China

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
  - The eastern region
    - The Northeast Plain
    - The Changbai Mountains
    - The North China Plain
    - The Loess Plateau
    - The Shandong Hills
    - The Qin Mountains
    - The Sichuan Basin
    - The southeastern mountains
    - Plains of the middle and lower Yangtze
    - The Nan Mountains
  - The southwest
    - The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau
    - The Plateau of Tibet
  - The northwest
    - The Tarim Basin
    - The Junggar Basin
    - The Tien Shan
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
  - The air masses
  - Temperature
  - Precipitation
- Plant and animal life
  - Flora
  - Animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
  - Sino-Tibetan
  - Altaic
  - Other languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural areas
  - Urban areas
- Demographic trends
  - Population growth
  - Population distribution
  - Internal migration
Economy
- General considerations
  - The role of the government
  - Economic policies
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Farming and livestock
  - Forestry and fishing
- Resources and power
  - Minerals
  - Hydroelectric potential
  - Energy production
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labor and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
  - Railways
  - Road networks
  - Waterways
  - Port facilities and shipping
  - Aviation
  - Posts and telecommunications
Government and society
- Parallel structure
- Constitutional framework
- Political process
  - Role of the CCP
  - Administration
- Justice
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- The arts
  - Literature
  - Visual arts
  - Performing arts
- Cultural institutions
- Daily life, sports, and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Prehistory in China
  - Archaeology in China
  - Early humans
  - Neolithic Period
    - Climate and environment
    - Food production
    - Major cultures and sites
      Incipient Neolithic
      6th millennium bce
      5th millennium bce
      4th and 3rd millennia bce
      Regional cultures of the Late Neolithic
    - Religious beliefs and social organization
- The first historical dynasty: the Shang
  - The advent of bronze casting
  - The Shang dynasty
    - Royal burials
    - The chariot
    - Art
    - Late Shang divination and religion
    - State and society
- The Zhou and Qin dynasties
  - The history of the Zhou (1046–256 bce)
    - Zhou and Shang
    - The Zhou feudal system
  - Social, political, and cultural changes
    - The decline of feudalism
    - Urbanization and assimilation
    - The rise of monarchy
    - Economic development
    - Cultural change
  - The Qin empire (221–207 bce)
    - The Qin state
    - Struggle for power
    - The empire
- The Han dynasty
  - Dynastic authority and the succession of emperors
    - Xi (Western) Han
      Prelude to the Han
      The imperial succession
      From Wudi to Yuandi
      From Chengdi to Wang Mang
    - Dong (Eastern) Han
  - The administration of the Han empire
    - The structure of government
      The civil service
      Provincial government
      The armed forces
    - The practice of government
  - Relations with other peoples
  - Cultural developments
- The Six Dynasties
  - Political developments
    - The division of China
      Sanguo (Three Kingdoms; 220–280 ce)
      The Xi (Western) Jin (265–316/317 ce)
    - The era of foreign invasions and rule
      The Dong (Eastern) Jin (317–420) and later dynasties in the south (420–589)
      The Shiliuguo (Sixteen Kingdoms) in the north (303–439)
  - Intellectual and religious trends
    - Confucianism and philosophical Daoism
    - Daoism
    - Buddhism
- The Sui dynasty
  - Wendi’s institutional reforms
  - Integration of the south
  - Foreign affairs under Yangdi
- The Tang dynasty
  - Early Tang (618–626)
    - Administration of the state
    - Fiscal and legal system
  - The period of Tang power (626–755)
    - The “era of good government”
    - Rise of the empress Wuhou
    - Prosperity and progress
    - Military reorganization
  - Late Tang (755–907)
    - Provincial separatism
    - The struggle for central authority
  - Cultural developments
    - The influence of Buddhism
    - Trends in the arts
  - Social change
    - Decline of the aristocracy
    - Population movements
    - Growth of the economy
- The Five Dynasties and the Ten Kingdoms
  - The Wudai (Five Dynasties)
  - The Shiguo (Ten Kingdoms)
- The “barbarians”: Tangut, Khitan, and Juchen
  - The Tangut
  - The Khitan
  - The Juchen
- The Song dynasty
  - Bei (Northern) Song (960–1127)
    - Unification
    - Consolidation
    - Reforms
    - Decline and fall
  - Nan (Southern) Song (1127–1279)
    - Survival and consolidation
    - Relations with the Juchen
    - The court’s relations with the bureaucracy
    - The chief councillors
    - The bureaucratic style
    - The clerical staff
    - The rise of neo-Confucianism
    - Internal solidarity during the decline of the Nan Song
  - Song culture
- The Yuan, or Mongol, dynasty
  - The Mongol conquest of China
    - Invasion of the Jin state
    - Invasion of the Song state
  - China under the Mongols
    - Mongol government and administration
      Early Mongol rule
      Changes under Kublai Khan and his successors
      Economy
    - Religious and intellectual life
      Daoism
      Buddhism
      Foreign religions
      Confucianism
      Literature
      The arts
    - Yuan China and the West
    - The end of Mongol rule
- The Ming dynasty
  - Political history
    - The dynasty’s founder
    - The dynastic succession
  - Government and administration
    - Local government
    - Central government
    - Later innovations
  - Foreign relations
  - Economic policy and developments
    - Population
    - Agriculture
    - Taxation
    - Coinage
  - Culture
    - Philosophy and religion
    - Fine arts
    - Literature and scholarship
- The early Qing dynasty
  - The rise of the Manchu
  - The Qing empire
    - Political institutions
    - Foreign relations
    - Economic development
  - Qing society
    - Social organization
    - State and society
    - Trends in the early Qing
- Late Qing
  - Western challenge, 1839–60
    - The first Opium War and its aftermath
    - The anti-foreign movement and the second Opium War (Arrow War)
  - Popular uprising
    - The Taiping Rebellion
    - The Nian Rebellion
    - Muslim rebellions
    - Effects of the rebellions
  - The Self-Strengthening Movement
    - Foreign relations in the 1860s
    - Industrialization for “self-strengthening”
  - Changes in outlying areas
    - East Turkistan
    - Tibet and Nepal
    - Myanmar (Burma)
    - Vietnam
    - Japan and the Ryukyu Islands
    - Korea and the Sino-Japanese War
  - Reform and upheaval
    - The Hundred Days of Reform of 1898
    - The Boxer Rebellion
  - Reformist and revolutionist movements at the end of the dynasty
    - Sun Yat-sen and the United League
    - Constitutional movements after 1905
    - The Chinese Revolution (1911–12)
- The early republican period
  - The development of the republic (1912–20)
    - Early power struggles
    - China in World War I
      Japanese gains
      Yuan’s attempts to become emperor
      Conflict over entry into the war
      Formation of a rival southern government
      Wartime changes
    - Intellectual movements
      An intellectual revolution
      Riots and protests
  - The interwar years (1920–37)
    - Beginnings of a national revolution
      The Nationalist Party
      The Chinese Communist Party
      Communist-Nationalist cooperation
    - Reactions to warlords and foreigners
      Militarism in China
      The foreign presence
      Reorganization of the KMT
    - Struggles within the two-party coalition
      Clashes with foreigners
      KMT opposition to radicals
      The Northern Expedition
      Expulsion of communists from the KMT
    - The Nationalist government from 1928 to 1937
      Japanese aggression
      War between Nationalists and communists
      The United Front against Japan
- The late republican period
  - The war against Japan (1937–45)
    - The Sino-Japanese War
      Phase one
      Phase two: stalemate and stagnation
      Renewed communist-Nationalist conflict
    - The international alliance against Japan
      U.S. aid to China
      Conflicts within the international alliance
      Phase three: approaching crisis (1944–45)
      Nationalist deterioration
      Communist growth
      Efforts to prevent civil war
  - Civil war (1945–49)
    - A race for territory
      Attempts to end the war
      Resumption of fighting
    - The tide begins to shift
      A land revolution
      The decisive year, 1948
    - Communist victory
- Establishment of the People’s Republic
  - Reconstruction and consolidation, 1949–52
  - The transition to socialism, 1953–57
    - Rural collectivization
    - Urban socialist changes
    - Political developments
    - Foreign policy
  - New directions in national policy, 1958–61
  - Readjustment and reaction, 1961–65
- The Cultural Revolution, 1966–76
  - Attacks on cultural figures
  - Attacks on party members
  - Seizure of power
  - The end of the radical period
  - Social changes
  - Struggle for the premiership
  - Consequences of the Cultural Revolution
- China after the death of Mao
  - Domestic developments
    - Readjustment and recovery
    - Economic policy changes
    - Political developments
    - Educational and cultural policy changes
    - COVID-19 outbreak
  - Allegations of human rights abuses
  - International relations
  - Relations with Taiwan
Leaders of the People’s Republic of China since 1949

