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Capital
Largest city
Official languages
Ethnic groups
Beijing[b]
3955N 11623E
Shanghai[1][2]
Standard Chinese[3]
Mongolian
Tibetan
Uyghur
Zhuang
various others
Vernacular Chinese
Simplified Chinese[3]
91.51% Han[4]
55 minorities[a]
[show]
Demonym
Chinese
Government
Single-party socialist state
President
Xi Jinping[c]
Premier
Li Keqiang
Congress Chairman
Zhang Dejiang
Conference Chairman
Yu Zhengsheng
Legislature
National People's Congress
Establishment
Unification of China under 221 BC
Date format
Drives on the
Calling code
ISO 3166 code
Internet TLD
a.
1 January 1912
1 October 1949
Area
9,706,961 km2[d] (3rd/4th)
3,747,879 sq mi
2.8
Population
1,353,821,000[4][5] (1st)
1,339,724,852[6] (1st)
139.6/km2 (81st)
363.3/sq mi
2012 estimate
$12.405 trillion[7] (2nd)
$9,161[7] (91st)
2012 estimate
$8.227 trillion[7] (2nd)
$6,075[7] (90th)
47.4[8]
high
0.699[9]
medium 101st
Renminbi (yuan) () (CNY)
China Standard Time
(UTC+8)
yyyy-mm-dd
or yyyy m d
(CE; CE-1949)
right[f]
+86
CN
.cn
.[10]
b.
^ The area given is the official United Nations figure for the mainland and
expressly excludes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.[12] It also excludes the
Trans-Karakoram Tract 5,800 km2 (2,200 sq mi), Aksai Chin 37,244 km2
d.
(14,380 sq mi) and other territories in dispute with India. The total area of China
is listed as 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) by the Encyclopdia Britannica.[13]
For further information, see Territorial changes of the People's Republic of
China.
f.
member since 1971, when it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security
Council. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations,
including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the BCIM and the
G-20. China has been characterized as a potential superpower by a number of academics,[19]
military analysts,[20][21] and public policy and economics analysts.[22][23]
Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
o 2.1 Prehistory
o 2.2 Early dynastic rule
o 2.3 Imperial China
o 2.4 Late dynastic rule
o 2.5 Republic of China (19121949)
o 2.6 People's Republic of China (1949present)
3 Geography
o 3.1 Political geography
o 3.2 Landscape and climate
o 3.3 Biodiversity
3.3.1 Fauna
3.3.2 Flora
3.3.3 Fungi
4 Politics
5 Military
6 Economy
8 Infrastructure
o 8.1 Communications
o 8.2 Transport
9 Demographics
o 9.1 Ethnic groups
o 9.2 Languages
o 9.3 Urbanization
o 9.4 Education
o 9.5 Health
o 9.6 Religion
10 Culture
o 10.1 Cuisine
o 10.2 Sports
11 See also
12 References
13 Further reading
14 External links
Etymology
Main article: Names of China
China
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese:
Traditional Chinese:
Literal meaning:
Middle Kingdom[24][25]
[show]Transliterations
People's Republic of China
Alternative Chinese name
Simplified Chinese:
Traditional Chinese:
[show]Transliterations
Mongolian name
Mongolian:
[show]Transliterations
Tibetan name
Tibetan:
[show]Transliterations
Uyghur name
Uyghur:
[show]Transliterations
Zhuang name
Zhuang:
Cunghvaz Yinzminz Gunghozgoz
This article contains Chinese text. Without
proper rendering support, you may see question
marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of
Chinese characters.
The word "China" is derived from Persian Cin (), which is from Sanskrit Cna ().[26] It is
first recorded in 1516 in the journal of Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa.[27] It appears in
English in a translation published in 1555.[28] It is commonly thought that it is derived from the
"Qin" () Dynasty.[29] In China, common names for the present country include Zhnggu
(Chinese: ; literally "the Middle State(s)") and Zhnghu (Chinese: ), although the
country's official name has been changed numerous times by successive dynasties and modern
governments. The term Zhongguo appeared in various ancient texts, such as the Classic of
History of the 6th century BC,[30] and in pre-imperial times it was often used as a cultural concept
to distinguish the Huaxia tribes from perceived "barbarians". The term, which can be either
singular or plural, referred to the group of states or provinces in the central plain but was not used
as a name for the country as a whole until the nineteenth century. The Chinese were not unique in
regarding their country as "central", since other civilizations had the same view of themselves.[31]
History
Main articles: History of China and Timeline of Chinese history
Prehistory
Main article: Chinese prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China between 250,000 and 2.24
million years ago.[32] A cave in Zhoukoudian (near present-day Beijing) exhibits fossils dated at
between 300,000 and 780,000 BC.[33][34][35] The fossils are of Peking Man, an example of Homo
erectus who used fire.[36] The Peking Man site has also yielded remains of Homo sapiens dating
back to 18,00011,000 BC.[37]
Jade deer ornament dating from the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th centuries BC).
Chinese tradition names the first imperial dynasty Xia, but it was considered mythical until
scientific excavations found early Bronze Age sites at Erlitou in Henan Province in 1959.[38]
Archaeologists have since uncovered urban sites, bronze implements, and tombs in locations
cited as Xia's in ancient historical texts, but it is impossible to verify that these remains are of the
Xia without written records from the period.
Some of the thousands of life-size Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty, ca. 210 BC.
