In the technical terminology of political science the PRC was a communist state for much of the 20th century, and is still considered a communist state by many, though not all, political scientists. Attempts to simply characterize the nature of the political structure of China fail. The regime has variously been described as authoritarian, communist, socialist and various combinations of those terms. It has also been described as a communist government. Jargon redirects here. ... Niccolò Machiavelli, ca 1500, became the key figure in realistic political theory, crucial to political science Political Science is an academic and research discipline that deals with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. ... A Communist state is a state governed by a single political party which declares its allegiance to the principles of Marxism-Leninism. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... A state is an organized political community occupying a definite territory, having an organized government, and possessing internal and external sovereignty. ... A scientist is a person who is expert in an area of science and who uses the scientific method in research. ... The structure of a thing is how the parts of it relate to each other, how it is put together. This contrast with process, which is how the thing works; but process requires a viable structure. ... The term authoritarian is used to describe an organization or a state which enforces strong and sometimes oppressive measures against the population, generally without attempts at gaining the consent of the population. ... This article is about communism as a form of society built around a gift economy, as an ideology that advocates that form of society, and as a popular movement. ... For information on mainstream political parties using the term Socialist, see Social democracy and Democratic socialism,For the governments of the USSR, the PRC, and others, see: Communist state, Other variants of Socialism include Marxism, Communism, and Libertarian Socialism. ... This article is about one-party states ruled by Communist Parties. ...

The government of the PRC is controlled by the Communist Party of China. While there have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that contested elections are now held at the village level and legislatures have shown some assertiveness from time to time, the party retains effective control over governmental appointments. While the state uses authoritarian methods to deal with challenges to its rule, it simultaneously attempts to reduce dissent by improving the economy, allowing expression of personal grievances, and giving rather lenient treatment to persons expressing dissent whom the regime does not believe are organizers. Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: ) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Censorship of political speech is routine, and the Communist Party ruthlessly suppresses any protests and organizations that it considers a threat to its power, as was the case after the Tiananmen Square protests. However there are limits to the repression that the Party is willing or able to achieve. The media have become increasingly active in publicizing social problems and exposing corruption and inefficiency at lower levels of government. The Party has also been rather unsuccessful at controlling information, and in some cases has had to change policies in response to public outrage. Although organized opposition against the Party is not tolerated, demonstrations over local issues are frequent and increasingly tolerated. Recently, under increasingly showing himself as conservative Hu Jintao, the PRC has tended to increase crackdowns on reporters, even those working for foreign papers, such as the New York Times. Censorship is the systematic use of group power to broadly control freedom of speech and expression, largely in regard to secretive matters. ... Tiananmen Square has been the central point for several major historical protests. ...

The support that the Communist Party of China has among the Chinese population is unclear, as there are no national elections, and private conversations and anecdotal information often reveals conflicting views. Many in China appear appreciative of the role that the government plays in maintaining social stability, which has allowed the economy to grow without interruption. Political concerns in China include the growing gap between rich and poor in the PRC, and the growing discontent with widespread corruption within the leadership.

There are some other parties in PRC. The CPC cooperates with these parties through a special conference, called the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) led by the CPC, rather than elections. Nevertheless, the effect of the other parties on the government remains minimal. As an advisory body of the CPC without real power, the C.P.P.C.C. is quite like an external eye, although there are officers from the CPPCC in almost all government departments. 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. ...

China often faces criticism from abroad because of its occupation of Tibet, which it invaded in the 1950's. China is rapidly colonising Tibet with Han people, and many Tibetans fear they will soon be a minority in their own country. Han are already the majority in Lhasa, Tibet's capital. The borders of Historical Tibet (blue), as claimed by the Government of Tibet in Exile. ... Lhasa is located in the Lhasa Valley of Tibet. ...

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China 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 some radicial upheavals over the past two centuries. ...

The People's Republic of China maintains diplomatic relations with most countries in the world, but makes acknowledging its claim to Taiwan and severing any official ties with the Republic of China (ROC) government a prerequisite for diplomatic exchanges. It also actively opposes foreign travels by current and former political officials of Taiwan, such as Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian. The PRC also opposes travel by the Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama due to his leadership of the Government of Tibet in Exile and Li Hongzhi, the spiritual leader of the Falun Gong, who lives in exile in the US. National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Lee Teng-hui, former President of the Republic of China Lee Teng-hui, (Chinese: 李登輝; Taiwanese Romanization: Lí Teng-hui; pinyin: Lǐ Dēnghuī; born January 15, 1923) is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. ... Chen Shui-bian, President of the Republic of China Chen Shui-bian (ch. ... His Holiness the Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (b. ... Official language Tibetan Headquarters Dharamsala Head of State (Dalai Lama) Tenzin Gyatso The Government of Tibet in Exile (or Tibet in Exile for short) is a theocratic government-like entity that describes itself as the rightful and legitimate government of Tibet. ... Li Hongzhi (李洪志) (born either July 7, 1952 or May 13, 1951) is the founder of Falun Gong. ... Falun emblem Falun Gong (Traditional Chinese: 法輪功; Simplified Chinese: 法轮功; pinyin: ; literally Practice of the Wheel of Law) or Falun Dafa (Traditional Chinese: 法輪大法; Simplified Chinese: 法轮大法; pinyin: ; lit. ...

