NationMaster - Encyclopedia: People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó listen (help· info)), commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and among the largest countries in the world.^[1] With a population of over 1.3 billion, roughly a fifth of the earth's total population, it is the most populous country in the world. Its capital is Beijing. PRC is a common abbreviation for: Palestinian Red Crescent Peoples Republic of China Peterborough Regional College Phase response curve Physical Recreation Centre Popular Resistance Committees Portable Radio Communication. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiǎntǐzì; also called 简化字/簡化字, jiǎnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... Image File history File links National_emblem_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China. ... Ratio 2:3 The Flag of the Peoples Republic of China, the Five-Starred Red Flag (äº”æ˜Ÿçº¢æ—— in pinyin: wÇ” xÄ«ng hÃ³ng qÃ), was designed by Zeng Liansong, an economist by trade and a talented artist who lived in Ruian (ç‘žå®‰ ruÃ¬ Än), Zhejiang. ... The National Emblem of the Peoples Republic of China (ä¸åŽäººæ°‘å…±å’Œå›½å›½å¾½) contains a representation of Tiananmen Gate, the entrance gate of the Forbidden City from the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, in a red circle. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a countrys government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ... March of the Volunteers (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the national anthem of the Peoples Republic of China, written in the midst of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) by the noted poet and playwright Tian Han with music composed by Nie Er. ... Image File history File links LocationPRChina. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Peking redirects here. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in the countries, states, and other territories. ... A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a people or the inhabitants of a place. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Socialist state. ... The President of the Peoples Republic of China (Simplified Chinese: ä¸åŽäººæ°‘å…±å’Œå›½ä¸»å¸; Pinyin: ZhÅnghuÃ¡ RÃ©nmÃn GÃ²nghÃ©guÃ³ ZhÇ”xÃ, or abbreviated GuÃ³jiÄ ZhÇ”xÃ å›½å®¶ä¸»å¸) is the head of state of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hu Hu Jintao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born December 21, 1942) is currently the Paramount Leader of the Peoples Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the... The Premier ( Chinese: 总理 pinyin: zŏnglĭ), sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister, is the Chairman of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China and head of Central Peoples Government. ... Wen Jiabao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Wen Chia-pao) (born September 1942) is the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Combatants Kuomintang of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (traditional... Look up peoples republic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... To help compare orders of magnitude of different surface areas here is a list of areas between 1 million kmÂ² and 10 million kmÂ². See also areas of other orders of magnitude. ... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (â‰ˆ1,609 m) in length. ... Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ... A percentage is a way of expressing a proportion, a ratio or a fraction as a whole number, by using 100 as the denominator. ... This is a list of countries ordered according to population. ... Population density per square kilometre by country, 2006 Population density map of the world in 1994. ... Population density by country, 2006 List of countries and dependencies by population density in inhabitants/kmÂ². The list includes sovereign states and self-governing dependent territories that are recognized by the United Nations. ... The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power. ... There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ... Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head. ... This article includes two lists of countries of the world[1] sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita, the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year divided by the average population for the same year. ... Countries by nominal GDP. Source: IMF (2005) This article includes a list of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. ... Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head. ... Map of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita for the year 2006. ... Graphical representation of the Gini coefficient The Gini coefficient is a measure of inequality of income distribution or inequality of wealth distribution. ... World map indicating Human Development Index (2006). ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... World map indicating Human Development Index (2007) (Colour-blind compliant map) For red-green color vision problems. ... ISO 4217 Code CNY User(s) Mainland of the Peoples Republic of China Inflation 1. ... ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ... Timezone and TimeZone redirect here. ... UTC redirects here. ... Although DST is common in Europe and North America, most of the worlds people do not use it. ... UTC redirects here. ... A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ... .cn is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the Peoples Republic of China. ... This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E.164. ... The Chinese Telephone Code Plan is the way to group telephone numbers in mainland China. ... is the 52nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Standard Mandarin refers to the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. ... This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Guangxi (Zhuang: Gvangjsih; old orthography: ; Simplified Chinese: å¹¿è¥¿; Traditional Chinese: å»£è¥¿; Pinyin: GuÇŽngxÄ«; Wade-Giles: Kuang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kwangsi), full name Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Zhuang: Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigih; old orthography: ; Simplified Chinese: å¹¿è¥¿å£®æ—è‡ªæ²»åŒº; Traditional Chinese: å»£è¥¿å£¯æ—è‡ªæ²»å€; Pinyin: GuÇŽngxÄ« ZhuÃ ngzÃº ZÃ¬zhÃ¬qÅ«) is a Zhuang autonomous region of... Uyghur (â€Ž/Uyghurche//, or â€Ž/Uyghur tili//)[1] is a Turkic language spoken by the Uyghur people in Xinjiang (also called East Turkestan or Uyghurstan), formerly also â€œSinkiangâ€ and â€œChinese Turkestan,â€ a Central Asian region administered by China. ... Xinjiang (Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: New Frontier; Uyghur: شينجاڭ) Uyghurs Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), sometimes known as Chinese Turkestan, Eastern Turkestan (Turkestan also spelt Turkistan... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ Öbür Mongghul-un Öbertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin... The Tibetan language is spoken primarily by the Tibetan people who live across a wide area of eastern Central Asia bordering South Asia, as well as by large number of Tibetan refugees all over the world. ... The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Tibetan: à½–à½¼à½‘à¼‹à½¢à½„à¼‹à½¦à¾à¾±à½¼à½„à¼‹à½£à¾—à½¼à½„à½¦à¼‹; Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is a province-level autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture has become the traditional homeland of most Koreans in China around the end of the Manchu Dynasty (late 19th centuries. ... For the city, see Jilin City. ... A Special Administrative Region (SAR) (Simplified Chinese: 特别行政区; Traditional Chinese: 特別行政區; pinyin: tèbié xíngzhèngqū; Cantonese IPA: /tɐk6piːt6 hɐŋ4tsɪŋ3kʰɵy1/; Jyutping: dak6bit6 hang4zing3keoi1; Yale: dahkbiht hàhngjingke... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Kinmen (Traditional Chinese: é‡‘é–€; Hanyu Pinyin: JÄ«nmÃ©n; Tongyong Pinyin: JinmÃ©n; Wade-Giles: Chin-men; POJ: Kim-mnÌ‚g; also romanized Quemoy from Southern Min (in early Spanish romanization); literally Golden Door or Golden Gate), located at 24. ... The Matsu Islands (Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) are a minor archipelago of 19 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait administered as Lienchiang County (é€£æ±Ÿ Pinyin: LiÃ¡njiÄng), Fukien Province of the Republic of China (ROC, now based on Taiwan). ... China - India western border showing Aksai Chin Aksai Chin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: , Hindi: à¤…à¤•à¤¸à¤¾à¤ˆ à¤šà¤¿à¤¨) is a region located at the juncture of China, Pakistan, and India. ... Political division of Kashmir The Trans-Karakoram Tract is an area of nearly 5,800 sq. ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Image File history File links Zh-Zhonghua_renmin_gongheguo. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ... This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by area. ... One thousand million (1,000,000,000) is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001. ... Map of countries by population â€” China and India, the only two countries to have a population greater than one billion, together possess more than a third of the worlds population. ... This is a list of countries ordered according to population. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Peking redirects here. ...

The Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the PRC under a single-party system since the state's establishment in 1949. The PRC is involved in a long-running dispute over the political status of Taiwan. The CPC's rival during the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated to Taiwan and surrounding islands after its civil war defeat in 1949, claiming legitimacy over China, Mongolia, and Tuva while it was the ruling power of the Republic of China (ROC). The ROC still continues to further these claims, but the PRC regards those claims as illegitimate. The term "Mainland China" is often used to denote the areas under PRC rule, but sometimes excludes its two Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau. The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. ... Taiwan Strait area The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, including the Pescadores (Penghu), should remain the effective territory of the Republic of China (ROC), become unified with the territories now governed by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), or become the Republic of... Combatants Kuomintang of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (traditional... The Kuomintang of China (abbreviation KMT) [1], also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party in the Republic of China (ROC), now on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in terms of seats in the Legislative Yuan, and the oldest political party in the... This is a list of islands under the Republic of China administration (all claimed by the Peoples Republic of China). ... Combatants Kuomintang of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (traditional... Tyva Republic IPA: (Russian: IPA: ; Tuvan: ), or Tuva (), is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... ... A Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the Peoples Republic of China is an administrative division of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Because of its vast population, rapidly growing economy, large research and development investments, and status as a declared nuclear weapons state, China is often considered as an emerging superpower. It has the world's fourth largest economy and second largest purchasing power parity. China is also a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Since 1978, China's Market-based economic reforms have helped to lift over 400 million Chinese out of poverty, bringing down the poverty rate from 53% of population in 1981 to 8% by 2001.^[6] However, China is now faced with a number of other economic problems, including an aging population and an increasing rural-urban income gap. The phrase research and development (also R and D or, more often, R&D), according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, refers to creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use... Nations that are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons are sometimes referred to as the nuclear club. ... An emerging superpower or potential superpower is a country showing the potential to become a superpower in the foreseeable future. ... Countries by nominal GDP. Source: IMF (2005) This article includes a list of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP), the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year. ... There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ... The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... â€œSecurity Councilâ€ redirects here. ... APEC redirects here. ... Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China. ... Economic inequality refers to disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. ...

China plays a major role in international trade. The country is the world's largest consumer of steel and concrete, using, respectively, a third and over a half of the world's supply of each.^[7] It is also the world's second largest importer of petroleum. Counting all products, China is the third largest importer^[8] and the second largest exporter^[9] in the world. International trade is the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries or territories. ... For other uses, see Steel (disambiguation). ... This article is about the construction material. ... Petro redirects here. ... An importer is a person or company that imports products into a country and sells them there. ... Economics In economics, an export is any good or commodity, shipped or otherwise transported out of a country, province, town to another part of the world, typically for use in trade or sale. ...

History

Major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949 with the Communist Party of China in control of the mainland, and the Kuomintang retreating to Taiwan and some outlying islands of Fujian. On October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China, declaring "the Chinese people have stood up".^[10] Red China was a frequent appellation for the PRC (generally within the Western bloc) used from the time of Communist ascendance until the mid-late 1970s with the improvement of relations between China and the West.^[11] The history of China is told in traditional historical records that refer as far back as the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors about 5,000 years ago, supplemented by archaeological records dating to the 16th century BC. China is one of the worlds oldest continuous civilizations. ... The history of the Peoples Republic of China details the history of mainland China since October 1, 1949, when, after a near complete victory by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong proclaimed the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) from atop Tiananmen... Image File history File links PRCFounding. ... Image File history File links PRCFounding. ... Mao redirects here. ... Combatants Kuomintang of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War (traditional... The Kuomintang of China (abbreviation KMT) [1], also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party in the Republic of China (ROC), now on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in terms of seats in the Legislative Yuan, and the oldest political party in the... (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiÃ n) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mao redirects here. ... NATO 2002 Summit The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), sometimes called North Atlantic Alliance, Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for defence collaboration established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on April 4, 1949. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Following a series of dramatic economic failures (caused by the Great Leap Forward), Mao stepped down from his position as chairman in 1959, with Liu Shaoqi as successor. Mao still had much influence over the Party, but was removed from day-to-day management of economic affairs, which came under the control of Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. The Great Leap Forward (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) was an economic and social plan used from 1958 to 1960 which aimed to use Chinas vast population to rapidly transform mainland China from a primarily agrarian economy dominated by peasant farmers... An anti-Liu Shaoqi poster, 1968. ... Deng Xiaoping (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904 â€“ February 19, 1997) was a prominent Chinese politician and reformer, and the late leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP). ...