The first Chinese dynasty that left historical records, the loosely feudal Shang (Yin), settled along
the Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century BC. The oracle bone script of
the Shang Dynasty represents the oldest form of Chinese writing yet found, and the direct
ancestor of the modern Chinese characters used throughout East Asia. The Shang were invaded
from the west by the Zhou, who ruled between the 12th and 5th centuries BC, until their
centralized authority was slowly eroded by feudal warlords. Many independent states eventually
emerged out of the weakened Zhou state, and continually waged war with each other in the 300year-long Spring and Autumn Period, only occasionally deferring to the Zhou king. By the time
of the Warring States Period of the 5th3rd centuries BC, there were seven powerful sovereign
states in what is now China, each with its own king, ministry and army.[39]
The Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the
sedentary agricultural regions of the Chinese interior from incursions by nomadic pastoralists of
the northern steppes.
Imperial China
The first unified Chinese state was established by Qin Shi Huang of the Qin state in 221 BC. Qin
Shi Huang proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (), and imposed many reforms
throughout China, notably the forced standardization of the Chinese language, measurements,
length of cart axles, and currency. The Qin Dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after
Qin Shi Huang's death, as its harsh legalist and authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.
[40][41]
The subsequent Han Dynasty ruled China between 206 BC and 220 AD, and created a lasting
Han cultural identity among its populace that has endured to the present day.[40][41] The Han
Dynasty expanded the empire's territory considerably with military campaigns reaching Korea,
Vietnam, Mongolia and Central Asia, and also helped establish the Silk Road in Central Asia.
Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world.[42] After the collapse of
Han, another period of disunion followed, including the highly chivalric period of the Three
Kingdoms.[43] Independent Chinese states of this period such as Wu opened diplomatic relations
with Japan,[44] introducing the Chinese writing system there. In 580 AD, China was reunited
under the Sui.[45] However, the Sui Dynasty declined following its defeat in the GoguryeoSui
War (598614).[46][47]
Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese technology and culture entered a golden
age.[48] The Tang Empire was at its height of power until the middle of the 8th century, when the
An Shi Rebellion destroyed the prosperity of the empire.[49] The Song Dynasty was the first
government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a
permanent standing navy.[50] Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China
doubled in size to around 100 million people, mostly due to the expansion of rice cultivation in
central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song Dynasty
also saw a flourishing of philosophy and the arts, as landscape art and portrait painting were
brought to new levels of maturity and complexity, and social elites gathered to view art, share
their own and trade precious artworks. Philosophers such as Cheng Yi and Chu Hsi reinvigorated
Confucianism with new commentary, infused Buddhist ideals, and emphasized a new
organization of classic texts that brought about the core doctrine of Neo-Confucianism.
Detail from Along the River During the Qingming Festival, a 12th-century painting showing
everyday life in the Song Dynasty's capital city, Bianjing (today's Kaifeng).
In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty; the Yuan conquered the
last remnant of the Song Dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, Song Cina reportedly had
approximately 120 million citizens; the 1300 census which followed the invasion reported
roughly 60 million people.[51]
"The end of the Opium War marked the beginning of Western imperialism in China. Unequal
treaties, imposed at the end of the war, forced China to relinquish Hong Kong, open new "Treaty
Ports" to foreign trade, pay indemnities to her vanquishers, and allow foreigners to live and work
on Chinese soil free of the jurisdiction of Chinese law (extraterritoriality). Over the years new
wars with Western powers would expand these impositions on China's national sovereignty,
culminating in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ended the Sino-Japanese War of 189495."[55]
In the First Sino-Japanese War of 189495, which was fought over influence in Korea, Japanese
troops defeated Qing forces.
While China was wracked by continuous war, Meiji Japan succeeded in rapidly modernizing its
military, and set its sights on the conquest of Korea and Manchuria. At the request of the Korean
emperor, the Qing government sent troops to aid in suppressing the Tonghak Rebellion in 1894.
However, Japan also sent troops to Korea, leading to the First Sino-Japanese War, which resulted
in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula as well as the cession of Taiwan
(including the Pescadores) to Japan in 1895.[65]
Following this series of defeats, a reform plan for the empire to become a modern Meiji-style
constitutional monarchy was drafted by the Guangxu Emperor in 1898, but was opposed and
stopped by the Empress Dowager Cixi, who placed Emperor Guangxu under house arrest in a
coup d'tat. The ill-fated Boxer Rebellion of 18981901, in which westerners in Beijing were
targeted en masse, resulted in as many as 115,000 deaths.[66] Slavery was formally abolished in
1906.[67]
By the early 20th century, mass civil disorder had begun, and calls for reform and revolution
were heard across the country. The 38-year-old Emperor Guangxu died under house arrest on 14
November 1908, suspiciously just a day before Cixi's own death. With the throne empty, he was
succeeded by Cixi's handpicked heir, his two-year-old nephew Puyi, who became the Xuantong
Emperor. Guangxu's consort became the Empress Dowager Longyu. In another coup d'tat in
1912, Yuan Shikai overthrew Puyi, and forced Longyu to sign the abdication decree as regent,
ending over two thousand years of imperial rule in China.[citation needed] Longyu died, childless, in
1913.[citation needed]
Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China (seated on right), and Chiang Kai-shek, later President of
the Republic of China.
On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was established, heralding the end of Imperial China.
[68]
Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (the KMT or Nationalist Party) was proclaimed provisional
president of the republic.[69] However, the presidency was later given to Yuan Shikai, a former
Qing general, who had ensured the defection of the entire Beiyang Army from the Qing Empire
to the revolution. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself Emperor of China, but was forced to abdicate
and reestablish the republic in the face of popular condemnation, not only from the general
population but also from among his own Beiyang Army and its commanders.[70]
After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented, with an internationally
recognized but virtually powerless national government seated in Beijing. Regional warlords
exercised actual control over their respective territories.[71][72] In the late 1920s, the nationalist
Kuomintang, under Chiang Kai-shek, was able to reunify the country under its own control with a
series of deft military and political maneuverings, known collectively as the Northern Expedition.