Jiang Zemin and Bill Clinton

In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative for "China" in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. (See China and the United Nations) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Jiāng Zémín (born August 17, 1926) was the core of the third generation of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the Peoples Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of... Order: 42nd President Vice President: Al Gore Term of office: January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001 Preceded by: George H. W. Bush Succeeded by: George W. Bush Date of birth: August 19, 1946 Place of birth: Hope, Arkansas First Lady: Hillary Rodham Clinton Political party: Democratic William Jefferson Clinton (born... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945 and now made up of 191 states. ... A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ... Chinas seat in the United Nations has been occupied by the Peoples Republic of China since November 23, 1971. ...

It was for a time a member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, but now is an observer. Much of the current foreign policy is based on the concept of China's peaceful rise. Non-aligned countries The Non-Aligned Movement, or NAM is an international organization of over 100 states which consider themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. ... Chinas peaceful rise (中国和平崛起) is a foreign policy doctrine mentioned increasingly by the Peoples Republic of China in the early 21st century. ...

Sino-American relations have been strained several times in the past few decades by Japan's refusal to acknowledge its past war crime violations, most notable among which is The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. China is often criticized for human rights abuses, with foreign relations suffering greatly following the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. Human rights is a perennial issue that is brought up in the US Congress, but since the Clinton years, human rights has been decoupled from economic negotiations, such as Most Favored Nation status. In May 1999, a B-2 stealth bomber dropped three 2000-pound satellite guided bombs on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the Kosovo conflict, killing three Chinese reporters. The United States insisted this was a mistake, showing with documentary evidence that the selection of the building as a target was based on an outdated map produced by the U.S. National Imagery and Mapping Agency (now known as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency), which incorrectly identified the building as an arms procurement agency of the Yugoslav government. Although the U.S. dispatched a special envoy to China to explain the error, the Chinese government continued to insist that the action was deliberate. In April 2001, a U.S. EP-3 propeller reconnaissance plane operating in what the US claims international waters off the Chinese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Chinese claims within its EEZ, while conducting signals reconnaissance was "buzzed" by a Chinese jet fighter, leading to an accidental collision in which the fighter crashed and its pilot was killed. The damaged U.S. plane struggled to land on China's Hainan Island, where its 24 crewmembers were detained for 12 days and sensitive equipment from the craft was confiscated. Another source of friction was the 1999 Cox report, which revealed PRC espionage compromising U.S. nuclear secrets dating back several decades. Sino-American relations refers to interstate relations between the United States and China. ... The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II is a 1997 book by Iris Chang (張純如) and William C. Kirby, which presents a history of the 1937-1938 Nanjing Massacre. ... Iris Chang Iris Shun-Ru Chang (Traditional Chinese: 張純如, Simplified Chinese: 张纯如; Pinyin: Zhāng Chúnrú; March 28, 1968–November 9, 2004) was a political activist while she was a freelance Chinese American journalist. ... The Unknown Rebel — This famous photo, taken by Associated Press photographer Jeff Widener, depicts a lone protester who single-handedly halted the progress of a column of advancing tanks for over half an hour. ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Belgrade (Serbian, Београд, Beograd  listen), is the capital (2003–) of Serbia and Montenegro and Yugoslavia (1918–2003). ... 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. ... The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), before 2004 known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA), was established October 1, 1996, by the National Imagery and Mapping Agency Act of 1996. ... The Lockheed EP-3E Orion Aries II is a turboprop-based signals reconnaissance aircraft, operated by the United States Navy. ... In international maritime law, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone extending from a states coast over which the state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ... 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 Cox Report is a classified U.S. government document reporting on Peoples Republic of Chinas covert operations in the United States, focusing on PRC spies theft of design information on the U.S.s most advanced thermonuclear weapons. ...

In addition to Taiwan, China is involved in several other territorial disputes. The PRC makes all of these claims on irredentist grounds, while the opposing claimants tend to view the PRC as being motivated by resources or military considerations: Irredentism is claiming a right to territories belonging to another state on the grounds of common ethnicity and/or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. ...

• With India:
  • Aksai Chin, administered by China, claimed by India
  • Arunachal Pradesh / South Tibet, administered by India, claimed by China
• Over islands on the East China Sea or South China Sea:
  • Paracel Islands, administered by China, claimed by Vietnam and the ROC
  • Spratly Islands: the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam each claim sovereignty over the entire group, while Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei claim parts of the group.
  • Diaoyu Islands / Senkaku Islands, administered by Japan, claimed by the PRC and the ROC