In 1966, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution, which would last until Mao's death a decade later. The Cultural Revolution, motivated by power struggles within the Party and a fear of the Soviet Union, led to a major upheaval in Chinese society. In 1972, at the peak of the Sino-Soviet split, Mao and Zhou Enlai met Richard Nixon in Beijing to establish relations with the United States. In the same year, the PRC was admitted to the United Nations, replacing the Republic of China for China's membership of the United Nations, and permanent membership of the Security Council. This article is about the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. ... Zhou Enlai (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chou En-lai) (March 5, 1898 â€“ January 8, 1976), a prominent Communist Party of China leader, was Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from 1949 until his death in January 1976, and Chinas foreign minister from 1949... Nixon redirects here. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ...

After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrestled power from Mao's anointed successor Hua Guofeng. Although Deng never became the head of the Party or State himself, his influence within the Party led the country to economic reforms of significant magnitude. The Communist Party subsequently loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives and the communes were disbanded with many peasants receiving multiple land leases, which greatly increased incentives and agricultural production. This turn of events marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open market environment, a system termed by many "market socialism". The PRC adopted its current constitution on December 4, 1982. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x848, 513 KB) Shanghai, photo by Phogel. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x848, 513 KB) Shanghai, photo by Phogel. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... The Gang of Four (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ) was a group of Communist Party of China leaders in the Peoples Republic of China who were arrested and removed from their positions in 1976, following the death of Mao Zedong, and were primarily blamed for the events of... Hua Guofeng (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hua Kuo-feng) (born February 16, 1921) was Mao Zedongs designated successor as the paramount leader of the Communist Party of China and the Peoples Republic of China. ... Peoples communes (人民公社 Pinyin: renmin gongshe), in the Peoples Republic of China, were formerly the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas in the period from 1958 to 1982-85, when they were replaced by townships. ... A mixed economy is an economy that has a mix of economic systems. ... Market socialism is a term used to define a number of economic system(s) in which the means of production are owned either by the state or by the workers collectively, however unlike traditional socialism there is market that is directed and guided by socialist planners. ... is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1989, the death of pro-reform official, Hu Yaobang, helped to spark the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which students and others campaigned for several months for more democratic rights and freedom of expression. However, they were eventually put down on June 4 when PLA troops and vehicles entered and forcibly cleared the square by opening fire on protesters, resulting in numerous casualties. This event was widely reported and famously videotaped, which brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the government. Hu Yaobang (Chinese: èƒ¡è€€é‚¦ Pinyin: HÃº YÃ obÄng, Wade-Giles: Hu Yao-pang) (November 20, 1915 â€“ April 15, 1989) was a leader of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre,[1] were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labor activists in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) between April 15 and June 4, 1989. ... For other uses, see Democracy (disambiguation). ... Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ... is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Peoples Liberation Army redirects here. ... Tank Man stops the advance of a column of tanks on 5 June 1989 in Beijing. ...

President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen China in the 1990s. Under Jiang Zemin's ten years of administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual GDP growth rate of 11.2%. The country formally joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.^[12]^[13] JiÄng ZÃ©mÃn (Traditional Chinese: æ±Ÿæ¾¤æ°‘, Simplified Chinese: æ±Ÿæ³½æ°‘, Hanyu Pinyin: JiÄng ZÃ©mÃn, Wade-Giles: Chiang Tse-min, Cantonese (Jyutping): gong1 zaak6 man4) (born August 17, 1926) was the core of the third generation of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist... ZhÅ« RÃ³ngjÄ« (born October 1, 1928, Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ) is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then Premier of the Peoples Republic of China from March 1998 to March... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... See economic growth Growth rate (group theory) Population growth rate This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... WTO redirects here. ...

Although China needs economic growth to spur its development, the government has begun to worry that rapid economic growth has negatively impacted the country's resources and environment. Another concern is that certain sectors of society are not sufficiently benefiting from China's economic development. As a result, under current President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the PRC have initiated policies to address these issues of equitable distribution of resources, but the outcome remains to be seen.^[14] For much of China's population, living standards have seen extremely large improvements, and freedom continues to expand, but political controls remain tight. This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hu Hu Jintao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born December 21, 1942) is currently the Paramount Leader of the Peoples Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the... Wen Jiabao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Wen Chia-pao) (born September 1942) is the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people. ...

Politics

While the PRC is regarded as a Communist state by many political scientists, simple characterizations of China's political structure since the 1980s are no longer possible.^[15] The PRC government has been variously described as authoritarian, communist, and socialist, with heavy restrictions remaining in many areas, most notably in the Internet and in the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of reproductive rights, and freedom of religion. However, compared to its closed door policies until the mid-1970s, the liberalization of the PRC is such that the administrative climate is much less restrictive than before, though the PRC is still far from the full-fledged democracy as practiced in most of Europe or North America, according to most observers internationally. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Government of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about a form of government in which the state operates under the control of a Communist Party. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box: Political Science is the field concerning the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behaviour. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: This article applies to political and organizational ideologies. ... This article is about the form of society and political movement. ... Socialism is a broad array of ideologies and political movements with the goal of a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community for the purposes of increasing social and economic equality and cooperation. ... Freedom of the Press (or Press Freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... North America North America is a continent [1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ...

The country is ruled under the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. Its incumbent President is Hu Jintao and its premier is Wen Jiabao. The Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China (ä¸åŽäººæ°‘å…±å’Œå›½å®ªæ³•; pinyin: ZhÅnghuÃ¡ RÃ©nmÃn GÃ²nghÃ©guÃ³ XiÃ nfÇŽ) is the highest law within the Peoples Republic of China. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hu Hu Jintao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born December 21, 1942) is currently the Paramount Leader of the Peoples Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the... A premier is an executive official of government. ... Wen Jiabao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Wen Chia-pao) (born September 1942) is the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The country is run by the Communist Party of China (CPC), who is guaranteed power by the Constitution.^[16] There are other political parties in the PRC, referred to in China as "democratic parties", which participate in the People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress. There have been some moves toward political liberalisation, in that open contested elections are now held at the village and town levels,^[17]^[18] and that legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time. However, the Party retains effective control over governmental appointments: in the absence of meaningful opposition, the CPC wins by default most of the time. Political concerns in China include lessening the growing gap between rich and poor and fighting corruption within the government leadership.^[19] The support level that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population in general is unclear since there are no consistently contested national elections.^[20] According to a survey conducted in Hong Kong, where a relatively high level of freedom is enjoyed, the current CPC leaders have received substantial votes of support when residents were asked to rank their favourite leaders from the PRC and Taiwan.^[21] The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... The Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (中国人民政治协商会议 Pinyin: Zhongguo renmin zhengzhi xieshang huiyi), abbreviated CPPCC, is an advisory body in the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Great Hall of the People, where the NPC convenes The National Peoples Congress (全国人民代表大会 in Pinyin: Quánguó Rénmín Dàibiǎo Dàhuì, literally Pan-Nation Congress of the Peoples Representatives), abbreviated PNCOTPR, is the highest...

State power within the government of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is divided among three bodies: the Communist Party of China, the state, and the Peoples Liberation Army, (PLA). ... The May Fourth Movement in 1919 marked a turning point in the history of Chinese nationalism. ... Chinese poster saying: Chairman Mao is the Red sun in our hearts. ... Chinese law is one of the oldest legal traditions in the world. ... The Republic of China (ROC) currently has jurisdiction over Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, and the Pescadores Islands (Penghu) and several smaller islands. ... In the Peoples Republic of China, neoconservatism is a movement which first arose in the early 1990s and argues that social progress is best accomplished through gradual reform of society, eschewing revolution and sudden overthrow of the governmental system. ... Other Hong Kong topics Culture - Economy Education - Geography - History Hong Kong Portal Politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by China, an own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... In accordance with Article 31 of the Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China, Macau has Special Administrative Region status, which provides constitutional guarantees for implementing the policy of one country, two systems and the constitutional basis for enacting the Basic Law of the Macau Special Administrative Region. ...

Foreign relations

The People's Republic of China maintains diplomatic relations with most major countries in the world. Sweden was the first western country to establish diplomatic relations with China on 9th May 1950.^[22]^[23] In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative of China in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.^[24] It is considered a founding member of the UN, though the PRC was not in control of China at the time. The PRC was also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement. The foreign relations of the Peoples Republic of China draws upon traditions extending back to China in the Qing Dynasty and the Opium Wars, despite China having undergone many radical upheavals over the past two and a half centuries. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Hu_Jintao_Bush. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Hu_Jintao_Bush. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Hu Hu Jintao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; born December 21, 1942) is currently the Paramount Leader of the Peoples Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the forty-third and current President of the United States of America, originally inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... â€œSecurity Councilâ€ redirects here. ... Member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (2005). ...

Under the One-China policy, the PRC has made it a precondition to establishing diplomatic relations that the other country acknowledges its claim to Taiwan and sever official ties with the Republic of China (ROC) government. The government opposes publicized foreign travels by former and present Taiwanese officials promoting Taiwanese Independence, such as Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, and other politically controversial figures, such as Tenzin Gyatso, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, in an official context. The One-China policy (Traditional Chinese: ä¸€å€‹ä¸åœ‹; Simplified Chinese: ä¸€ä¸ªä¸å›½; pinyin: yÄ« gÃ¨ ZhÅngguÃ³) is a principle that there is one China and that mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan are all part of that China. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Taiwan independence (台灣獨立, pinyin: Táiwān dúlì, Taiwanese Church Romanization: Tâi-oân To̍k-li̍p; abbreviated to 台獨, Táidú, Tâi-to̍k) is a political movement whose goal is — depending on ones interpretation... Lee Teng-hui (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) born January 15, 1923) is a politician of Taiwan. ... Chen Shui-bian, President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian (ch. ... Tenzin Gyatso is the fourteenth and current Dalai Lama. ... This article is about the Dalai Lama lineage. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ...

