very rich in mineral resources, with proven copper reserves of 944 million tons, ranking 10th in the world, and gold reserves of 1,831 tons, ranking 11th in the world. The reserves of oil and natural gas here are also abundant, with the two major oilfields of Kutubu and Yibei alone having reserves of 400 million barrels, and proven natural gas reserves of 7 trillion cubic feet! In this way, the country still has a lot of development potential!

Below, foodies pay attention, because Papua New Guinea's coastline is 8,300 kilometers long, making coastal fisheries more developed, tuna resources account for 20% of the world's reserves, is the world's largest tuna processor (maybe your late tuna comes from here), and the port factory can process hundreds of tons of tuna every day. In addition, there are also a large number of exports of prawns, lobsters, etc.!

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

(2) There are many kinds of animals and plants

Papua New Guinea is a pure land home to 5% of the world's flora and fauna, many of which live in paradise rainforests.

Papua New Guinea is home to more than 400 species of butterflies. The most beautiful are the bird-winged butterfly, of which the Queen Alexander bird-winged butterfly is the largest butterfly in the world, with females 8 cm long and a wingspan of 31 cm.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand
Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

Papua New Guinea is home to the largest number of crocodile species in the world. According to statistics, there are 23 species of crocodiles in 4 major categories in the world, and Papua New Guinea has 19 species, which is known as the "crocodile capital of the world".

According to data, Papua New Guinea has more than 300 crocodile farms, exporting 30,000 crocodile skins every year. Because there are too many local crocodiles, more than pork, crocodile meat has become one of the common local foods, and many restaurants also have this dish, according to Uncle Li, who has eaten this dish, the taste is similar to chicken, very delicious.

Papua New Guinea is also a paradise for birds, with 762 species of birds, accounting for 13% of the world's bird species, making it one of the countries with the highest number of bird species in the world.

One of the most famous and beautiful is the bird of paradise. There are currently 43 species of birds of paradise worldwide, with Papua New Guinea accounting for 38 species. Birds of Paradise live in the deep mountains and old forests all year round, with colorful feathers and large and colorful tail wings, soaring into the sky, like a sky full of colorful clouds, peaceful and auspicious. The most beautiful is the blue-feathered bird of paradise, which is extremely gorgeous, and the male bird either arches his head and back, erects two ribbed golden feathers, or hangs upside down on the tree, shaking open a brocade-like costume, and singing love songs in his mouth to attract the attention of the female birds. Their image is printed on the flag, engraved on the coat of arms, and even postmarked with the bird of paradise motif.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

(4) Marriage and love life is very free

Papua New Guineans have a high cult for the pig, which they see as a symbol of wealth. They measure the amount of a family's assets by the number of pigs owned in the household. When getting married, the gift that the man offers to the woman is a pig, and the man's wealth is measured by the amount of pig he gives. When a girl is married, her parents' dowry is also a pig.

It is said that every few years, locals hold a pig festival on January 14. During the ceremony, hundreds of men and women let go of their bellies and enjoyed a pork meal to celebrate family reunions and family members' achievements.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

PNG residents also have interesting and strange customs when it comes to conjugal relationships. They regard husband and wife quarrels as the best form of entertainment, and the more fierce the husband and wife quarrel, the more affectionate. There are even places in various places for couples to quarrel, and when they quarrel, there are also appreciators who come to help. The more admirers, the more fierce the couple argues, and the better the entertainment. Whoever can put the other in a difficult situation with harsh language will win, and both parties will often not stop until their lips and tongues are stiff, and the couple will end up happily arm-in-arm and go home.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

How about it, do you want to visit here after reading it! In fact, this country that is 6,000 kilometers away from China's closest place and has a time difference of two hours (East 10 District, East 8th District) has become closer and closer to our China in recent years, one is the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Papua New Guinea Pavilion with a unique creative exhibition style, showing the natural style of Papua New Guinea.

Third, since we proposed the "Belt and Road" strategy, Papua New Guinea is the first country in the Pacific island region to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on the construction of the "Belt and Road", and as an important partner, it has close exchanges with us. Building bridges and paving roads, investing in factories, driving local employment, training skilled workers, and comprehensive supermarkets, cooperation is all-round.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

Cooperation is all-round, benefits are also all-round, with the implementation of the "Belt and Road", Papua New Guinea although there are still many problems, but the economy continues to develop, people's livelihood improves, and more and more countries see its potential, willing to provide it with more opportunities for development, from November 12 to 18, 2018, Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby, hosted the 26th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting, attracted the attention of the world. This is also the first time that Papua New Guinea has hosted such a large-scale conference, which also shows people's expectations of the country.

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand
Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

Summary: Papua New Guinea as the second largest country in Oceania land area, the second most populous country, beautiful scenery, rich natural resources, but far behind Australia and New Zealand in the level of economic development, both of which are developed countries, per capita income is relatively high, and Papua New Guinea because of the long-term colonial rule, resulting in poor infrastructure, low level of economic development, but has good development potential, from the APEC meeting held here can also be seen the importance of this country, Today's Papua New Guinea tradition and modernity coexist, ancient and fashionable go hand in hand, it is a place that is far from being fully explored, vibrant and full of mystery. PNG!

Oceania, the second largest country by area, has long been mistaken for an Asian country, not New Zealand

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