In 2004, Russia agreed to cede Yinlong Island as well as one half of Heixiazi Island to China, ending a long-standing border dispute between Russia and China. Both islands are found at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers, and were until then administered by Russia and claimed by China. The event has fostered feelings of reconciliation and cooperation, but it has also sparked some discontent on both sides, with some Russians unhappy about the loss of territory, and some Chinese unhappy that the Chinese government has effectively surrendered claims over the other half of Heixiazi Island by accepting the Russian offer. The transfer has been ratified by both the Chinese National People's Congress and the Russian State Duma but has yet to be carried out. Aksai Chin (Simplified Chinese: 阿克赛钦; Traditional Chinese: 阿克賽欽; pinyin: ) is a region located at the junction of the Peoples Republic of China, Pakistan, and India. ... Arunachal Pradesh (अरुणाचल प्रदेश) is an Indian state. ... Arunachal Pradesh (अरुणाचल प्रदेश) is an Indian state. ... The East China Sea, showing surrounding countries. ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². It is the largest sea body after the five... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... The Senkaku Islands (Japanese: 尖閣諸島; Senkaku_Shotō) are islands are currently under Japanese control but claimed by the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan), by which they are known as Diaoyutai Islands or Diaoyu Islands—both literally mean Fishing Islands. ... The Senkaku Islands (Japanese: 尖閣諸島; Senkaku-Shotō) are islands are currently under Japanese control but claimed by the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan), by which they are known as Diaoyutai Islands or Diaoyu Islands—both literally mean Fishing Islands. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Amur (Russian: Амур) (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江; Hēilóng Jiāng, literally meaning Black Dragon River) (Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River) (Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is one of the worlds ten longest rivers, located between the Russian Far East and Manchuria of... The Ussuri River (Chinese: Wūsūlǐ Jīang 乌苏里江, Russian: река Уссури) is a river in south east Russia, flowing north, forming part of the Chinese border, to the Amur River. ... 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 legislative body in the Peoples Republic of China. ... The State Duma (Russian: Государственная дума (Gosudarstvennaya Duma), common abbreviation: Госдума (Gosduma)) in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia (parliament), the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. ...

Outside official opinion, it is popular for nationalists to make irredentist claims to Mongolia, Tuva and Outer Manchuria, as well as (less commonly) the Ryukyu Islands, Bhutan, Sikkim, Ladakh, the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar, and Central Asia southeast of Lake Balkhash. Irredentism is claiming a right to territories belonging to another state on the grounds of common ethnicity and/or prior historical possession, actual or alleged. ... The Tuva Republic (Russian: Респу́блика Тыва́; Tuvan: Тыва Республика) is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... From the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 to the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 and the Treaty of Peking in 1860, the vast territory of Outer Manchuria comprised Manchuria north of the Amur and east of the Ussuri rivers. ... The Ryukyu Islands (琉球列島 Ryūkyū-rettō), also known as the Nansei-shoto (南西諸島 Nansei-shotō, which translates literally as the Southwest Islands), are an island chain stretching southwestward from the island of Kyushu in Japan. ... Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayas. ... Tikse monastery, Ladakh Hemis Monastery in the 1870s Ladakh is the largest district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, covering more than half the area of the state (of which it is the eastern part). ... Map of Central Asia outlined in orange showing one set of possible borders Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... Lake Balkhash: NASA image, taken 18 April 2000 by SeaWiFS Lake Balkhash (sometimes written as Lake Balqash) is a large lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, the second largest in Central Asia after the Aral Sea. ...

See also: Political status of Taiwan Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is controversial over questions about whether Taiwan should remain the Republic of China, become part of the Peoples Republic of China, or become an independent Republic of Taiwan. ...

Military

Main article: People's Liberation Army The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) (Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), which includes an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces, serves as the military of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

PLA soldiers march in Beijing

The PRC maintains the largest standing army in the world, although there is a general belief both within the PLA and among outside observers that numbers are of limited usefulness in estimating the power of a military. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) includes the PRC's navy and air force. The PLA's official budget for 2005 is $30 billion, but this does not include money used for foreign weapons purchases, military-related R&D, or the paramilitary PAP, and critics label it a deliberately misleading low estimate. A recent RAND study (http://www.rand.org/publications/MG/MG260/index.html) estimates that the total military spending of the PRC is 1.4-1.7 times as large as the official military budget. Download high resolution version (1050x742, 189 KB)courtesy of http://www. ... Download high resolution version (1050x742, 189 KB)courtesy of http://www. ... The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) (Traditional Chinese: 人民解放軍, Simplified Chinese: 人民解放军, pinyin: Rénmín Jiěfàng Jūn), which includes an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces, serves as the military of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... A nations army is its military, or more specifically, all of its land forces. ... A Plan is a proposed or intended method of getting from one set of circumstances to another. ... The Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) is the aviation branch of the Peoples Liberation Army, the military of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Peoples Armed Police Force (人民武装警察部队; renmin wuzhuang jingcha budui) is a paramilitary police force responsible for domestic security within the Peoples Republic of China. ... The term rand has several possible meanings: in South Africa: rand is an afrikaans word for ridge, and Witwatersrand (literally white water Ridge) was the name given to a ridge that ran through Gauteng; the gold-producing reef ran parallel with this ridge, and the mining areas east and west...

By some estimates of true spending, the PRC's military spending is second only to the US's of over $400 billion. The PRC, despite possession of advanced nuclear weapons and delivery systems, is widely seen both inside of China and on the outside as having only limited ability to project military power beyond its borders and is not generally considered to be a superpower although it is widely seen as a major regional power. This is due to the limited effectiveness of its navy (lack of aircraft carriers) and air force (much less flight training time, older planes). The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... Childbirth in a hospital. ... A superpower is a state with the ability to influence events or project power on a global scale. ... A regional power is a term used in the field of international relations to describe a state with power and influence that is to some extent limited to its region of the world. ...