China has been playing an increasing role in calling for free trade areas and security pacts amongst its Asia-Pacific neighbors. In 2004, China proposed an entirely new East Asia Summit (EAS) framework as a forum for regional security issues that pointedly excluded the United States.^[25] The EAS, which includes ASEAN Plus Three, India, Australia and New Zealand, held its inaugural summit in 2005. China is also a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), with Russia and the Central Asian republics. A free trade area is a designated group of countries that have agreed to eliminate tariffs, quotas and preferences on most (if not all) goods between them. ... The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a pan-Asia forum held annually by the leaders of 16 countries in East Asia and the region, with ASEAN in a leadership position. ... ASEAN Plus Three is a forum that function as a coordinator of cooperation between Association of Southeast Asian Nations with three East Asian nations; namely Japan, Peoples Republic of China and South Korea. ... Membership 6 member states 4 observer states Headquarters Secretariat RATS - Beijing - Tashkent Working languages Chinese, Russian Secretary General Zhang Deguang Formation 14 June 2001 Official website http://www. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...

Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's peaceful rise. Conflicts with foreign countries have occurred at times in its recent history, particularly with the United States; e.g., the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict in May 1999 and the U.S.-China spy plane incident in April 2001. Its foreign relations with many Western nations suffered for a time following the Tiananmen Square Incident in 1989, though they have since recovered. The relationship between China and Japan has been strained at times by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its war-time past to the satisfaction of the PRC, e.g. revisionist comments made by prominent Japanese officials and in some Japanese history textbooks. Another point of conflict between the two countries is the frequent visits by Japanese government officials to the Yasukuni Shrine. However, Sino-Japanese relations have warmed considerably since Shinzo Abe became the new Japanese Prime Minister in September 2006. A joint historical study to be completed by 2008 of WWII atrocities is being conducted by China and Japan. Chinas peaceful rise (Chinese: ä¸å›½å’Œå¹³å´›èµ·; Pinyin: ZhÅnggÃºo hÃ©pÃng juÃ©qÇ) is a foreign policy doctrine mentioned increasingly by the Peoples Republic of China in the early 21st century. ... On May 12, the flag at the United States Consulate General in Hong Kong was lowered in respect and sorrow for the Chinese people for a day as the plane carrying the bodies of victims of the embassy bombing came home to Beijing. ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ... The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... J-8IIM On April 1, 2001, a United States Navy EP-3E was intercepted by Peoples Liberation Army Air Force J-8 fighter jets about 70 miles (110 km) off the Chinese island of Hainan. ... China and Japan have had a long official and non-official relationship. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... In Parson Weems Fable (1939) Grant Wood takes a sly poke at a traditional hagiographical account of George Washington Historical revisionism has both a legitimate academic use and a pejorative meaning. ... The Japanese history textbook controversies are about government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education (junior high schools and high schools) of Japan. ... Torii Gate at Yasukuni Shrine The main building of Yasukuni Shrine Yasukuni Shrine 75th anniversary Stamp (1944) Yasukuni Shrine ) is a Shinto shrine located in Tokyo, Japan, dedicated to the spirits of soldiers and others who died fighting on behalf of the Emperor of Japan. ... Shinzo Abe , ; born 21 September 1954) is the current Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. ...

Equally bordering the most countries in the world alongside Russia, the PRC was in a number of international territorial disputes. China's territorial disputes have led to localized wars in the last 50 years, including the Sino-Indian War in 1962, the Sino-Soviet border conflict in 1969 and the Sino-Vietnam War in 1979. In 2001, the PRC and Russia signed the Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation,^[26] which paved the way in 2004 for Russia to transfer Yinlong Island as well as one-half of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing Sino-Russian border dispute. Other territorial disputes include islands in the East and South China Seas, and undefined or disputed borders with India, Tajikstan and North Korea. The foreign relations of the Peoples Republic of China draws upon traditions extending back to China in the Qing Dynasty and the Opium Wars, despite China having undergone many radical upheavals over the past two and a half centuries. ... Combatants China India Commanders Zhang Guohua[4] Brij Mohan Kaul Strength 80,000[5][6] Casualties Killed 1,460 (Chinese sources)[7] None captured[8][9][10][11] Wounded 1,697[7] Killed 3,128 (Indian sources)[12] Captured 3,968[2] Wounded 548[13] The Sino-Indian War (Simplified... Combatants Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Soviet Union Commanders Mao Tse-Tung Leonid Brezhnev Strength 814,000 658,000 Casualties 800 killed, 620 wounded, 1 lost [1] 58 killed, 94 wounded [2] The Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969 was a series of armed clashes between the Soviet Union and... The Sino-Vietnamese War was a war fought in 1979 between the neighboring countries of the Peoples Republic of China and Vietnam. ... The Treaty of Good-Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation Between the Peoples Republic of China and the Russian Federation (FCT) is a twenty-year strategic treaty which was signed by the leaders of the two powers, Jiang Zemin and Vladimir Putin, on July 16, 2001. ... Heixiazi / Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island is depicted in the inset map on the lower right. ... Sino-Russian Relations refers to the relations between China and Russia. ... The East China Sea is a marginal sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Luzon Sea Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... The Republic of Tajikistan (Тоҷикистон), formerly known as the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic, is a country in Central Asia. ...

While accompanying a rapid economic rise, the PRC since the 1990s seeks to maintain a policy of quiet diplomacy with its neighbors. Steadying its economic growth and participating in regional organizations and cultivating bi-lateral relations will ease suspicion over China's burgeoning military capabilities. The PRC has started a policy of wooing African nations for trade and bilateral co-operations.^[27] A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

Chinas seat in the United Nations has been occupied by the Peoples Republic of China since October 25, 1971. ...

Population policy

With a population of over 1.3 billion, the PRC is very concerned about its population growth and has attempted, with mixed results,^[28] to implement a strict family planning policy. The government's goal is one child per family, with exceptions for ethnic minorities and flexibility in rural areas, where a family can have a second child if the first is a girl or physically disabled. The government's goal is to stabilize population growth early in the twenty-first century, though some projections estimate a population of anywhere ranging from 1.4 billion to 1.6 billion by 2025. Propaganda poster of Chinese birth control policy under the slogan Sweet Achievement. ... Theoretical Human population increase from 10,000 BC â€“ 2000 AD. Population growth is the change in population over time, and can be quantified as the change in the number of individuals in a population per unit time. ... Oral contraceptives. ... Propaganda poster of Chinese birth control policy under the slogan Sweet Achievement. ...

The policy is resisted, particularly in rural areas, because of the need for agricultural labour and a traditional preference for boys. Families who breach the policy often lie during the census.^[29] Official government policy opposes forced abortion or sterilization, but allegations of coercion continue as local officials, who are faced with penalties for failing to curb population growth, may resort to forced abortion or sterilization, or manipulation of census figures. Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... Sterilization is a surgical technique leaving a male or female unable to procreate. ...

The decreasing reliability of PRC population statistics since family planning began in the late 1970s has made evaluating the effectiveness of the policy difficult.^[30] Estimates by Chinese demographers of the average number of children for a Chinese woman vary from 1.5 to 2.0. The government is particularly concerned with the large imbalance in the sex ratio at birth, apparently the result of a combination of traditional preference for boys, family planning pressure, and the wide availability of ultrasound, which led to its ban for the purpose of preventing sex-selective abortion. Map of countries and territories by fertility rate The total fertility rate (TFR, also called fertility rate or total period fertility rate) of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if she were to experience the current age-specific... Sex ratio by country for total population. ... For other uses, see Ultrasound (disambiguation). ... Sex-selective abortion is the practice of aborting a fetus after a determination (usually by ultrasound but also rarely by amniocentesis or another procedure) that the fetus is an undesired sex, typically female. ...

Human rights

The Constitution of the People's Republic of China states that the "fundamental rights" of citizens include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, freedom of religion, universal suffrage, and property rights. However, censorship of political speech and information is openly and routinely used to protect what the government considers national security interests.^[31] In particular, press control is notoriously tight: Reporters Without Borders considers the PRC one of the least free countries in the world for the press.^[32] The government has a policy of limiting some protests and organizations that it considers a threat to social stability and national unity, as was the case with the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The Communist Party has had mixed success at controlling information: a very strong media control system faces very strong market forces, an increasingly educated citizenry and cultural change that are making China more open. In some cases, especially on environmental issues,^[33]^[34] China's leaders see expressions of public dissatisfaction as a catalyst for positive change. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 539 pixelsFull resolution (2048 Ã— 1381 pixel, file size: 325 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 539 pixelsFull resolution (2048 Ã— 1381 pixel, file size: 325 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The Peoples Armed Police Force (Abbreviation: PAP; Simplified Chinese: äººæ°‘æ¦è£…è¦å¯Ÿéƒ¨é˜Ÿ; pinyin: Renmin wuzhuang jingcha budui) is a paramilitary police force primarily responsible for law enforcement within the Peoples Republic of China. ... For the 1989 protest, see Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. ... The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre,[1] were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labor activists in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) between April 15 and June 4, 1989. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Constitution of the Peoples Republic of China (ä¸åŽäººæ°‘å…±å’Œå›½å®ªæ³•; pinyin: ZhÅnghuÃ¡ RÃ©nmÃn GÃ²nghÃ©guÃ³ XiÃ nfÇŽ) is the highest law within the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about the general concept. ... Freedom of the Press (or Press Freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... The Right to a fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the rule of law. ... The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen guarantees freedom of religion, as long as religious activities do not infringe on public order in ways detrimental to society. ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: Universal suffrage (also general suffrage or common suffrage) consists of the extension of the right to vote to all adults, without distinction as to race, sex, belief, intelligence, or economic or social status. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Censorship in the Peoples Republic of China is the limiting or suppressing of the publishing, dissemination, and viewing of certain information in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontiÃ¨res, Spanish: Reporteros Sin Fronteras, or RSF) is a French origin international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, founded by its current general-secretary, Robert Menard. ... The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly referred to as the Tiananmen Square Massacre,[1] were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labor activists in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) between April 15 and June 4, 1989. ...