[73][74]
The Kuomintang moved the nation's capital to Nanjing and implemented "political
tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen's San-min
program for transforming China into a modern democratic state. Effectively, political tutelage
meant one-party rule by the Kuomintang, but the party was politically divided into competing
cliques.[75][76] This political division made it difficult for Chiang to battle the Communists, which
the Kuomintang had been warring against since 1927 in the Chinese Civil War. This war
continued successfully for the Kuomintang, especially after the Communists retreated in the Long
March, until the Xi'an Incident and Japanese aggression forced Chiang to confront Imperial
Japan.[77][78]
The Second Sino-Japanese War (19371945), a part of World War II, forced an uneasy alliance
between the Kuomintang and the Communists. The Japanese "three-all policy" in northern China
"kill all, burn all and destroy all" led to numerous war atrocities being committed against the
civilian population; in all, as many as 20 million Chinese civilians died.[79][80] An estimated
200,000 Chinese were massacred in the city of Nanjing alone during the Japanese occupation.[81]
Japan unconditionally surrendered to China in 1945. Taiwan, including the Pescadores, was put
under the administrative control of the Republic of China, which immediately claimed
sovereignty. China emerged victorious but war-ravaged and financially drained. The continued
distrust between the Kuomintang and the Communists led to the resumption of civil war. In 1947,
constitutional rule was established, but because of the ongoing unrest many provisions of the
ROC constitution were never implemented in mainland China.[82][83][84]
Mao Zedong proclaiming the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Mao encouraged population growth, and under his leadership the Chinese population almost
doubled from around 550 million to over 900 million.[87] However, Mao's Great Leap Forward, a
large-scale economic and social reform project, resulted in an estimated 45 million deaths
between 1958 and 1961, mostly from starvation.[88] Between 1 and 2 million landlords were
executed as "counterrevolutionaries."[89] 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 October 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China in the
United Nations, and took its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council. In that same
year, for the first time, the number of countries recognizing the PRC surpassed those recognizing
the ROC in Taipei as the government of China.[90] In February 1972, at the peak of the SinoSoviet split, Mao and Zhou Enlai met Richard Nixon in Beijing. However, the US did not
officially recognise the PRC as China's sole legitimate government until 1 January 1979.
After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, who were blamed for the excesses
of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrested power from Mao's anointed successor
Hua Guofeng. Although he never became the head of the party or state himself, Deng was in fact
the "paramount leader" of China at that time, his influence within the Party led the country to
significant economic reforms. 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 some "market socialism";[91] the
Communist Party of China officially describes it as "socialism with Chinese characteristics".
China adopted its current constitution on 4 December 1982.
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, speaking out against
corruption and in favour of greater political reform, including democratic rights and freedom of
speech. However, they were eventually put down on 4 June when PLA troops and vehicles
entered and forcibly cleared the square, resulting in numerous casualties. This event was widely
reported and brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the government.[92][93] The
"Tank Man" incident in particular became famous.
The city of Shanghai has become a symbol of China's rapid economic expansion since the 1990s.
President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of Shanghai, led the nation
in the 1990s. Under Jiang and Zhu's ten years of administration, China's economic performance
pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual gross
domestic product growth rate of 11.2%.[94][95] The country formally joined the World Trade
Organization in 2001.
Although rapid economic growth has made the Chinese economy the world's second-largest, this
growth has also severely impacted the country's resources and environment.[96] Another concern is
that the benefits of economic development has not been distributed evenly, resulting in a wide
development gap between urban and rural areas. As a result, under President Hu Jintao and
Premier Wen Jiabao, the Chinese government initiated policies to address these issues of
equitable distribution of resources, though the outcome remains to be seen.[97] More than
40 million farmers have been displaced from their land,[98] usually for economic development,
contributing to the 87,000 demonstrations and riots which took place across China in 2005 alone.
[99]
Living standards have improved significantly but political controls remain tight.[100] Although
China largely succeeded in maintaining its rapid rate of economic growth despite the late-2000s
recession, its growth rate began to slow in the early 2010s, and the economy remains overly
focused on fixed investment.[101][102][103]
Preparations for a major Communist Party leadership change in late 2012 were marked by
factional disputes and political scandals, such as the fall from power of Chongqing official Bo
Xilai.[104] During China's decadal leadership reshuffle in November 2012, Hu Jintao and Wen
Jiabao were replaced as President and Premier by Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, who formally took
office in 2013.[105][106]
Geography
Main article: Geography of China
Political geography
The People's Republic of China is the second-largest country in the world by land area after
Russia[16] and is either the third- or fourth-largest by total area, after Russia, Canada and,
depending on the definition of total area, the United States.[107][108] China's total area is generally
stated as being approximately 9,600,000 km2 (3,700,000 sq mi).[109] Specific area figures range
from 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) according to the Encyclopdia Britannica,[110] 9,596,961
km2 (3,705,407 sq mi) according to the UN Demographic Yearbook,[12] to 9,596,961 km2
(3,705,407 sq mi) according to the CIA World Factbook,[111] and 9,640,011 km2 (3,722,029 sq mi)
including Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract, which are controlled by China and claimed
by India.[112] None of these figures include the 1,000 square kilometres (386.1 sq mi) of territory
ceded to China by Tajikistan following the ratification of a Sino-Tajik border agreement in
January 2011.[113]
China has the longest combined land border in the world, measuring 22,117 km (13,743 mi) from
the mouth of the Yalu River to the Gulf of Tonkin. China borders 14 nations, more than any other
country except Russia, which also borders 14. China extends across much of East Asia, bordering
Vietnam, Laos, and Burma in Southeast Asia; India, Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan[114] in South
Asia; Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia; a small section of
Russian Altai and Mongolia in Inner Asia; and the Russian Far East and North Korea in Northeast
Asia. China's border with India is disputed, and was a key cause of the 1962 Sino-Indian War.