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of China Due to Chinas large population and area, the political divisions of China have always consisted of several levels since ancient times. ...

The People's Republic of China has administrative control over 22 provinces (省); the government of the People's Republic of China considers Taiwan (台湾) to be its 23rd province. (See Political status of Taiwan for more information.) Apart from provinces there are 5 autonomous regions (自治区) containing concentrations of several minorities; 4 municipalities (直辖市) for China's largest cities and 2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR) (特别行政区) governed by the PRC. Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is controversial over questions about whether Taiwan should remain the Republic of China, become part of the Peoples Republic of China, or become an independent Republic of Taiwan. ... 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 hàhngjingkeūi) is a political subdivision of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 4 municipalities can be collectively referred to as "mainland China", a term which usually excludes Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ...

Province-level divisions of the People's Republic of China

The following are a list of administrative divisions of areas under the control of the People's Republic of China. Download high resolution version (857x699, 69 KB)Administrative divisions of China. ... Download high resolution version (857x699, 69 KB)Administrative divisions of China. ...

Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is controversial over questions about whether Taiwan should remain the Republic of China, become part of the Peoples Republic of China, or become an independent Republic of Taiwan. ...

Geography

Main article: Geography of China China stretches some 5,000 kilometers across the East Asian landmass in an erratically changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. ...

The PRC controls much of eastern Asia areas in peach while the ROC consists of a few yellow-shaded islands including Taiwan. See the larger image with provincial boundaries for more detail.

The PRC is the fourth largest country in the world and contains a large variety of landscapes. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, are found extensive and densely populated alluvial plains; the shore of the South China Sea is more mountainous and southern China is dominated by hill country and lower mountain ranges. In the central-east are found the deltas of China's two major rivers, the Huang He and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). Other major rivers include the Xi Jiang, Mekong, Brahmaputra and Amur. Smaller map of China (recropped) Source: the country description webpage of China in the CIA Factbook. ... Smaller map of China (recropped) Source: the country description webpage of China in the CIA Factbook. ... World map showing location of Asia A satellite composite image of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Download high resolution version (1070x1058, 252 KB) This image is not an orphan—see Peoples Republic of China This image is linked from a text link only, or for some other reason, is needed but still appears to have nothing linking to it. ... The Yellow Sea (in North and South Korea, it is also called the West Sea (strangely not disputed like East Sea) is the northern part of the East China Sea, which in turn is a part of the Pacific Ocean. ... The East China Sea, showing surrounding countries. ... Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... Beach A beach or strand is a geological formation consisting of loose rock particles such as sand, shingle, cobble, or even shell along the shoreline of a body of water. ... The South China Sea, showing surrounding countries and neighbouring seas and oceans The South China Sea is a marginal sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². It is the largest sea body after the five... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ... ř:For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... Length 6,380 km Elevation of the source  ? m Average discharge 31,900 m³/s Area watershed 1,800,000 km² Origin Qinghai Province and Tibet Mouth East China Sea Basin countries China The Yangtze River (Chinese: 扬子江; pinyin: ) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in... Chinese Pinyin The word Chang Jiang can refer to: The Yangtze River. ... Xi River (西江, pinyin: Xī Jiāng, Postal System Pinyin: Si Kiang, lit. ... View of the Mekong before the sunset The Mekong is one of the worlds major rivers. ... The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. ... The Amur (Russian: Амур) (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江; Hēilóng Jiāng, literally meaning Black Dragon River) (Mongolian: Хара-Мурэн, Khara-Muren or Black River) (Manchu: Sahaliyan Ula, literal meaning Black River) is one of the worlds ten longest rivers, located between the Russian Far East and Manchuria of...

To the west, major mountain ranges, notably the Himalaya with China's highest point Mount Everest, and high plateaus feature among the more arid landscape of deserts such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert. The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. ... Everest is the highest mountain on Earth (as measured from sea level). ... A dune in the Egyptian desert Desert in California In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation. ... The Taklamakan is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Gobi (戈壁; pinyin gē bì) is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ...

Due to a prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices dust storms have become usual in the spring in China. According to China's Environmental Protection Agency, the Gobi Desert has been expanding "like a tsunami" and is a major source of dust storms which affect Mainland China and other parts of northeast Asia such as Taiwan, Korea and Japan. Dust from the northern plains has been tracked to the West Coast of the United States. River management and dust erosion are problems affecting other countries that have become recent important concerns for relations between China and its neighboring countries. A drought is an extended period where water availability falls below the statistical requirements for a region. ... Satellite photo of a Saharan dust cloud (2000) over the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. ... In this map of China, the light-coloured areas represent Mainland China, while yellow coloured area refers to Taiwan. ... Korea (한국) is a formerly unified country, situated on the Korean Peninsula in northern East Asia, bordering on China to the west and Russia to the north. ... See: West Coast of the United States West Coast, New Zealand West Coast, Tasmania This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Economy

A Yuan note from 1960

Main article: Economy of the People's Republic of China 1 Renminbi Yuan 1960 File links The following pages link to this file: Peoples Republic of China User:Yu Ninjie Categories: Currency images ... 1 Renminbi Yuan 1960 File links The following pages link to this file: Peoples Republic of China User:Yu Ninjie Categories: Currency images ... Since 1978 the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) government has been reforming its economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more market-oriented economy but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party of China control; called Socialism with Chinese characteristics which is one type...