Certain foreign governments and NGOs routinely criticise the PRC, alleging widespread human rights violations including systematic use of lengthy detention without trial, forced confessions, torture, mistreatment of prisoners, restrictions of freedom of speech, assembly, association, religion, the press, and workers' rights.^[31] China leads the world in capital punishment, accounting for roughly 90% of total death-penalty executions in 2004.^[35] Human rights issues are one of the factors driving independence movements in Tibet and Xinjiang. In the Reporters Without Borders' Annual World Press Freedom Index of 2005,^[36] the PRC ranked 159 out of 167 places. PRC journalist He Qinglian in her 2004 book Media Control in China^[37] documents government controls on the Internet and other media in China. NGO is an abbreviation or code for: Non-governmental organization Nagoya Airport (IATA code) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about the general concept. ... Group of women holding placards with political activist slogans: know your courts - study your politicians, Liberty in law, Law makers must not be law breakers, and character in candidates photo 1920 Freedom of assembly is the freedom to associate with, or organize any groups, gatherings, clubs, or organizations that one... Freedom of association is a Constitutional (legal) concept based on the premise that it is the right of free adults to mutually choose their associates for whatever purpose they see fit. ... Freedom of the Press (or Press Freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public press for its citizens and their associations, extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a group of workers who act collectively to address common issues. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a convicted criminal by the state as punishment for crimes known as capital crimes or capital offences. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontiÃ¨res, Spanish: Reporteros Sin Fronteras, or RSF) is a French origin international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, founded by its current general-secretary, Robert Menard. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

The PRC government responds to these criticisms by arguing that the notion of human rights should factor in standards of living; rise in the standard of living for some Chinese is seen as an indicator of improvement in human rights.^[38]

Political divisions

The People's Republic of China has administrative control over twenty-two provinces and considers Taiwan to be its twenty-third province.^[39] There are also five autonomous regions, each with a designated minority group; four municipalities; and two Special Administrative Regions that enjoy considerable autonomy. The twenty-two provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities can be collectively referred to as "mainland China", a term which usually excludes Hong Kong and Macau. Due to Chinas large population and area, the political divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times. ... According to administrative divisions of the Peoples Republic of China, there are three level of cities, namely municipalities, prefecture-level cities, and county-level cities. ... Provinces ï¼ˆSimplified Chinese: çœ, Traditional Chinese: çœ, Hanyu Pinyin romanization: shÄ›ngï¼‰ Autonomous regions ï¼ˆSimplified Chinese: è‡ªæ²»åŒº, Traditional Chinese: è‡ªæ²»å€, Hanyu Pinyin romanization: ZÃ¬zhÃ¬qÅ«ï¼‰ Municipalities ï¼ˆSimplified Chinese: ç›´è¾–å¸‚, Traditional Chinese: ç›´è½„å¸‚, Hanyu Pinyin romanization: ZhÃxiÃ¡shÃ¬) Special Administrative Regions ï¼ˆSimplified Chinese: ç‰¹åˆ«è¡Œæ”¿åŒº, Traditional Chinese: ç‰¹åˆ¥è¡Œæ”¿å€, Hanyu Pinyin romanization: TÃ¨biÃ© xÃngzhÃ¨ngqÅ«ï¼‰ ... A province, in the context of China, is a translation of Sheng (Chinese: çœ ShÄ›ng), which is an administrative division of China. ... The autonomous regions of China are the largest type of autonomous area in China. ... Direct-controlled municipalities are the highest-level cities in China, with status equal to that of the provinces. ... A Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the Peoples Republic of China is an administrative division of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... ...

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 735 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (857 Ã— 699 pixel, file size: 95 KB, MIME type: image/gif) Info below is copied from Image:China administrative. ... Anhui (Chinese: å®‰å¾½; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: An-hui; Postal System Pinyin: Ngan-hui, Anhwei or An-hwei) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal map spelling: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiÃ n) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Gansu (Simplified Chinese: ç”˜è‚ƒ; Traditional Chinese: ç”˜è‚…; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Not to be confused with the former Kwantung Leased Territory in north-eastern China. ... (Simplified Chinese: è´µå·ž; Traditional Chinese: è²´å·ž; pinyin: GÃ¹izhÅu; Wade-Giles: Kuei-chou; also spelled Kweichow) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Hebei (Chinese: æ²³åŒ—; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hopeh) is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: é»‘é¾™æ±Ÿçœ; Traditional Chinese: é»‘é¾æ±Ÿçœ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... Henan (Chinese: æ²³å—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... Hubei (Chinese: æ¹–åŒ—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hu-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hupeh) is a central province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Hainan, Henan, and Yunnan. ... (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ... (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal map spelling: Kiangsi) is a southern province of the Peoples Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south. ... For the city, see Jilin City. ... (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: LiÃ¡onÃng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Qinghai (Chinese: é’æµ·; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching-hai; Postal System Pinyin: Tsinghai; Tibetan: à½˜à½šà½¼à¼‹à½¦à¾”à½¼à½“à¼‹ mtsho-sngon; Mongolian: KÃ¶ke NaÎ³ur; Manchu: Huhu Noor) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, named after the enormous Qinghai Lake. ... (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ShÇŽnxÄ«; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a north-central province of the Peoples Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling Mountains across the... (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-tung) is a coastal province of eastern Peoples Republic of China. ... Shanxi (Chinese: å±±è¥¿; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shansi) is a province in the northern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Yunan redirects here. ... Zhejiang (also spelled Chehkiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ... Guangxi (Zhuang: Gvangjsih; old orthography: ; Simplified Chinese: å¹¿è¥¿; Traditional Chinese: å»£è¥¿; Pinyin: GuÇŽngxÄ«; Wade-Giles: Kuang-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Kwangsi), full name Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Zhuang: Gvangjsih Bouxcuengh Swcigih; old orthography: ; Simplified Chinese: å¹¿è¥¿å£®æ—è‡ªæ²»åŒº; Traditional Chinese: å»£è¥¿å£¯æ—è‡ªæ²»å€; Pinyin: GuÇŽngxÄ« ZhuÃ ngzÃº ZÃ¬zhÃ¬qÅ«) is a Zhuang autonomous region of... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N... Ningxia (Simplified Chinese: å®å¤; Traditional Chinese: å¯§å¤; Pinyin: NÃngxiÃ ; Wade-Giles: Ning-hsia; Postal Pinyin: Ningsia), full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Simplified Chinese: å®å¤å›žæ—è‡ªæ²»åŒº; Traditional Chinese: å¯§å¤å›žæ—è‡ªæ²»å€; Pinyin: NÃngxiÃ HuÃzÃº ZÃ¬zhÃ¬qÅ«), is a Hui autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) (Tibetan: à½–à½¼à½‘à¼‹à½¢à½„à¼‹à½¦à¾à¾±à½¼à½„à¼‹à½£à¾—à½¼à½„à½¦à¼‹; Wylie: Bod-rang-skyong-ljongs; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is a province-level autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Peking redirects here. ... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Chungching, also Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of China. ...

Geography and climate

China is the second largest country in Asia by area after Russia, and is considered the third or fourth largest^[40] in the world by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in respect to land-and-sea area. The uncertainty over size is related to the validity of claims by the PRC on territories such as Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract (both territories also claimed by India), and a recent change in the method used by the United States to calculate its surface area.^[41] It borders 14 nations (counted clockwise from south): Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan,^[42] Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea. Additionally the border between PRC and ROC is located in territorial waters. NASA composite satellite photo The geography of China stretches some 5,026 kilometers across the East Asian landmass bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam in a changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including... China stretches some 5,000 kilometers across the East Asian landmass in an eratically changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1499 KB) Description: Saihanba National Park in Inner Moglian plateau grassland border, north Chengde, Hebei Province, China Source: Date: On July 16 2005 Author: Taken by Fanghong Permission: File links The following pages link to this file: Peoples Republic... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2560x1920, 1499 KB) Description: Saihanba National Park in Inner Moglian plateau grassland border, north Chengde, Hebei Province, China Source: Date: On July 16 2005 Author: Taken by Fanghong Permission: File links The following pages link to this file: Peoples Republic... The Putuo Zongcheng ticket to the summer resort (1984) Chengde (Chinese: ; pinyin: ChÃ©ngdÃ©; Manchu: Erdemu be aliha fu) is a city approximately one hundred miles northeast of Beijing in northeastern Hebei province, situated near the Luan River. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated province of Hubei Hebei (Chinese: 河北; pinyin: Hébĕi; Wade-Giles: Ho-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hopeh), is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Northern Peoples Republic of China region. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 300 KB) Chinas new railway into Tibet. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x768, 300 KB) Chinas new railway into Tibet. ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... The southwestern Peoples Republic of China region. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 530 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,024 Ã— 679 pixels, file size: 376 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) http://www. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 530 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,024 Ã— 679 pixels, file size: 376 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) http://www. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Luzon Sea Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Henan and Hunan Hainan (海南; pinyin: Hǎinán) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... Countries by area. ... China - India western border showing Aksai Chin Aksai Chin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: , Hindi: à¤…à¤•à¤¸à¤¾à¤ˆ à¤šà¤¿à¤¨) is a region located at the juncture of China, Pakistan, and India. ... Political division of Kashmir The Trans-Karakoram Tract is an area of nearly 5,800 sq. ... Map of Sealand and the United Kingdom, with territorial water claims of 3nm and 12nm shown. ...

The territory of the PRC contains a large variety of landscapes. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, there are extensive and densely populated alluvial plains, while on the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, grasslands can be seen. Southern China is dominated by hill country and low mountain ranges. In the central-east are the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the Xijiang River, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. ... The East China Sea is a marginal sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. ... Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, to wash against) is soil or sediments deposited by a river or other running water. ... For exotic financial options, see Mountain range (options). ... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), or Drichu in Tibetan (Tibetan: à½ à½–; Wylie: bri chu) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa, and the Amazon in South America. ... Xi River (è¥¿æ±Ÿ, pinyin: XÄ« JiÄng, Postal map spelling: Si Kiang, lit. ... The Mekong is one of the worldâ€™s major rivers. ... The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. ... The Amur River or Heilong Jiang (Russian: ÐÐ¼ÑƒÑ€; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , or Black Dragon River; Mongolian: , Khar MÃ¶rÃ¶n or Black River; Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is the worlds eighth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China. ...

To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalayas, with China's highest point at the eastern half of Mount Everest, and high plateaus feature among the more arid landscapes such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... Everest redirects here. ... For other meanings, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... Dust storm in Taklamakan from space, June 25, 2005 The Taklamakan (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Gobi Desert lies in the territory of the Peoples Republic of China and the Country of Mongolia. ...

A major issue is the continued expansion of deserts, particularly the Gobi Desert.^[43] Although barrier tree lines planted since the 1970s have reduced the frequency of sandstorms, prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices result in dust storms plaguing northern China each spring, which then spread to other parts of East Asia, including Korea and Japan. Water, erosion, and pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries. The Gobi Desert lies in the territory of the Peoples Republic of China and the Country of Mongolia. ... Look up sandstorm in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Fields outside Benambra, Victoria, Australia suffering from drought conditions A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. ... â€œSandstormâ€ redirects here. ... This article is about the Korean civilization. ... For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion (morphology). ...

China has some relevant environmental regulations: the 1979 Environmental Protection Law, which was largely modelled on U.S. legislation. But the environment continues to deteriorate.^[44] While the regulations are fairly stringent, they are frequently disregarded by local communities while seeking economic development. Twelve years after the law, only one Chinese city was making an effort to clean up its water discharges.^[45] This indicates that China is about twenty years behind the U.S. schedule of environmental regulation.