Additionally, China shares maritime boundaries with South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the
Philippines and Taiwan. The PRC and the Republic of China (Taiwan) make mutual claims over
each other's territory and the frontier between areas under their respective control is closest near
the islands of Kinmen and Matsu, off the Fujian coast, but otherwise run through the Taiwan
Strait. The PRC and ROC assert identical claims over the entirety of the Spratly Islands in the
South China Sea, and the southernmost extent of these claims reaches James Shoal, which would
form a maritime frontier with Malaysia.
Biodiversity
Main article: Wildlife of China
A giant panda, China's most famous endangered and endemic species, at the Wolong National
Nature Reserve in Sichuan.
China is one of 17 megadiverse countries,[119] lying in two of the world's major ecozones: the
Palearctic and the Indomalaya. By one measure, China has over 34,687 species of animals and
vascular plants, making it the third-most biodiverse country in the world, after Brazil and
Colombia.[120] The country signed the Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Diversity on 11
June 1992, and became a party to the convention on 5 January 1993.[121] It later produced a
National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, with one revision which was received by the
convention on 21 September 2010.[122]
Fauna
China is home to at least 551 species of mammals (the third-highest such number in the world),
[123]
1,221 species of birds (eighth),[124] 424 species of reptiles (seventh)[125] and 333 species of
amphibians (seventh).[126] China is the most biodiverse country in each category outside of the
tropics. Wildlife in China share habitat with and bear acute pressure from the world's largest
population of homo sapiens. At least 840 animal species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger
of local extinction in China, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution
and poaching for food, fur and ingredients for traditional Chinese medicine.[127] Endangered
wildlife is protect by law and the country has over 360 nature reserves. The giant panda, the
country's most famous endangered and endemic species, lives in protected nature reserves in
Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi province. A number of other species, such as the South China tiger,
Chinese alligator and Pere David's deer, are virtually extinct in the wild and survive only in
captive breeding programs.
As the country has grown wealthier in recent years, domestic appetite has grown for wildlife
products, leading to a sharp rise in Illegal trading in endangered species such as ivory, rhino
horns, shark fins, and threatening wildlife in other countries. Laws prohibiting illegal animal
trade are unevenly enforced.[128]
Flora
China has over 32,000 species of vascular plants[129] and is home to a variety of forest types. Cold
coniferous forests predominate in the north of the country, supporting animal species such as
moose and the Asian black bear, along with over 120 bird species. Moist conifer forests can have
thickets of bamboo as an understorey, replaced by rhododendrons in higher montane stands of
juniper and yew. Subtropical forests, which dominate central and southern China, support as
many as 146,000 species of flora. Tropical and seasonal rainforests, though confined to Yunnan
and Hainan Island, contain a quarter of all the animal and plant species found in China.[130]
Fungi
The number of species of fungi recorded in China, including lichen-forming species, is not
known with precision, but probably exceeds 10,000. More than 2,400 species were listed by the
mycologist S.C. Teng in the first modern treatment of Chinese fungi in the English language,
which was published in 1996.[131] More than 5,000 species of "higher fungi" mainly
basidiomycetes with some ascomycetes were reported in 2001 for tropical China alone,[132] and
nearly 4,000 species of fungi were reported in 2005 for northwestern China.[133] The exploration
and classification of the fungi of China is currently being pursued under the auspices of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, with the production of many volumes in the Flora Fungorum
Sinicorum series of publications. The issue of fungal conservation, long overlooked in China, was
first addressed in the early 2010s, with pioneer publications evaluating the conservation status of
individual species.[134]
Environmental issues
Main article: Environment in the People's Republic of China
See also: Water resources of the People's Republic of China
Wind turbines in Xinjiang. The Dabancheng project is Asia's largest wind farm.
In recent decades, China has suffered from severe environmental deterioration and pollution.[135]
[136]
While regulations such as the 1979 Environmental Protection Law are fairly stringent, they
are poorly enforced, as they are frequently disregarded by local communities and government
officials in favour of rapid economic development. As a result, public protests and riots over
environmental issues have become increasingly common.[137]
Environmental campaigners have warned that water pollution is becoming a severe threat to
Chinese society.[138][139] According to the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, roughly
300 million Chinese do not have access to safe drinking water, and 40% of China's rivers had
been polluted by industrial and agricultural waste by late 2011.[140] This crisis is compounded by
increasingly severe water shortages (particularly in northeastern China),[141] with 400 out of 600
surveyed Chinese cities reportedly short of drinking water.[142][143] Additionally, numerous major
Chinese coastal cities, including Shanghai, are deemed to be highly vulnerable to large-scale
flooding.[144]
However, China is the world's leading investor in renewable energy commercialisation, with
$52 billion invested in 2011 alone.[145][146][147] China produces more wind turbines and solar panels
than any other country,[148] and renewable energy projects, such as solar water heating, are widely
pursued at the local level.[149] By 2009, over 17% of China's energy was derived from renewable
sources most notably hydroelectric power plants, of which China has a total installed capacity
of 197 GW.[150] In 2011, the Chinese government announced plans to invest four trillion yuan
(US$618.55 billion) in water infrastructure and desalination projects over a ten-year period, and
to complete construction of a flood prevention and anti-drought system by 2020.[151][141]
Politics
Main article: Politics of the People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China, along with Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam, is one of the world's four
remaining socialist states espousing communism.[152][153] The Chinese government has been
variously described as communist and socialist, but also as authoritarian, with heavy restrictions
remaining in many areas, most notably on the Internet, the press, freedom of assembly,
reproductive rights, and freedom of religion.[154] Its current political/economic system has been
termed by its leaders as "socialism with Chinese characteristics".