The CCP reformulates many aspects of its public ideology as "with Chinese characteristics" and this is true of its economy as well, which it calls Socialism with Chinese characteristics. 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 but still within a rigid political framework of Communist Party control. To this end the authorities have switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment. Prices controls were also relaxed. This has resulted in mainland China's shift from a command economy to a mixed economy with both communist and capitalist tendencies. Socialism with Chinese characteristics (Chinese: 具有中国特色的社会主义市场经济) is the official term for the economy of the Peoples Republic of China. ... 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Economic reforms have triggered internal migrations within China. ... The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Russian: (СССР)  listen; tr. ... Manufacturing is the transformation of raw materials into finished goods for sale, or intermediate processes involving the production or finishing of semi-manufactures. ... A planned economy is an economic system in which economic decisions are made by centralized planners, who determine what sorts of goods and services to produce, and how they are to be priced and allocated. ... In economics and politics, a mixed economy is an economy that combines regulated capitalism, central planning (see planned economy and statism), as well as certain socialist measures and state ownership of some sectors of the economy, such as: social security roads and other transportation environmental regulation labor regulation product safety...

The government has tended to not emphasize equality as when it first began and instead emphasized raising personal income and consumption and introducing new management systems to help increase productivity. The government also has focused on foreign trade as a major vehicle for economic growth, for which purpose it set up over 2000 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) where investment laws are relaxed in order to attract foreign capital. The result has been a quadrupling of GDP since 1978. In 1999, with its 1.25 billion people and a GDP of just $3,800 per capita, the PRC became the sixth largest economy in the world by exchange rate and third largest in the world after the European Union and the U.S. by purchasing power. The average annual income of a Chinese worker is $1,300. Chinese economic development is believed to be among the fastest in the world, about 7-8% per year according to Chinese government statistics. China is now a member of the World Trade Organization. A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a geographical region that has economic laws different from a countrys typical economic laws. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Wikiquote quotations related to: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government Official website of the United States government - Gateway to governmental sites White House - Official site of the US President Senate. ... The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization which oversees a large number of agreements defining the rules of trade between its member states (WTO, 2004a). ...

Mainland China has a reputation as being a low-cost manufacturer, particularly due to abundant cheap labor. A worker at a Chinese factory typically costs a company 50 cents to $1 per hour (average $0.86), compared with $2 to $2.50 per hour in Mexico and $8.50 to more than $20 for the U.S. By the end of 2001, the average electricity price in Guangdong Province was 0.72 yuan (9 US cents) per kilowatt hour, much higher than the average level on the Chinese mainland of 0.368 yuan (4 US cents). The PRC officially abolished direct budgetary outlays for exports on Jan. 1, 1991. Nonetheless, it is widely believed that many of mainland China's manufactured exports receive other types of export subsidies.

Other forms of export subsidies involve guaranteed provision of energy, raw materials or labor supplies. Exports of some agricultural products, such as corn and cotton, still benefit from direct export subsidies. However, the PRC substantially reduced the level of corn export subsidies in 1999 and 2000 essentially to the point of elimination.

Preferential tax incentives are another example of export subsidies. China is attempting to harmonize the system of taxes and duties it imposes on enterprises, domestic and foreign alike. As a result, preferential tax and duty policies that benefit exporters in special economic zones and coastal cities have been targeted for revision. Chinese exports to the United States were $125 billion in 2002; American exports to China were $19 billion. The discrepancy is largely attributable to the fact that the U.S. consumes far more than it produces and that Chinese people paid low wages cannot afford the US's expensive products. Another factor cited by some people is the unfavorable exchange rate between the Chinese yuan and the United States dollar to which it is pegged. Chinese exports to the United States are rising 20% per annum, much faster than U.S. exports to China. With the elimination of clothing quotas, China stands to take over a large chunk of the worldwide textile industry. [1] (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/26/business/worldbusiness/26CHIN.html?th), [2] (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/02/business/02CHIN.html?th) The renminbi (Traditional Chinese: 人民幣, Simplified Chinese: 人民币, literally means peoples currency) is the legal tender in the mainland of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... Pegged is an adjective used to describe: a pegged currency, more formally called a fixed currency a pegged exchange rate, more formally called a fixed exchange rate This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

In 2003, China's GDP in terms of purchasing power parity reached $6.4 trillion, becoming the second-largest in the world (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html). Using conventional measurements it is ranked 7th. With its large population this still gives an average GNP per person of only an estimated $5,000, about 1/7th that of the United States. The officially reported growth rate for 2003 was 9.1%. It was estimated by the CIA that in 2002 agriculture accounted for 14.5% of China's GNP, industry and construction for 51.7% and services for 33.8%. Average rural income is about one third that of urban areas, a gap which has widened in recent decades. In economics, purchasing power parity (PPP) is a method used to calculate an alternative exchange rate between the currencies of two countries. ...