Water pollution has increased as an issue along with industrial production. The Chinese government has chosen a discharge standard measuring the concentration of a pollutant rather than the total pollutant load (as is done in the U.S. and many Western countries). As a result many industrial dischargers in China simply dilute the effluent with river water taken from the same source as the receiving waters. Consequently the outcome has been to create considerable water pollution in many of the country's rivers. Raw sewage and industrial waste flows into the U.S. from Mexico as the New River passes from Mexicali, Baja California to Calexico, California Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ...

With regard to carbon emissions, China has ratified the Kyoto Protocol but it is not required to reduce carbon emissions because of its status as a developing country. However, with rapid industrialisation, China is fast becoming one of the world's top emitters of carbon gases and possibly a major contributor to global warming. Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ... Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ...

Part of the price China is paying for increased prosperity is damage to the environment. Leading Chinese environmental campaigner Ma Jun has warned that water pollution is one of the most serious threats facing China. According to Ma the drinking water of 300 million peasants is unsafe and water quality in one fifth of the cities is not up to standard. This makes the crisis of water shortages more pressing, with 400 out of 600 cities short of water.^[46] South Pointing Chariot (replica) Ma Jun (é¦¬éˆž, Wade-Giles: Ma ChÃ¼n; 200 - 265), styled Deheng (å¾³è¡¡), was a Chinese mechanical engineer and government official during the Three Kingdoms era of China. ... Raw sewage and industrial waste flows into the U.S. from Mexico as the New River passes from Mexicali, Baja California to Calexico, California Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ...

Beijing air on a day after rain (L) and a rainless day (R) One of the serious negative consequences of the Peoples Republic of Chinas rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. ... The Water resources of China include 2,711. ... The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA, Simplified Chinese: å›½å®¶çŽ¯å¢ƒä¿æŠ¤æ€»å±€) is a cabinet-level agency in the executive branch of the Chinese Government (Peoples Republic of China). ...

Military

With 2.3 million active troops, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the largest military in the world.^[47] The PLA consists of an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear force. The official announced budget of the PLA for 2007 was $45 billion. However, the United States claims China does not report its real military spending. The DIA estimates that the real Chinese military budget for 2007 could be anywhere from US$85 to US$125 billion.^[48] Peoples Liberation Army redirects here. ... The military budget of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is the portion of the overall budget of China that is allocated for the funding of the military of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 181 KB) Summary PLA Infantry training Photo by Wang Xianjiao in 2004 at Beijing. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 181 KB) Summary PLA Infantry training Photo by Wang Xianjiao in 2004 at Beijing. ... Peoples Liberation Army redirects here. ... Peoples Liberation Army redirects here. ... The Ground Forces of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) deploys over 8,000 tanks, 4,000 armored vehicles, and 25,000 artillery pieces. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Flag of the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force The Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is the aviation branch of the Peoples Liberation Army, the military of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Peoples Liberation Army redirects here. ... The military budget of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is the portion of the overall budget of China that is allocated for the funding of the military of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Defense Intelligence Agency, or DIA, is a major producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense. ...

The PRC, despite possession of nuclear weapons and delivery systems, is widely seen by military researchers both within and outside of China as having only limited power projection capability; this is, among other things, because of the limited effectiveness of its navy. It is considered a major regional power and possibly an emerging superpower.^[49] The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... USS , and HMS Illustrious, two aircraft carriers on a joint patrol. ... In international relations, a regional power is a state that has power within a geographic region. ... An emerging superpower or potential superpower is a country showing the potential to become a superpower in the foreseeable future. ...

Much progress has been made in the last decade and the PRC continues to make efforts to modernize its military. It has purchased state-of-the-art fighter jets from Russia, such as the Su-30s, and has also produced its own modern fighters, specifically the Chinese J-10s and the J-11s.^[50] It has also acquired and improved upon the Russian S-300 surface-to-air missile systems, which are considered to be among the best aircraft-intercepting systems in the world,^[51] albeit Russia has since produced the new generation S-400 Triumf. The PRC's armoured and rapid-reaction forces have been updated with enhanced electronics and targeting capabilities. In recent years, much attention has been focused on building a navy with blue-water capability.^[52] Sukhoi-30 (Nato: Flanker-C) The Sukhoi Su-30 is a military aircraft that was produced by the Russian company Sukhoi in 1996. ... The Chengdu J-10 (æ¼å, JiÄn 10) is a multirole fighter aircraft designed and produced by the Peoples Republic of Chinas Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation (CAC) for the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). ... The Shenyang J-11 is an advanced fighter in the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force. ... A single S-300-PM missile TEL ready to fire. ... Akash Missile Firing French Air Force Crotale battery Bendix Rim-8 Talos surface to air missile of the US Navy A surface-to-air missile (SAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. ... The S-400, 48N6DM The S-400 Triumf (Russian: ; English: ) is a new generation of anti-aircraft/anti-missile weapon system complex developed by the Almaz Central Design Bureau as an upgrade of the S-300 family. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Ships from seven countries sailing together during the RIMPAC exercise in 2006. ...

Economy

Beginning in late 1978, the Chinese leadership has been reforming the economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy that is still within a rigid political framework under Party control. The reforms replaced collectivization of Chinese agriculture with privatization of farmlands, increased the responsibility of local authorities and industry managers, allowed a wide variety of small-scale enterprises to flourish, and promoted foreign investment. Price controls were also relaxed. These changes resulted in mainland China's shift from a planned economy to a mixed economy. The economies of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau are separate from the rest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Economy of Hong Kong is widely believed, and some argue incorrectly, to be the most economically free in the world. ... Image File history File links DengXiaoping. ... Image File history File links DengXiaoping. ... Deng Xiaoping (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Teng Hsiao-ping; August 22, 1904 â€“ February 19, 1997) was a prominent Chinese politician and reformer, and the late leader of the Communist Party of China (CCP). ... Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China. ... CCCP redirects here. ... Look up Market in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Collective farming is an organizational unit in agriculture in which peasants are not paid wages, but rather receive a share of the farms net output. ... Agriculture is the most important economic sector of China, employing over 300 million farmers- nearly half of its work force. ... This article refers to an economy controlled by the state. ... A mixed economy is an economy that has a mix of economic systems. ...

China became a member of the World Trade Organization in 2001.^[53] China’s accession into the World Trade Organization (WTO) was a goal achieved after nearly fifteen years of exhausting negotiations carrying many legal, political and social implications for all parties. China was finally able to convince WTO members that without China, the WTO is only partially a worldwide trade organization. The road to the signature of the final agreement of accession was long, but these difficulties pale in comparison to the problems that have not yet been tackled in terms of achieving real implementation of its provisions throughout the territory of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). China’s accession surely presents the world trading system with opportunities, but also poses the challenge of integrating a market with strong structural, behavioural and cultural constraints.^[54] Image File history File links Prc1952-2005gdp. ... Image File history File links Prc1952-2005gdp. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a Chinese stock exchange based in the city of Shanghai, with a market capitalization of nearly US$2. ... SSEC (for Selective Sequence Electronic Calculator, and also called Poppa) was an electomechanical computer built by IBM, finished in January 1948. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x683, 439 KB) Langfang farmlands near Tianjin. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x683, 439 KB) Langfang farmlands near Tianjin. ... Hebei (Chinese: æ²³åŒ—; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hopeh) is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... WTO redirects here. ...

The government emphasizes personal income and consumption by introducing new management systems to help increase productivity. The government also focuses on foreign trade as a major vehicle for economic growth, which led to 5 Special Economic Zones (SEZ: Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Xiamen, Hainan Province) where investment laws are relaxed so as to attract foreign capital. Since the 1990s, SEZs and similar concepts have been expanded to major Chinese cities, including Shanghai and Beijing. The result has been a 6-fold increase of GDP since 1978. Chinese economic development is among the fastest in the world, and has been growing at an average annual GDP rate of 9.4% for the past 25 years.^[55] At the end of 2005, the PRC became the fourth largest economy in the world by exchange rate, and the second largest in the world after the United States by purchasing power parity at US$8,158 trillion.^[56] But with its large population this still gives an average GDP per person of only an estimated US$8,000 (2006), about 1/5th that of the United States. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Shenzhen is a sub-provincial city of Guangdong province in southern China. ... Zhuhai waterfront Zhuhai Campus of Zhongshan University Zhuhai (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; lit. ... Geographic coordinates: 116Âº14 - 117Âº19 E, 23Âº02 - 23Âº38 N Area: 234 kmÂ² Shantou (also known as Swatow or SuÃ¡tao) is a city of 1. ... A view of the Xiamen University campus Xiamen (Simplified Chinese: åŽ¦é—¨; Traditional Chinese: å»ˆé–€; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a coastal sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Henan and Hunan Hainan (海南; pinyin: Hǎinán) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. ... The purchasing power parity (PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power. ...

Mainland China has a reputation as being a low-cost manufacturer, which caused notable disputes in global markets. This is largely because Chinese corporations can produce many products far more cheaply than other parts of Asia or Latin America, and because expensive products produced in developed countries like the United States are in large part uncompetitive compared to European or Asian goods. Another factor is the unfavorable exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and the United States dollar to which it was pegged. A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ... CNY and RMB redirect here. ... USD redirects here. ... A fixed exchange rate, sometimes (less commonly) called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold. ...

On July 21, 2005 the People's Bank of China announced that it would move to a floating peg, allowing its currency to move against the United States dollar by 0.5% (effective 18 May 2007, which was earlier 0.3%) a day, while 3% a day against other currencies.^[57] Many high-tech American companies have difficulty exporting to China because of U.S. federal government restrictions, which exacerbated the trade gap between the PRC and the US, widespread software piracy and illegal copying of intellectual property (a major US export), and perceived low quality of US goods. On the other hand, China runs a trade deficit with Taiwan and South Korea, importing more from those nations than exports. China runs a large but diminishing trade surplus with Japan^[58] (slight deficit if Hong Kong is included).^[59]^[60] is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Peoples Bank of China (PBC) (Simplified Chinese: ä¸å›½äººæ°‘é“¶è¡Œ; Traditional Chinese: ä¸åœ‹äººæ°‘éŠ€è¡Œ; pinyin: ZhÅngguÃ³ RÃ©nmÃn YÃnhÃ¡ng ) (not to be confused with the Bank of China or the Central Bank of China) is the central bank of the Peoples Republic of China with the power to... A floating exchange rate is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currencys value is allowed to fluctuate according to the foreign exchange market. ... USD redirects here. ... The copyright infringement of software is often called software piracy by those seeking to reduce its incidence. ... For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ...