The country is ruled by the Communist Party of China (CPC), whose power is enshrined in
China's constitution.[155] The Chinese electoral system is hierarchical, whereby local People's
Congresses are directly elected, and all higher levels of People's Congresses up to the National
People's Congress (NPC) are indirectly elected by the People's Congress of the level immediately
below.[156] The political system is partly decentralized,[157] with limited democratic processes
internal to the party and at local village levels, although these experiments have been marred by
corruption. There are other political parties in China, referred to in China as democratic parties,
which participate in the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The Great Hall of the People in Beijing, where the National People's Congress convenes.
Compared to its closed-door policies until the mid-1970s, the liberalization of China has resulted
in the administrative climate being less restrictive than before. China supports the Leninist
principle of "democratic centralism",[158] but the elected National People's Congress has been
described as a "rubber stamp" body.[159] The incumbent President is Xi Jinping, who is also the
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and the Chairman of the Central Military
Commission.[105] The current Premier is Li Keqiang, who is also a senior member of the CPC
Politburo Standing Committee.
There have been some moves toward political liberalization, in that open contested elections are
now held at the village and town levels.[160][161] However, the Party retains effective control over
government 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.[162] Nonetheless, the level of
public support for the government and its management of the nation is among the highest in the
world, with 86% of Chinese citizens expressing satisfaction with their nation's economy
according to a 2008 Pew Research Center survey.[163]
Administrative divisions
Main articles: Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China, Districts of Hong
Kong, and Municipalities of Macau
See also: Administrative divisions of the Republic of China
The People's Republic of China has administrative control over 22 provinces, and considers
Taiwan to be its 23rd province, although Taiwan is currently governed by the Republic of China,
which disputes the PRC's claim.[164] China also has five subdivisions officially termed
autonomous regions, each with a designated minority group; four municipalities; and two Special
Administrative Regions (SARs), which enjoy a degree of political autonomy. These 22 provinces,
five autonomous regions, and four municipalities can be collectively referred to as "mainland
China", a term which usually excludes the SARs of Hong Kong and Macau. None of these
divisions are recognized by the ROC government, which claims the entirety of PRC territory.
Provinces ()
Anhui (
)
Hainan (
)
Hunan
()
Qinghai
()
Taiwan
()
Fujian (
)
Hebei (
)
Jiangsu
()
Shaanxi
()
Yunnan
()
Gansu (
)
Heilongjiang
()
Jiangxi
()
Shandong
()
Zhejiang
()
Guangdong
()
Henan (
)
Jilin (
)
Shanxi (
)
Guizhou (
)
Hubei (
)
Liaoning
()
Sichuan
()
Guangxi ()
Ningxia ()
Xinjiang ()
Tibet / Xizang ()
Municipalities ()
Beijing ()
Chongqing ()
Shanghai ()
Tianjin ()
Special
administrative
regions (
)
Hong
Kong /
Xianggan
g (
Macau /
Aomen
(
Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of China
Map depicting territorial disputes between the PRC and neighboring states. For a larger map, see
here.
Main article: Foreign relations of China#International territorial disputes
See also: List of wars involving the People's Republic of China
In addition to claiming all of Taiwan, China has been involved in a number of other international
territorial disputes. Since the 1990s, China has been involved in negotiations to resolve its
disputed land borders, including a disputed border with India and an undefined border with
Bhutan. China is additionally involved in multilateral disputes over the ownership of several
small islands in the East and South China Seas.[193][194][195]
Emerging superpower status
China is regularly hailed as a potential new superpower, with certain commentators citing its
rapid economic progress, growing military might, very large population, and increasing
international influence as signs that it will play a prominent global role in the 21st century.[23][196]
Others, however, warn that economic bubbles and demographic imbalances could slow or even
halt China's growth as the century progresses.[197][198][199][200][201] Some authors also question the
definition of "superpower", arguing that China's large economy alone would not qualify it as a
superpower, and noting that it lacks the military and cultural influence of the United States.[202]
A number of foreign governments and NGOs also routinely criticize China's human rights record,
alleging widespread civil rights violations such as detention without trial, forced confessions,
torture, restrictions of fundamental rights,[154][220][221] and excessive use of the death penalty.[222][223]
The government has responded to foreign criticism by arguing that the notion of human rights
should take into account a country's present level of economic development, and focus more on
the people's rights to subsistence and development in poorer countries.[224] It emphasizes the rise
in the standard of living, literacy, and life expectancy for the average Chinese since the 1970s, as
well as improvements in workplace safety and efforts to combat natural disasters such as the
perennial Yangtze River floods.[224][225][226] Furthermore, some Chinese politicians have spoken out
in support of democratisation, although others remain more conservative. In 2010, Premier Wen
Jiabao stated that China needs "to gradually improve the democratic election system so that state
power will truly belong to the people and state power will be used to serve the people." Despite
his status, Wen's comments were later censored by the government.[227] Although the Chinese
government is increasingly tolerant of NGOs which offer practical, efficient solutions to social
problems, such "third sector" activity remains heavily regulated.[228]
Military
Main article: People's Liberation Army
projection capabilities.[236] To offset this, it has developed numerous power projection assets its
first aircraft carrier entered service in 2012,[237][238][239][240] and it maintains a substantial fleet of
submarines, including several nuclear-powered attack and ballistic missile submarines.[241] China
has furthermore established a network of foreign military relationships that has been compared to
a string of pearls.