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of China By the most inclusive definition China consists of the Peoples Republic of China (which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau) and the Republic of China (Taiwan). ...

Officially the PRC views itself as a multi-ethnic nation with 56 recognized ethnicities. The majority Han Chinese ethnicity makes up about 93% of the population and is the majority over about half of the area of the PRC. The Han Chinese can also be conceived as a large category bringing together many diverse ethnic subgroups sharing common cultural and linguistic characteristics. The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ...

The People's Republic of China, in an attempt to limit its population growth, has adopted a policy which limits urban families (ethnic minorities such as Tibetans are an exception) to one child and rural families to two children when the first is female. Because males are considered to be more economically valuable in rural areas, there appears to be a high incidence of sex selective abortion and child abandonment in rural areas to ensure that the second child is male. (See National Geographic's China's Lost Children). Overpopulation may indicate any case in which the population of any species of animal may exceed the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. ... 4 minority languages and scripts on a 1-Yuan-bill: Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur and Zhuang The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining... A Tibetan pilgrim The Tibetans speak the Tibetan language natively and form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), although in anthropological terms they include more than one ethnic group. ... The one-child policy is the current birth control policy of the Peoples Republic of China. ... 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. ... Child abandonment or the practice of abandoning ones offspring outside of legal adoption is a long standing social ill. ...

This has resulted in a sex ratio of 112-113 boys being born for every 100 girls which is somewhat higher than the natural rate (106 to 100), but which is comparable to the ratios in places such as the Caucasus, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. The figure also stabilises to 106 to 100 once the total population is taken into account. Although some of this bad ratio is attributable to sexism, recently, it has been found that it correlates with hepatitis as well. The PRC government is attempting to mitigate this problem by emphasizing the worth of women and has gone so far as to criminalize medical providers from disclosing to parents the sex of an expected baby. Look up Sex in Wiktionary, the free dictionary The members of many species of living things are divided into two or more categories called sexes (or loosely speaking, genders). ... The Caucasus is a region in Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Sexism is discrimination against people based on their sex rather than their individual merits. ...

The majority Han Chinese speak varieties of spoken Chinese, which can be regarded as either one language or a family of languages. The largest subdivision of spoken Chinese is Mandarin Chinese, with more speakers than any other language on Earth. A standardized version of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect, known as Putonghua, is taught in schools and used as the official language of the entire country. Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; pinyin: ) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ... Mandarin  listen(Traditional: 北方話, Simplified: 北方话, Hanyu Pinyin: Běifānghuà, lit. ... Earth, also known as the Earth or Terra, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... Beijing dialect (北京话, pinyin: Běijīnghuà) is the dialect of Mandarin spoken in the urban area of Beijing, China. ... 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. ...

Public health

Main articles: Public health in China and Environment of China 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. ... One of the serious negative consequences of mainland Chinas rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. ...

Celebrating victory over SARS

The PRC has several emerging public health problems: health problems related to air and water pollution, a progressing HIV-AIDS epidemic and hundreds of millions of cigarette smokers. The HIV epidemic, in addition to the usual routes of infection, was exacerbated in the past by unsanitary practices used in the collection of blood in rural areas. The problem with tobacco is complicated by the concentration of most cigarette sales in a government controlled monopoly. The government, dependent on tobacco revenue, seems hesitant in its response to the tobacco compared with other public health problems. China File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... China File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an atypical form of pneumonia. ... Public health is an aspect of health services concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. ... Pollution is the release of harmful environmental contaminants, or the substances so released. ... AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, sometimes written Aids) is a human disease characterized by weakening of the bodys immune system and capacity to fight infection and certain cancers. ... Tobacco smoking is the act of smoking tobacco products, especially cigarettes and cigars. ... Species N. glauca N. longiflora N. rustica N. sylvestris N. tabacum Ref: ITIS 30562 as of 2002-08-28 Tobacco () is a broad-leafed plant of the nightshade family, indigenous to North and South America, whose dried and cured leaves are often smoked (see tobacco smoking) in the form of...

Hepatitis B is endemic in mainland China, with a large percentage of the population contracting the disease; about 10% of these are seriously affected. Often this causes liver failure or liver cancer, a common form of death in China. Hepatitis has also recently been found to have resulted in fewer non-males being born (kills female sperm; the higher male to female ratio than is normal for most countries). A program initiated in 2002 will attempt over the next 5 years to vaccinate all newborns in mainland China. Originally known as serum hepatitis, Hepatitis B has only been recognized as such since World War II, and has caused current epidemics in parts of Asia and Africa. ... The liver is an organ in vertebrates including humans. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Vaccination is a term coined by Edward Jenner for the process of administering a weakened form of a disease to patients as a means of giving them immunity to a more serious form of the disease. ...

China is also a source pool of avian bird flu, which is thought to be currently mainly animal-human transmissable (only two well documented cases of human-human have been to the present known of to scientists), but which experts regard as likely to be the next big epidemic when the viruses in the future morph into human-human transmissable. Given the very quick morph altering of DNA in flu viruses, it is considered only a matter of time and not a will it or won't it happen question. An epidemic is generally a widespread disease that affects many individuals in a population. ...