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Shanghai: financial district

Shanghai: Huangpu district

Explore the Great Wall of China

Physical features of China

Xinjiang, China: Kyrgyz mosque in the Pamirs

Mount Everest massif

For Students

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China: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 26, 2025

News •

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Facts

Also Known As	Chung-hua Jen-min Kung-ho-kuo • Zhongguo • Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo • People’s Republic of China • Chung-hua • Chung-kuo • Zhonghua
Head Of Government	Premier: Li Qiang
Capital	Beijing (Peking)
Population	(2025 est.) 1,408,671,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 7.072 Chinese yuan renminbi
Head Of State	President: Xi Jinping, assisted by Vice President Han Zheng
Form Of Government	single-party people’s republic with one legislative house (National People’s Congress [3,000¹])
Official Language	Mandarin Chinese
Official Religion	none²
Official Name	Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo (People’s Republic of China)
Total Area (Sq Km)	9,572,900
Total Area (Sq Mi)	3,696,097
Monetary Unit	renminbi (yuan) (Y)
Population Rank	(2025) 1
Population Projection 2030	1,408,712,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 381.1
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 147.2
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2018) 59.6% • Rural: (2018) 40.4%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2020) 75.4 years • Female: (2020) 80.1 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2023) 98.3% • Female: (2023) 94.8%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 18,883,066
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 13,390
¹Statutory number; includes 36 seats allotted to Hong Kong and 12 to Macau.²Many Chinese practice both Chinese folk-religion and Buddhism.

Photos and Videos

Shanghai: financial district

Shanghai: Huangpu district

Physical features of China

Xinjiang, China: Kyrgyz mosque in the Pamirs

Mount Everest massif

Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range

Tibet Autonomous Region: stupa on the Yarlung Zangbo

Explore the Great Wall of China

Garlic farming in Cangshan District, China

Chinese sculpture during the Han dynasty examined

How did World War II affect China?

The secret to brewing a good cup of tea

National anthem of China

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

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