There has been a significant rise in the Chinese standard of living in recent years. Today, a rapidly declining 10 percent of the Chinese population is below the poverty line. 90.9% of the population is literate,^[61] compared to 20% in 1950.^[62] The life expectancy in China is the third highest in East Asia, after Japan and South Korea. There is a large wealth disparity between the coastal regions and the remainder of the country. To counter this potentially destabilizing problem, the government has initiated the China Western Development strategy (2000), the Revitalize Northeast China initiative (2003), and the Rise of Central China policy (2004), which are all aimed at helping the interior of China to catch up. China Western Development (è¥¿éƒ¨å¤§å¼€å‘ Pinyin: XÄ«bÃ¹ DÃ kÄifÄ), also Chinas Western Development or Western China Development, is a policy adopted by the Peoples Republic of China to boost its underdeveloped western regions. ... Revitalize The Old Northeast Industrial Bases (Chinese: æŒ¯å…´ä¸œåŒ—è€å·¥ä¸šåŸºåœ°; Pinyin: ZhÃ¨nxÄ«ng DÅngbÄ›i LÇŽo GÅngyÃ¨ JÄ«dÃ¬), also Revitalize Northeast China or Northeast China Revitalization, is a policy adopted by the Peoples Republic of China to rejuvenate the old industrial bases in the northeastern regions. ... Rise of Central China Plan (Chinese: ä¸éƒ¨å´›èµ·è®¡åˆ’; Pinyin: ZhÅngbÃ¹ JuÃ©qÇ JÃ¬huÃ ) is a policy adopted by the Peoples Republic of China to accelerate the development of its central regions. ... In mathematics, the interior of a set S consists of all points which are intuitively not on the edge of S. A point which is in the interior of S is an interior point of S. The notion of interior is in many ways dual to the notion of closure. ...

China is undergoing major reforms in its financial sector, which has been plagued by nonperforming loans made in the 1980s and early 1990s to inefficient state-owned enterprises. The government has spent five years and more than US$400 billion cleaning bad loans off the books of the big four state-owned banks, helping prepare them to become shareholder corporations.^[63] By the end of 2006, China had restructured three of its four largest banks and listed them publicly. China's largest bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in October 2006 raised US$21.6 billion in the world's largest initial public offering (IPO) in history. ICBC is now the world's second largest bank in market value, after only Citibank.^[64] These highly successful IPOs have helped ease the government's burden and spur further structural reforms in China's nascent banking industry.^[65] A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is an enterprise, often a corporation, owned by a government. ... Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , more commonly just å·¥è¡Œ GÅnghÃ¡ng) is the largest of Chinas Big Four state-owned commercial banks, the other 3 banks being the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank, and one of... â€œIPOâ€ redirects here. ... Citibank is a major international bank, founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York. ...

Science and technology

After the Sino-Soviet split, China started to develop its own indigenous nuclear weapons and delivery systems, successfully detonating its first surface nuclear test in 1964 at Lop Nor. A natural outgrowth of this was a satellite launching program, which culminated in 1970 with the launching of Dongfang Hong I, the first Chinese satellite. This made the PRC the fifth nation to independently launch a satellite. In 1992, the Shenzhou manned spaceflight program was authorized.^[66] After four tests, Shenzhou 5 was launched on October 15, 2003, using a Long March 2F rocket and carrying Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei, making the PRC the third country to put a human being into space through its own endeavors.^[67] With the successful completion of the second manned mission, Shenzhou 6 in October 2005, the country plans to build a Chinese Space Station in the near future and achieve a lunar landing in the next decade.^[68] Science and technology in China is currently experiencing rapid growth. ... This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 532 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,024 Ã— 681 pixels, file size: 221 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 532 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,024 Ã— 681 pixels, file size: 221 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... An example of a wind turbine. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... The Sino-Soviet split was a major diplomatic conflict between the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), beginning in the late 1950s, reaching a peak in 1969 and continuing in various ways until the late 1980s. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... A nuclear test explosion is an experiment involving the detonation of a nuclear weapon. ... Lop Nur (alternately Lop Nor or Lo-pu po) is a group of small salt lakes and marshes in the desert in Malan, Xinjiang, in Northwestern China. ... Dong Fang Hong I (ä¸œæ–¹çº¢ä¸€å·), also known as China 1, was the Peoples Republic of Chinas first successful space satellite, launched on April 24, 1970 as part of the PRCs Dong Fang Hong space satellite program. ... Shenzhou (Chinese: 神舟; pinyin: Shénzhōu) is the name of a spacecraft from the Peoples Republic of China which first carried a Chinese astronaut into orbit in 2003. ... Shenzhou 5 (ç¥žèˆŸäº”å·) was the first manned space mission launched by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on October 15, 2003. ... is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... CZ-2F rocket A Long March rocket (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is any rocket in a family of expendable launch systems operated by the Peoples Republic of China. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yang YÃ¡ng LÃ¬wÄ›i (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ) (born June 21, 1965) is an astronaut of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA)[1] Outer space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... Shenzhou 6 (Chinese: ç¥žèˆŸå…å·) was the second human spaceflight of the Peoples Republic of China, launched on 12 October 2005 on a Long March rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. ... The first model of a planned Chinese space station, unveiled in 2000 Project 921-2 is the working name given by the Peoples Republic of China in 1992 for plans to create a manned space station. ...

China has the world's second largest research and development budget, and is expected to invest over $136 billion this year after growing more than 20% in the past year.^[69] The Chinese government continues to place heavy emphasis on research and development by creating greater public awareness of innovation, and reforming financial and tax systems to promote growth in cutting-edge industries. President Hu Jintao in January 2006 called for China to make the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to an innovation-based one, and this year's National People's Congress has approved large increases in research funding. Stem-cell research and gene therapy, which some in the Western world see as controversial, face minimal regulation in China. China has an estimated 926,000 researchers, second in number only to the 1.3 million in the United States.^[70] The phrase research and development (also R and D or, more often, R&D), according to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, refers to creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use... Mouse embryonic stem cells. ... Gene therapy is the insertion of genes into an individuals cells and tissues to treat a disease, and hereditary diseases in which a defective mutant allele is replaced with a functional one. ... Occident redirects here. ...

China is also actively developing its software, semiconductor and energy industries, including renewable energies such as hydro, wind and solar power.^[71] In an effort to reduce pollution from coal-burning power plants, China has been pioneering the deployment of pebble bed nuclear reactors, which run cooler and safer, and have potential applications for the hydrogen economy.^[72] Computer software (or simply software) refers to one or more computer programs and data held in the storage of a computer for some purpose. ... A semiconductor is a solid whose electrical conductivity is in between that of a conductor and that of an insulator, and can be controlled over a wide range, either permanently or dynamically. ... Renewable energy effectively utilizes natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal heat, which are naturally replenished. ... Graphite Pebble for Reactor The pebble bed reactor (PBR) or pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) is an advanced nuclear reactor design. ... A hydrogen economy is a hypothetical economy in which the energy needed for motive power (for automobiles or other vehicle types) or electricity (for stationary applications) is derived from reacting hydrogen (H2) with oxygen. ...

Transportation

Transportation in the mainland of the People's Republic of China has improved remarkably since the late 1990s as part of a government effort to link the entire nation through a series of expressways known as the National Trunk Highway System (NTHS). The total length of expressway is 45,000 km at the end of 2006, second only to the United States. See also transportation in the Republic of China (1911-1949), transport in Hong Kong, and transportation in Macau. ... Image File history File links Central_Jingshi_Expressway9. ... Image File history File links Central_Jingshi_Expressway9. ... Hebei (Chinese: æ²³åŒ—; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hopeh) is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Chinese expressway, complete with signage. ... The National Trunk Highway System (NTHS) is a system of freeways currently under construction in the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Private car ownership is increasing at an annual rate of 15%, though it is still uncommon because of government policies that make car ownership expensive, such as taxes and toll roads.^[73]

Air travel has increased, but remains too expensive for most. Long distance transportation is still dominated by railways and charter bus systems. The railways are still the vital carrier in China, and until this year steam locomotives were still a common sight. It is thought that some are still in use, especially on industrial networks.

Cities such as Beijing and Shanghai are building subways or light rail systems. Hong Kong has one of the most developed transport systems in the world. Shanghai already has a Maglev system connecting downtown Shanghai to Pudong International Airport Peking redirects here. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article is about light rail systems in general. ... Transrapid Shanghai Maglev Train stopping at terminus Longyang Road station Transrapid Shanghai Maglev Train Inside the Shanghai Transrapid maglev Inside the Shanghai Transrapid maglev VIP section Magnetic levitation transport, or maglev, is a form of transportation that suspends, guides and propels vehicles (especially trains) using electromagnetic force. ... Shanghai Pudong International Airport (Exterior) September 2004 Pudong International Airport (Chinese: 浦东国际机场 pinyin: Pǔdōng Guójì Jīcháng) is an airport located in the eastern part of Pudong district of Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. ...

This articles main focus is on the rail transport in China (including the Qing Dynasty (before 1912) and the Republic of China (1912 to 1949) eras, and in modern times under the Peoples Republic of China (1949 onwards)). See also rail transport in Hong Kong (1842 onwards) and...

Demographics

As of July 2006, there are 1,313,973,713 people in the PRC. About 20.8% (male 145,461,833; female 128,445,739) are 14 years old or younger, 71.4% (male 482,439,115; female 455,960,489) are between 15 and 64 years old, and 7.7% (male 48,562,635; female 53,103,902) are over 65 years old. The population growth rate for 2006 is 0.59%.^[74] The PRC officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Han Chinese, who constitute about 91.9% of the total population.^[75] Large ethnic minorities include the Zhuang (16 million), Manchu (10 million), Hui (9 million), Miao (8 million), Uyghur (7 million), Yi (7 million), Tujia (5.75 million), Mongols (5 million), Tibetans (5 million), Buyi (3 million), and Koreans (2 million).^[76] Demographics of China, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands. ... The following is a list of ethnic groups in China. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... Download high resolution version (992x517, 681 KB)Beijing CBD,by 39degN. File links The following pages link to this file: Beijing ... Download high resolution version (992x517, 681 KB)Beijing CBD,by 39degN. File links The following pages link to this file: Beijing ... Peking redirects here. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,024 Ã— 768 pixels, file size: 206 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) http://flickr. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,024 Ã— 768 pixels, file size: 206 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) http://flickr. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Nanjing (disambiguation). ... Language(s) Chinese languages Religion(s) Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ... The Zhuang (Simplified Chinese: å£®æ—; Traditional Chinese: å£¯æ—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; own name: BouÑ‡cueÅ‹ÑŒ/Bouxcuengh) are an ethnic group of people who mostly live in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southern China. ... The Manchu people (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: , Mongolian: ÐœÐ°Ð½Ð¶) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (todays Northeastern China). ... The Hui (å›ž) ethnic group is unrelated to the Hui (å¾½) dialects. ... Language(s) Hmong/Mong Religion(s) Shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity, others The terms Hmong (IPA:) and Mong () both refer to an Asian ethnic group in the mountainous regions of southern China. ... The Uyghur (Uyghur: Ø¦Û‡ÙŠØºÛ‡Ø±; Uighur Simplified Chinese: ç»´å¾å°”; Traditional Chinese: ç¶å¾çˆ¾; Pinyin: WÃ©iwÃºÄ›r; Turkish: Uygur) are a Turkic people, forming one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Yi people (own name in the Liangshan dialect: ê†ˆêŒ , official transcription: Nuosu, IPA: ; Chinese: ; pinyin: ; the older name Lolo is now considered derogatory in China, though used officially in Vietnam as LÃ´ LÃ´ and in Thailand as Lolo) are a modern ethnic group in China, Vietnam, and Thailand. ... The Tujia (土家族) are an ethnic group numbering about 8 million, living in the Wuling Mountains of Chinas Hunan and Hubei provinces. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... The Tibetan people are a people indigenous to Tibet and surrounding areas stretching from Central Asia in the West to Myanmar and China in the East. ... The Buyi or Bouyei people (Self called: Puyi, Puzhong, Burao, Puman; Chinese: 布依族; pinyin: bùyī zú) are an ethnic group living in southern Peoples Republic of China. ...