Space program

Main article: Space program of China The space program of the Peoples Republic of China began in 1968 and was an outgrowth of Chinas attempt to develop an indigenous nuclear deterrent and delivery system after the Sino-Soviet split in 1960. ...

On October 15, 2003, using a Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou V manned spacecraft, the PRC became the third country to put a human being into space through its own endeavors. The Long March family of rockets (長征火箭, Chang Zheng) is an expendable launch system designed and operated by the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shenzhou 5 (神舟五号) was the first manned space mission launched by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on October 15, 2003. ... Outer space (also called just space), as a name for a region, refers to the relatively empty parts of the Universe, outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ...

Launch of the Long March rocket

The country had plans for a manned space program as early as the 1970s, with "Project 714" and the intended Shuguang manned spacecraft. Because of a series of political and economic setbacks, the programs for a manned flight never came to fruition until 2003. Shenzhou IV File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Shenzhou IV File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Long March family of rockets (長征火箭, Chang Zheng) is an expendable launch system designed and operated by the Peoples Republic of China. ...

The Long March 2F rocket and Shenzhou V manned spacecraft carried Yang Liwei inside the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft into Earth orbit, where it remained for 21 hours, making a total of 14 revolutions. The Long March family of rockets (長征火箭, Chang Zheng) is an expendable launch system designed and operated by the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shenzhou 5 (神舟五号) was the first manned space mission launched by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on October 15, 2003. ... Yang Liwei (Simplified Chinese: 杨利伟, Traditional Chinese: 楊利偉) (born June 21, 1965) is an astronaut (yuhangyuan) and the Peoples Republic of Chinas first man in space. ...

Some specialists regard the Shenzhou manned spacecraft as based on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, a design several decades old. 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. ... Soyuz is Russian for Union. Depending on the context, Soyuz may also refer to either of the following: The originally Soviet (now Russian) Soyuz program of human spaceflight The Soyuz spacecraft, used in that program The Soyuz launch vehicle that is used to launch those and other spacecraft This is...

The PRC's burgeoning program is considered to be cause for concern in some quarters. A United States Congressional report following the 2003 launch said, "While one of the strongest immediate motivations for this program appears to be political prestige, China's efforts almost certainly will contribute to improved military space systems in the 2010-2020 timeframe." Others are less impressed. A week after the launch, an editorial (http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=229586) in the Times of India called it "'China's Late Creep Forward,' given that Beijing is attempting to showcase a four-decade-old technology". For example, today, the US Air Force's primary objective is to move into dominance of space.

Whether China's advances in this area will produce another space race remains to be seen. The July 15, 1975 rendezvous of the Apollo and Soyuz space modules marks the traditional end of the Space Race. ...

Culture

Main article: Culture of China The Chinese Dragon, Fu dog and religious incense comprise three pervasive symbols of traditional Chinese culture. ...

China's traditional values were derived from the orthodox version of Confucianism/conservatism, which was taught in schools and was even part of imperial civil service examinations. However, the term Confucianism is somewhat problematic in that the system of thought which reached it high-water mark in Qing Dynasty imperial China was in fact composed of several strains of thought, including Legalism, which in many ways departed from the original spirit of Confucianism; indeed by the height of imperial China, the right of the individual ethical conscience and the democratic right of criticism bad government and demanding change had largely been prohibited by "orthodox" thinkers. Currently, there are neo-Confucians who believe that contrary to that line of thought, democratic ideals and human rights are quite competible with traditional Confucian "Asian values". See [3] (http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ccba/cear/issues/fall97/graphics/special/debary/debary.htm) Confucianism (儒家 Pinyin: rújiā The School of the Scholars), sometimes translated as the School of Literati, is an East Asian ethical, religious and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of Confucius. ... Conservatism is any of several historically-related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... Legalism has several meanings. ...

The leaders who directed the efforts to change Chinese society after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 were raised in the old society and had been marked with its values. Although they were conscious revolutionaries, they had no intention of transforming Chinese culture totally. As practical administrators, PRC leaders sought to change some traditional aspects, such as rural land tenure and education, while preserving others, such as the family structure. Indeed, many observers believe that the Communist period following 1949 is very much in continuity with traditional Chinese history, rather than revolutionary--much like before, the masses accepted the views of the ruling party without much protest. The new government was seen as having who had assumed the Mandate of Heaven, taking over from the old regime and establishing a new dynasty with the blessing of the gods. Just as in the imperial age, the ruler (such as Mao Zedong) was revered and generally seen as without fault and worthy of praise. Change in Chinese society, therefore, has been less than total and consistent than claimed by official spokesmen. Cambridge University Hong Kong and China Affairs Society is dedicated to promoting Hong Kong culture exclusively to Hong Kong students, through a variety of activities such as Annual General Meetings, in which freedom of speech and accountability are celebrated through its repression. ... The Mandate of Heaven (天命 Pinyin: Tiānmìng) was a Chinese concept used to support the rule of the kings of the Zhou Dynasty and later the Emperors of China. ...