Members of a Chinese military honor guard. China possesses the largest standing army in the
world, with around 2.3 million active personnel. Its ground forces alone total 1.7 million soldiers.
China has made significant progress in modernizing its air force since the early 2000s, purchasing
Russian fighter jets such as the Sukhoi Su-30, and also manufacturing its own modern fighters,
most notably the Chengdu J-10 and the Shenyang J-11, J-15 and J-16.[237][242] China is furthermore
engaged in developing an indigenous stealth aircraft, the Chengdu J-20, and numerous combat
drones.[243][244][245][246] China has also updated its ground forces, replacing its ageing Soviet-derived
tank inventory with numerous variants of the modern Type 99 tank, and upgrading its battlefield
C3I and C4I systems to enhance its network-centric warfare capabilities.[247] In addition, China
has developed or acquired numerous advanced missile systems,[248][249] including anti-satellite
missiles,[250] cruise missiles[251] and submarine-launched nuclear ICBMs.[235] As a result of these
breakthroughs, China has been perceived as attempting to match the United States in military
technology,[252] although some analysts note that the American military remains far more capable
than the PLA.[253]
Economy
Main articles: Economy of the People's Republic of China, Agriculture in China, and List of
Chinese administrative divisions by GDP
The Shanghai Stock Exchange building in Shanghai's Lujiazui financial district. Shanghai has the
25th-largest city GDP in the world, totalling US$304 billion in 2011.[254]
As of 2013, China has the world's second-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, totalling
approximately US$8.227 trillion according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).[7]
However, China's 2012 nominal GDP per capita of US$6,075 puts it behind around ninety
countries (out of 183 countries on the IMF list) in global GDP per capita rankings.[7] If PPP is
taken into account in total GDP figures, China is again second only to the United States in
2012, its PPP GDP reached $12.405 trillion, corresponding to $9,161 per capita.[7]
From its founding in 1949 until late 1978, the People's Republic of China was a Soviet-style
centrally planned economy, without private businesses or capitalism. To propel the country
towards a modern, industrialized communist society, Mao Zedong instituted the Great Leap
Forward in the early 1960s, although this had decidedly mixed economic results.[255] Following
Mao's death in 1976 and the consequent end of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping and the
new Chinese leadership began to reform the economy and move towards a more market-oriented
mixed economy under one-party rule. Agricultural collectivization was dismantled and farmlands
were privatized to increase productivity. Foreign trade was focused upon as a major vehicle of
growth, leading to the creation of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), first in Shenzhen and then in
other Chinese cities. Inefficient state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were restructured by introducing
western-style management systems, with unprofitable ones being closed outright, resulting in
massive job losses. Modern-day China is mainly characterized as having a market economy
based on private property ownership,[256][257] and is one of the leading examples of state
capitalism.[258][259] The state still dominates in strategic "pillar" industries (such as energy and
heavy industries), but private enterprise has expanded enormously, with around 30 million private
businesses recorded in 2008.[260][261][262][263]
its undervalued exchange rate has caused friction with other major economies,[191][269][270] and it
has also been widely criticised for manufacturing large quantities of counterfeit goods.[271][272]
China is a member of the WTO and is the world's largest trading power, with a total international
trade value of US$3.87 trillion in 2012.[18] Its foreign exchange reserves reached US$2.85 trillion
by the end of 2010, an increase of 18.7% over the previous year, making its reserves by far the
world's largest.[273][274] China owns an estimated $1.6 trillion of US securities.[275] China, holding
over US$1.16 trillion in US Treasury bonds,[276] is the largest foreign holder of US public debt.[277]
[278]
China is the world's third-largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment (FDI),
attracting $115 billion in 2011 alone, marking a 9% increase over 2010.[279][280] China also
increasingly invests abroad, with a total outward FDI of $68 billion in 2010, and a number of
major takeovers of foreign firms by Chinese companies.[281][282][283]
China now ranks 29th in the Global Competitiveness Index,[285] although it is only ranked 135th
among the 179 countries measured in the Index of Economic Freedom.[286] In 2011, 61 Chinese
companies were listed in the Fortune Global 500.[287] Measured by total revenues, three of the
world's top ten most valuable companies are Chinese, including fifth-ranked Sinopec Group,
sixth-ranked China National Petroleum and seventh-ranked State Grid (the world's largest electric
utilities company).[287]
China's middle-class population (defined as those with annual income of at least US$17,000) had
reached more than 100 million by 2011,[288] while the number of individuals worth more than
10 million yuan (US$1.5 million) was estimated to be 1.02 million in 2012, according to the
Hurun Report.[289] Based on the Hurun rich list, the number of US dollar billionaires in China
increased from 130 in 2009 to 251 in 2012, giving China the world's second-highest number of
billionaires.[290][291] China's domestic retail market was worth over 20 trillion yuan (US$3.2
trillion) in 2012,[292] and is now growing at over 12% annually.[293] China is also now the world's
second-largest consumer of luxury goods behind Japan, with 27.5% of the global share.[294]
However, in recent years, China's rapid economic growth has contributed to severe consumer
inflation,[295][296] leading to increased government regulation.[297] In the early 2010s, China's
economic growth rate began to slow amid global economic turmoil, although it remains the
world's fastest-growing major economy.[101][103][297][298][299][300]
This box:
view
talk
edit
Value in dollars of high-tech exports by country in 2009. The value of Chinese high-tech exports
was more than twice that of any other nation.