In the past decade, China's cities expanded at an average rate of 10% annually. The country's urbanization rate increased from 17.4% to 41.8% between 1978 and 2005, a scale unprecedented in human history.^[77] 80 to 120 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities and return home to the countryside periodically with their earnings.^[78] A foreign worker (cf expatriate), is a person who works in a country other than the one of which he or she is a citizen. ...

Today, the People's Republic of China has dozens of major cities with one million or more long-term residents, including the three global cities of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Major cities in China play key roles in national and regional identity, culture and economics. A world city, or a world-class city, is a city with a set of somewhat subjective traits which often include the following: International familiarity (or first-name familiarity – one would say Paris, not Paris, France). Active influence and participation in international events and world affairs (for example, New... Peking redirects here. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ...

Largest cities

The figures below are the 2001 estimates for the ten largest urban populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking exists when considering the total municipal populations (which includes suburban and rural populations). The large floating populations of migrant workers make conducting censuses in urban areas difficult;^[79] the figures below do not include the floating population, only long-term residents.

For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... East China Charter Township is a charter township located in St. ... Peking redirects here. ... Northern Peoples Republic of China region. ... The South Central region of the Peoples Republic of China South Central China (Chinese: ä¸å—; pinyin: ZhÅngnÃ¡n) is a region of the Peoples Republic of China defined by governmental bureaus that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Hainan, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. ... (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of China. ... Northern Peoples Republic of China region. ... For the brand of cymbal, see Wuhan cymbals. ... Hubei (Chinese: æ¹–åŒ—; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hu-pei; Postal System Pinyin: Hupeh) is a central province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The South Central region of the Peoples Republic of China South Central China (Chinese: ä¸å—; pinyin: ZhÅngnÃ¡n) is a region of the Peoples Republic of China defined by governmental bureaus that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Hainan, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. ... Guangzhou is the capital and the sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Guangdong (Simplified Chinese: 广东; Traditional Chinese: 廣東; pinyin: Guǎngdōng; Wade-Giles: Kuang-tung; Kwangtung in older transliteration; Cantonese: gwong2 dung1), is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The South Central region of the Peoples Republic of China South Central China (Chinese: ä¸å—; pinyin: ZhÅngnÃ¡n) is a region of the Peoples Republic of China defined by governmental bureaus that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Hainan, and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. ... This article is about a city. ... Liaoning (Simplified Chinese: 辽宁; Traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Chungching, also Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ... The southwestern Peoples Republic of China region. ... For other uses, see Nanjing (disambiguation). ... (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-su; Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. ... East China Charter Township is a charter township located in St. ... Harbin on a map of China For other meanings of Harbin, see Harbin (disambiguation). ... Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: é»‘é¾™æ±Ÿçœ; Traditional Chinese: é»‘é¾æ±Ÿçœ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... This list ranks cities in the Peoples Republic of China by population. ...

Education

In 1986, China set the long-term goal of providing compulsory nine-year basic education to every child. As of 1997, there were 628,840 primary schools, 78,642 secondary schools and 1,020 higher education institutions in the PRC.^[83] In February 2006, the government advanced its basic education goal by pledging to provide completely free nine-year education, including textbooks and fees, in the poorer western provinces.^[84] As of 2002, 90.9% (male: 95.1%; female: 86.5%) of the population over age 15 are literate.^[74] China's youth (age 15 to 24) literacy rate is 98.9% (99.2% for males and 98.5% for females) in 2000.^[85] In March 2007, China announced the decision of making education a national "strategic priority", the central budget of the national scholarships will be tripled in two years and 223.5 billion Yuan (28.65 billion US dollars) extra funding will be allocated from the central government in the next 5 years to improve the compulsory education in rural areas.^[86] The Peoples Republic of China has a nationwide system of public education, which includes primary schools, middle schools (lower and upper), and universities. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Pmorgan_xinjiang. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Pmorgan_xinjiang. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ...

The quality of Chinese colleges and universities varies considerably across the country. The consistently top-ranked universities in mainland China are Peking and Tsinghua in Beijing; Fudan and Shanghai Jiaotong University in Shanghai; Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an;Nanjing University in Nanjing; the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei; and Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.^[87]^[88] This article is a list of universities in the Peoples Republic of China by province (22), autonomous region (5), municipality (4), and special administrative region (2). ... Peking University (traditional Chinese: ; simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ), colloquially known in Chinese as Beida (åŒ—å¤§, BÄ›idÃ ), was established in 1898. ... Tsinghua University (THU; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is a university in Beijing, China. ... Peking redirects here. ... Fudan University (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), located in Shanghai, China, is one of the oldest leading and most selective universities in the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shanghai Jiao Tong University, (SJTU, 上海交通大學), abbreviated Jiao Da (交大), is one of the leading universities in China. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ... Xian Jiaotong University (è¥¿å®‰äº¤é€šå¤§å¸) is a university in Xian, China. ... Xian redirects here. ... Nanjing University (Chinese: å—äº¬å¤§å¸/å—äº¬å¤§å¦; Pinyin: NÃ¡njÄ«ng DÃ xuÃ©; colloquially å—å¤§, Pinyin: NÃ¡ndÃ ) is located in Nanjing (Nanking), an ancient capital of China. ... For other uses, see Nanjing (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with University of Science & Technology of China. ... Hefei (Chinese: åˆè‚¥; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Hofei) is a prefecture-level city and the provincial capital of Anhui province, China. ... Zhejiang University (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China. ... (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Hangchow) is a sub-provincial city located in the Yangtze River Delta in the Peoples Republic of China, and the capital of Zhejiang province. ...

Many parents are highly committed to their children's education, often investing large portions of the family's income on education. Private lessons and recreational activities, such as in foreign languages or music, are popular among the middle-class families who can afford them.^[89]

Public health

The Ministry of Health, together with its counterparts in the provincial health bureaus, oversees the health needs of the Chinese population.^[90] An emphasis on public health and preventative treatment characterized health policy since the early 1950s. At that time, the party started the Patriotic Health Campaign, which was aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene, as well as attacking several diseases. This has shown major results as diseases like cholera, typhoid, and scarlet fever were nearly eradicated. Since the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, the goal of health programs has been to provide care to every member of the population and to make maximum use of limited health-care personnel, equipment, and financial resources. ... The Ministry of Health (MOH), currently headed by Minister Gao Qiang, plays the role of providing information, raising health awarness and education, ensuring the accesibility of health services, and monitoring the quality of health services provided to citizens and visitors in the Peoples Republic of China. ... Public health is the study and practice of addressing threats to the health of a community. ... A 1930 Soviet poster propagating breast care. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... The Patriotic Health Campaign, first started in the 1950s, are campaigns aimed to improve sanitation, hygiene, as well as attack diseases in the Peoples Republic of China. ... E. Coli bacteria under magnification Sanitation is the hygienic disposal or recycling of waste, as well as the policy and practice of protecting health through hygienic measures. ... Hygiene refers to practices associated with ensuring good health and cleanliness. ... A disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person affected or those in contact with the person. ...

With economic reform after 1978, the health of the Chinese public improved rapidly because of better nutrition despite the disappearance, along with the People's Communes, of much of the free public health services provided in the countryside. Health care in China became largely private fee-for-service. By 2000, when the World Health Organization made a large study of public health systems throughout the world, The World Health Report 2000 Health Systems: Improving Performance the Chinese public health system ranked 144 of the 191 UN member states ranked.

The country's life expectancy jumped from about 32 years in 1950, from 41 years to almost 73 years in 2006,^[91] and infant mortality went down from 300 per thousand in the 1950s to about 23 per thousand in 2006.^[74]^[92] Malnutrition as of 2002 stood at 12 percent of the population according to United Nations FAO sources.^[93] This article is about the measure of remaining life. ... is the death of infants in the first year of life. ... Percentage of population affected by malnutrition by country, according to United Nations statistics. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ... Possible meanings: Faro Airport (Portugal) Federation of Astrobiology Organizations Financial Aid Office Food and Agriculture Organization This page expands a three-character combination which might be any or all of: an abbreviation, an acronym, an initialism, a word in English, or a word in another language. ...

Despite significant improvements in health and the introduction of western style medical facilities, the PRC has several emerging public health problems, which include respiratory problems as a result of widespread air pollution^[94] and millions of cigarette smokers,^[95] a possible future HIV/AIDS epidemic, and an increase in obesity among urban youths.^[96]^[97] Estimates of excess deaths in China from environmental pollution (apart from smoking) are placed at 760,000 people per annum from air and water pollution (including indoor air pollution)^[98] China's large population and close living quarters has led to some serious disease outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2003 outbreak of SARS (a pneumonia-like disease) which has since been largely contained.^[99] Public health is the study and practice of addressing threats to the health of a community. ... Beijing air on a day after rain (L) and a rainless day (R) One of the serious negative consequences of the Peoples Republic of Chinas rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. ... The cigarette is the most common method of smoking tobacco. ... == [[ This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) deals with the content of interior air that could affect health and comfort of building occupants. ... SARS redirects here. ...