At various times in the history of the PRC, many aspects of traditional Chinese culture including art, literature, linguistic forms, to name a few, have been sought by the regime or prominent movements (such as during the Cultural Revolution by the Red Guards) as vestiges of feudalism, regressive and harmful. Yet as time passes, much of traditional Chinese culture has been accepted by the people and regime as an integral part of Chinese society; indeed, Chinese national policy often lauds these as important achievements of the Chinese civilization, and emphasizes them as being important in forming a Chinese national identity. The PRC has also promoted feelings of nationalism in recent years, regarded by many observers as an effort to provide legitimacy for its rule. A poster during the Cultural Revolution The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: 无产阶级文化大革命; Traditional Chinese: 無產階級文化大革命; pinyin: ; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wén huà dà gé mìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or simply 文革 wén gé, literally Cultural Revolution) in the Peoples Republic of... The term Red Guards may refer to one of the following. ...

• Chinese art
• Chinese cuisine
• Chinese language
• Chinese written language
• List of famous Chinese people
• Music of China
• Religion in China
• Holidays in the People's Republic of China

13th century BC spouted ritual wine vessel (Guang). ... China has one of the richest culinary heritages on Earth. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Various styles of Chinese calligraphy. ... Famous Chinese or Chinese-speaking/writing people. ... Music of China appears to date back to the dawn of Chinese civilization, and documents and artifacts provide evidence of a well-developed musical culture as early as the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC). ... Temple incense in Taichung, Taiwan with Fu Dog behind. ... Holidays in mainland China: The three main holidays in the Peoples Republic of China are the Spring Festival, May Day, and National Day on October 1. ...

Miscellaneous topics

Main article: List of China-related topics The sub-pages of this article aim to list articles on Wikipedia that are related to China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau. ...

• Chinese law
• Education in China
• Communications in China
• Environment of China
• Human rights in China
• Science and technology in China
• Police in China
• Transportation in China
• Railways in China
• Nationalities of China

The Law of China, for most of the history of China, was rooted in the Confucian philosophy of social control. ... Although previously only affordable by the wealthy, Education in the Peoples Republic of China today has been developed from decades of remodeling through the changes of time, and is available to all of the public. ... This article is on the Communications in Mainland China. ... One of the serious negative consequences of mainland Chinas rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. ... The situation of human rights in the Peoples Republic of China has been criticized by various sources, including other nations - particularly Western democracies - as well as international organizations, as being poor in many respects. ... Ancient and imperial China Much of the Western work in the history of science in China has been done by Joseph Needham. ... Police in the mainland of the Peoples Republic of China are divided between the Peoples Armed Police Ministry of Public Security This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is on the Transportation in Mainland China. ... This article is on the railways in mainland China. ... 4 minority languages and scripts on a 1-Yuan-bill: Mongolian, Tibetan, Uighur and Zhuang The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining...

References

• CIA World Factbook 2002/2004 (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html)
• Background Note: China U.S. Department of State website (http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/18902.htm)

Further reading

• Ross Terrill, The New Chinese Empire: And What It Means for the United States, Basic Books, hardcover, 400 pages, ISBN 0465084125

External links

• China.org.cn (http://www.china.org.cn/english/index.htm) China's Official Gateway
• CIA World Factbook - China (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html)
• Guardian Unlimited - Special Report: China (http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/0,7368,467721,00.html)
• Library of Congress - Country Study: China (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cntoc.html) data as of July 1987
• PBS Frontline - China in the Red (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/red/)
• LookSmart - China (http://search.looksmart.com/p/browse/us1/us317916/us559898/us559967/us559976/) directory category
• Open Directory Project - China (http://dmoz.org/Regional/Asia/China/) directory category
• Yahoo! - China (http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/China/) directory category
• Yahoo! News - Full Coverage: China (http://news.yahoo.com/fc/World/China)
• HavenWorks - China News (http://www.HavenWorks.com/world/china)

• Go Taikonauts! (http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1921/) Chinese citizen's page devoted to China's space program
• Chinese Threat to American Leadership in Space (http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=225)
• Space.com (http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/shenzhou_china_archive.html) articles on China's space activities
• OlympicWatch.org (http://www.olympicwatch.org/) human rights in China and the Beijing 2008 Olympics
• China International Travel Service OF Guilin - JP  (http://www.arachina.com/)
• China History Forum (http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/)
• ChinaOrbit.com (http://www.chinaorbit.com) general information
• The Dragon's Dawn: China as a Rising Imperial Power (http://www.globalpolitician.com/articles.asp?ID=341) February 11, 2005
• Chinese politics (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/international/asia/12CHIN.html?tntemail1): New York Times June 12, 2003 (login is required)

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This is an alphabetical list of the sovereign states of the world, including both de jure and de facto independent states. ... East Asia can be defined in either cultural or geographic terms. ... National motto: None Official language Mandarin Chinese Capital and largest city Taipei President Chen Shui-bian Premier Frank Hsieh Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 138th 35,980 km² 2. ... Taiwan Strait Area The political status of Taiwan is controversial over questions about whether Taiwan should remain the Republic of China, become part of the Peoples Republic of China, or become an independent Republic of Taiwan. ...