Historical
China was a world leader in science and technology until the Ming Dynasty. Ancient Chinese
discoveries and inventions, such as papermaking, printing, the compass, and gunpowder (the
Four Great Inventions), later became widespread in Asia and Europe. However, Chinese
scientific activity entered a prolonged decline in the fourteenth century. Unlike the European
scientists of the Scientific Revolution, medieval Chinese thinkers did not attempt to reduce
observations of nature to mathematical laws, and they did not form a scholarly community
offering peer review and progressive research. There was an increasing concentration on
literature, the arts, and public administration, while science and technology were seen as trivial or
restricted to limited practical applications.[306] The causes of this Great Divergence continue to be
debated.
After repeated military defeats by Western nations in the 19th century, Chinese reformers began
promoting modern science and technology as part of the Self-Strengthening Movement. After the
Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War in 1949, efforts were made to organize science and
technology based on the model of the Soviet Union. However, Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution
of 196676 had a catastrophic effect on Chinese research, as academics were persecuted and the
training of scientists and engineers was severely curtailed for nearly a decade. After Mao's death
in 1976, science and technology was established as one of the Four Modernizations, and the
Soviet-inspired academic system was gradually reformed.[306]
Modern era
Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, China has become one of the world's leading
technological powers,[307] spending over US$100 billion on scientific research and development in
2011 alone.[308] Science and technology are seen as vital for achieving economic and political
goals, and are held as a source of national pride to a degree sometimes described as "technonationalism".[309]
China is rapidly developing its education system with an emphasis on science, mathematics and
engineering; in 2009, it produced over 10,000 Ph.D. engineering graduates, and as many as
500,000 BSc graduates, more than any other country.[310] China is also the world's second-largest
publisher of scientific papers, producing 121,500 in 2010 alone, including 5,200 in leading
international scientific journals.[311] Chinese technology companies such as Huawei and Lenovo
have become world leaders in telecommunications and personal computing,[312][313][314] and
Chinese supercomputers are consistently ranked among the world's most powerful.[315] China is
furthermore the world's largest investor in renewable energy technology.[147]
The Chinese space program is one of the world's most active, and is a major source of national
pride.[316][317] In 1970, China launched its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong I ("The East is Red"). In
2003, China became the third country to independently send humans into space, with Yang
Liwei's spaceflight aboard Shenzhou 5; as of April 2013, eight Chinese nationals have journeyed
into space. In 2008, China conducted its first spacewalk with the Shenzhou 7 mission. In 2011,
China's first space station module, Tiangong-1, was launched, marking the first step in a project
to assemble a large manned station by 2020.[318] The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program includes
a planned lunar rover launch in 2013, and possibly a manned lunar landing in 2025.[319][320]
Experience gained from the lunar program may be used for future programs such as the
exploration of Mars and Venus.[321] However, some foreign analysts have accused China of
covertly using its civilian space missions for military purposes, such as the launch of surveillance
satellites.[322]
Infrastructure
Communications
Main article: Telecommunications in the People's Republic of China
China currently has the largest number of active cellphones of any country in the world, with
over 1 billion users as of May 2012.[323][324] It also has the world's largest number of internet and
broadband users.[325] By December 2010, China had around 457 million internet users, an increase
of 19% over the previous year, and by the end of 2011 the number of internet users had exceeded
500 million.[326][327] According to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC),
China's average internet connection speed in 2011 was 100.9 kbit/s, less than half of the global
average of 212.5 kbit/s.[328]
China Telecom and China Unicom, the country's two largest broadband providers, accounted for
20% of global broadband subscribers, whereas the world's ten largest broadband service
providers combined accounted for 39% of the world's broadband customers. China Telecom
alone serves 55 million broadband subscribers, while China Unicom serves more than 40 million.
The massive rise in internet use in China continues to fuel rapid broadband growth, whereas the
world's other major broadband ISPs operate in the mature markets of the developed world, with
high levels of broadband penetration and rapidly slowing subscriber growth.[329] Several Chinese
telecommunications companies, most notably Huawei and ZTE, have become highly profitable in
overseas markets, but have also been accused of spying for the Chinese military.[330]
Transport
Main article: Transport in China
Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of China and List of cities in the People's Republic of China by
population
A 2009 population density map of the People's Republic of China. The eastern coastal provinces
are much more densely populated than the western interior.
The national census of 2010 recorded the population of the People's Republic of China as
approximately 1,338,612,968. About 21% of the population (145,461,833 males; 128,445,739
females) were 14 years old or younger, 71% (482,439,115 males; 455,960,489 females) were
between 15 and 64 years old, and 8% (48,562,635 males; 53,103,902 females) were over 65 years
old. The population growth rate for 2006 was 0.6%.[344]
By end of 2010, the proportion of mainland Chinese people aged 14 or younger was 16.60%,
while the number aged 60 or older grew to 13.26%, giving a total proportion of 29.86%
dependents. The proportion of the population of workable age was thus around 70%.[345]
Although a middle-income country by Western standards, China's rapid growth has pulled
hundreds of millions of its people out of poverty since 1978. Today, about 10% of the Chinese
population lives below the poverty line of US$1 per day, down from 64% in 1978. Urban
unemployment in China reportedly declined to 4% by the end of 2007, although true overall
unemployment may be as high as 10%.[346]
With a population of over 1.3 billion and dwindling natural resources, China is very concerned
about its population growth and has attempted, with mixed results,[347] to implement a strict
family planning policy, known as the "one-child policy." The government's goal is one child per
family, with exceptions for ethnic minorities and a degree of flexibility in rural areas. It is hoped
that population growth in China will stabilize in the early decades of the 21st century, though
some projections estimate a population of anywhere between 1.4 billion and 1.6 billion by 2025.