Culture

For centuries, opportunity for economic and social advancement in China could be provided by high performance on Imperial examinations. The literary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, such as the view that calligraphy and literati painting were higher forms of art than dancing or drama. China's traditional values were derived from various versions of Confucianism and conservatism. A number of more authoritarian and rational strains of thought have also been influential, such as Legalism. There was often conflict between the philosophies, such as the individualistic Song Dynasty neo-Confucians, who believed Legalism departed from the original spirit of Confucianism. Examinations and a culture of merit remain greatly valued in China today. In recent years, a number of New Confucians have advocated that democratic ideals and human rights are quite compatible with traditional Confucian "Asian values."^[100] This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For contemporary culture after 1949, see Culture of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x704, 145 KB) http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x704, 145 KB) http://www. ... Shanghai Museum The Shanghai Museum (Chinese:ä¸Šæµ·åšç‰©é¤¨) is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the Peoples Square in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. ... Image File history File links Coolfairy2004-1. ... Image File history File links Coolfairy2004-1. ... Cold Fairyland, (å†·é…·ä»™å¢ƒ, LeÌŒngkuÌ€ XiaÌ„njÃ¬ng) a Shanghai music group, is one of the most creative and skilled progressive rock bands in China. ... Traditional Chinese musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... The imperial examinations (Chinese: ç§‘èˆ‰; Pinyin: ) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service based on merit and education, which promoted upward mobility among the population for centuries. ... Calligraphy is an art dating back to the earliest day of history, and widely practiced throughout China to this day. ... A Confucian temple in Wuwei, Peoples Republic of China. ... Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favor tradition and gradual change, where tradition refers to religious, cultural, or nationally defined beliefs and customs. ... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: This article applies to political and organizational ideologies. ... In epistemology and in its broadest sense, rationalism is any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification (Lacey 286). ... Legalism, in the Western sense, is an approach to the analysis of legal questions characterized by abstract logical reasoning focusing on the applicable legal text, such as a constitution, legislation, or case law, rather than on the social, economic, or political context. ... Individualism is a term used to describe a moral, political, or social outlook that stresses human independence and the importance of individual self-reliance and liberty. ... Northern Song in 1111 AD Capital Bianjing (æ±´äº¬) (960â€“1127) Linan (è‡¨å®‰) (1127â€“1276) Language(s) Chinese Religion Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism Government Monarchy Emperor - 960â€“976 Emperor Taizu - 1126â€“1127 Emperor Qinzong - 1127â€“1162 Emperor Gaozong - 1278â€“1279 Emperor Bing History - Zhao Kuangyin taking over the throne of the Later Zhou... Neo-Confucianism (traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: )/(traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Sung Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty. ... Legalism, in the Western sense, is an approach to the analysis of legal questions characterized by abstract logical reasoning focusing on the applicable legal text, such as a constitution, legislation, or case law, rather than on the social, economic, or political context. ... To examine somebody or something is to inspect it closely, hence an examination is a detailed inspection or analysis of an object or person. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... New Confucianism (ç•¶ä»£æ–°å„’å¸ or ç•¶ä»£æ–°å„’å¸ Contemporary New Confucianism) is a new movement of Confucianism since the twentieth century. ...

The first leaders of the People's Republic of China were born in the old society but were influenced by the May Fourth Movement and reformist ideals. They sought to change some traditional aspects of Chinese culture, such as rural land tenure, sexism, and a Confucian education, while preserving others, such as the family structure and obedience to the state. Many observers believe that the period following 1949 is a continuation of traditional Chinese dynastic history, while others say that the CPC's rule has damaged the foundations of Chinese culture, especially through political movements such as the Cultural Revolution, where many aspects of traditional culture were labeled 'regressive and harmful' or 'vestiges of feudalism' by the regime. They further argue that many important aspects of traditional Chinese morals and culture, such as Confucianism, Chinese art, literature, and performing arts like Beijing opera, were altered to conform to government policies and propaganda. One example being Chinese character simplification, since traditional characters were blamed for the country's low literacy rate at the time.^[101] However, simplified Chinese characters are not used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.^[101] Students in Beijing rallied during the May Fourth Movement. ... A dynasty is a family or extended family which retains political power across generations, or more generally, any organization which extends dominance in its field even as its particular members change. ... This article is about the Peoples Republic of China. ... A Confucian temple in Wuwei, Peoples Republic of China. ... Chinese Jade ornament with flower design, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 AD), Shanghai Museum. ... A female Beijing opera performer with traditional costume and makeup A male Beijing opera performer Beijing opera or Peking opera (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a form of Chinese opera which arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ...

Today, the PRC government has accepted a great deal of traditional Chinese culture as an integral part of Chinese society, lauding it as an important achievement of the Chinese civilization and emphasizing it as vital to a Chinese national identity. Modern Chinese art, literature, music, film, fashion and architecture have become increasingly ready to incorporate various degrees of traditional Chinese culture into their works. Chinese culture has roots going back over five thousand years. ... Peoples Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (Taiwan) For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). ... The May Fourth Movement in 1919 marked a turning point in the history of Chinese nationalism. ...

Religion

Most Chinese — 59% of the population, or about 767 million people — identify themselves as non-religious.^[102] However, rituals and religion — especially the traditional beliefs of Confucianism and Taoism and Buddhism — play a significant part in the lives of many. About 33% of the population follow a mixture of beliefs usually referred to by statisticians as "Traditional Beliefs" or just "Other". Chinese monk lighting incense in a temple in Beijing. ... Clothed statues of Matsu / Mazu (Chinese goddess of the Sea) Chinese folk religion comprises the religion practiced in much of China for thousands of years which included ancestor veneration and drew heavily upon concepts and beings within Chinese mythology. ... Fēng Shuǐ (風水 – literally, wind and water pronounced fung shuway), which may be more than 3000 years old, is the ancient practice of placement to achieve harmony with the environment. ... A Confucian temple in Wuwei, Peoples Republic of China. ... Taoism (or Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical traditions and concepts. ... A statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India. ...

About 8% of the Chinese population are avowed Buddhists, with Mahayana Buddhism (大乘, Dacheng) and its subsets Pure Land (Amidism), Tiantai and Zen being the most widely practiced. With an estimated 100 million adherents, Buddhism is the country's largest organized religion. Other forms of Buddhism, such as Theravada Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, are practiced largely by ethnic minorities along the geographic fringes of the Chinese mainland.^[103] A government official recently suggested that there are 16 million Christians.^[104] However, an independent survey by East China Normal University estimated the Christian population at 40 million, much higher than the government's numbers but much lower than numbers favored by some Western observers.^[105] Official figures also indicate that there are about 20 million Muslims.^[106] Statues of Buddha such as this, the Tian Tan Buddha statue in Hong Kong, remind followers to practice right living. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin from Mt. ... The Buddha Amitabha, 13th century, Kamakura, Japan. ... Tiantai (å¤©å°å®—, Wade-Giles: Tien Tai) is one of the thirteen schools of Buddhism in China and Japan, also called the Lotus Sutra School because of its emphasis on the supremacy of that scripture. ... For other uses, see Zen (disambiguation). ... Theravada (Pali; Sanskrit: Sthaviravada) is one of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikāya schools that formed early in the history of Buddhism. ... Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...

Sports and recreation

China has one of the oldest sporting cultures in the world, spanning the course of several millennia. There is, in fact, evidence that a form of football was first played in China around 1000 AD, leading many historians to believe that the popular sport originated from China.^[107] Besides soccer,^[108] some of the most popular sports in the country include martial arts, table tennis, badminton, swimming, basketball, and more recently, golf and rugby. Board games such as Go (Weiqi), and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) and recently Chess are also commonly played and have organised competitions. Known as the land of martial arts, Sports in China today refers to the variety of competitive sports played in China, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x683, 416 KB) Photo by fortes: http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1024x683, 416 KB) Photo by fortes: http://www. ... This article is about the sport. ... Known as the land of martial arts, Sports in China today refers to the variety of competitive sports played in China, including mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. ... A player (wearing the red kit) has penetrated the defence (in the white kit) and is taking a shot at goal. ... Kung fu redirects here. ... Ping Pong redirects here. ... This article is about the sport. ... Swimmer redirects here. ... This article is about the sport. ... This article is about the sport. ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ... A board game is any game played with a premarked surface, with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ... Go is a strategic board game for two players. ... Chinese chess redirects here. ... This article is about the Western board game. ...

Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture. Morning exercises are a common activity and often one can find the elderly practicing qigong and Tai Chi Chuan in parks or students doing stretches on school campuses. Young people are especially keen on basketball, especially in urban centres with limited space and grass areas. The NBA has a huge following among Chinese youths, with Yao Ming being the idol of many.^[109] The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be held in Beijing, and as a result the country has put even more emphasis on sports. Physical fitness is an attribute required for service in virtually all military forces. ... Chinese culture has roots going back over five thousand years. ... For the artist, see Qigong (artist). ... Tai chi chuan (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: tÃ ijÃquÃ¡n; Wade-Giles: tai4 chi2 chÃ¼an2) is an internal Chinese martial art often practiced with the aim of promoting health and longevity. ... This article is about the sport. ... NBA redirects here. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yao (å§š) Yao Ming (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born September 12, 1980, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player and is arguably the best center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) today. ... The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, will be celebrated from August 8, 2008 to August 24, 2008, with the opening ceremony commencing at 08:08:08 pm CST (12:08:08 UTC) at the Beijing National Stadium in Beijing, Peoples Republic of... Peking redirects here. ...

Many traditional sports are also played. The popular Chinese dragon boat racing (龙舟) occurs during the Duan Wu festival. In Inner Mongolia, sports such as Mongolian-style wrestling and horse racing are popular. In Tibet, archery and equestrian sports are a part of traditional festivals.^[110] A Dragon boat (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ) is a very long and narrow human powered boat used in the team paddling sport or Dragon boat racing which originated in China. ... Dragon boat racing is a team paddling sport which utilises the dragon boat. ... A more specific term for dragon boat as a sport is dragon boat race, which is a team paddling sport on water, using painted boats to which are attached decorative dragon heads and tails. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N... Mongolian wrestling is a traditional Mongolian sport that has existed in Mongolia for centuries. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Chinese Jade ornament with flower design, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234 AD), Shanghai Museum. ... The Liuhe Pagoda of Hangzhou, China, built in 1165 AD. Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in Asia over the centuries. ... Zheng He wearing Hanfu. ... Chinese cuisine (Chinese: ä¸åœ‹èœ) originated from different regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world â€” from East Asia to North America, Australasia and Western Europe. ... Traditional Chinese medicine shop in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. ... Chinese literature spans back thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the matured fictional novel arising in the medieval period to entertain the masses of literate Chinese. ... Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written form. ... The history of Chinese language cinema has three separate threads of development: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. ... This page is about the development of animation and comic industry in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. ... The music of China dates back to the dawn of Chinese civilization with documents and artifacts providing evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC). ... National Day in 2004, Beihai Park. ... The following is a list of famous Chinese-speaking/writing people. ...

Contents

History

Politics

Foreign relations

Population policy

Human rights

Political divisions

Geography and climate

Military

Economy

Science and technology

Transportation

Demographics

Largest cities

Education

Public health

Culture

Religion

Sports and recreation

See also

References and footnotes

Further reading

External links

Contents

History GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Politics

Foreign relations

Population policy

Human rights

Political divisions

Geography and climate

Military

Economy

Science and technology

Transportation

Demographics

Largest cities

Education

Public health

Culture

Religion

Sports and recreation

See also

References and footnotes

Further reading

External links

History