China's family planning minister has indicated that the one-child policy will be maintained until
at least 2020.[348]
Ethnic groups
Main articles: List of ethnic groups in China, Ethnic minorities in China, and Ethnic groups in
Chinese history
China officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Han Chinese,
who constitute about 91.51% of the total population.[359] The Han Chinese the world's largest
single ethnic group outnumber other ethnic groups in every province, municipality and
autonomous region except Tibet and Xinjiang, and are descended from ancient Huaxia tribes
living along the Yellow River.
Ethnic minorities account for about 8.49% of the population of China, according to the 2010
census.[359] Compared with the 2000 population census, the Han population increased by
66,537,177 persons, or 5.74%, while the population of the 55 national minorities combined
increased by 7,362,627 persons, or 6.92%.[359]
The 2010 census recorded a total of 593,832 foreign citizens living in China. The largest such
groups were from South Korea (120,750), the United States (71,493) and Japan (66,159).[360]
Languages
Main articles: Languages of China and List of endangered languages in China
Urbanization
See also: List of cities in the People's Republic of China, List of cities in the People's Republic of
China by population, and Metropolitan regions of China
Since 2000, China's cities have expanded at an average rate of 10% annually. It is estimated that
China's urban population will increase by 400 million people by 2025,[362] when its cities will
house a combined population of over one billion.[363] The country's urbanization rate increased
from 17.4% to 46.6% between 1978 and 2009, a scale unprecedented in human history.[364]
Between 150 and 200 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities, returning home
to the countryside periodically with their earnings.[365][366]
Today, China has dozens of cities with one million or more long-term residents, including the
three global cities of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai; by 2025, the country will be home to
221 cities with over a million inhabitants.[363] The figures in the table below are from the 2008
census, and are only estimates of the 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;[367] the figures below include only long-term
residents.
v
t
e
Shanghai
Pop.
5,743,7
18
5,695,3
13
5,402,7
21
4,517,5
49
4,074,0
00
Tianjin
3,922,1
80
3,890,0
98
3,542,3
19
3,352,0 Guangzhou
76
3,341,7
00
Education
Main article: Education in the People's Republic of China
The quality of Chinese colleges and universities varies considerably across the country. The
consistently top-ranked universities in mainland China are:[375][376][377]
Health
Main article: Health in China
See also: Pharmaceutical industry in China
The Ministry of Health, together with its counterparts in the provincial health bureaux, oversees
the health needs of the Chinese population.[378] An emphasis on public health and preventive
medicine has characterized Chinese health policy since the early 1950s. At that time, the
Communist Party started the Patriotic Health Campaign, which was aimed at improving
sanitation and hygiene, as well as treating and preventing several diseases. Diseases such as
cholera, typhoid and scarlet fever, which were previously rife in China, were nearly eradicated by
the campaign. After Deng Xiaoping began instituting economic reforms in 1978, the health of the
Chinese public improved rapidly due to better nutrition, although many of the free public health
services provided in the countryside disappeared along with the People's Communes. Healthcare
in China became mostly privatised, and experienced a significant rise in quality. The national life
expectancy at birth rose from about 35 years in 1949 to 73.18 years in 2008,[379][380] and infant
mortality decreased from 300 per thousand in the 1950s to around 23 per thousand in 2006.[35][381]
Malnutrition as of 2002 stood at 12% of the population, according to United Nations FAO
sources.[382] In 2009, the government began a large-scale healthcare provision initiative worth
US$124 billion, which is expected to eventually cover 90% of China's population.[383]
As of 2012, China's national average life expectancy at birth is 74.8 years,[384] and its infant
mortality rate is 15.6 per thousand births.[385] Despite significant improvements in health and the
construction of advanced medical facilities, China has several emerging public health problems,
such as respiratory illnesses caused by widespread air pollution[386] and hundreds of millions of
cigarette smokers,[387][388] a possible future HIV/AIDS epidemic, and an increase in obesity among
urban youths.[389][390] China's large population and densely populated cities have led to serious
disease outbreaks in recent years, such as the 2003 outbreak of SARS, although this has since
been largely contained.[391] Pollution is proving to be a particularly severe threat in 2007,
estimates of annual excess deaths in China from air and water pollution were placed at 760,000
people,[392][393] and as many as 500 million Chinese lacked access to clean drinking water in 2005.
[394][395]
In 2011, China was estimated to be the third-largest supplier of pharmaceuticals in the world.
However, the Chinese population has suffered from the development and distribution of
counterfeit medications.[396]
Religion
Main article: Religion in China
The Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai is the initial site of the Tiantai branch of Chinese
Buddhism, originally built in 598 AD during the Sui Dynasty.
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Harbin, northeast China. By 1921, Harbin had a Russian population of
around 100,000, feeding the growth of Christianity in the city.[400]
Some of the ethnic minorities of China practice their indigenous religions, for example
Dongbaism is the traditional religion of the Nakhi people, Moism that of the Zhuang people, and
Ruism that of the Qiang people. The traditional indigenous religion of Tibet is Bn, while most of
Tibetans follow Tibetan Buddhism, a form of Vajrayana. However, Tibetan Buddhism has also
spread to other areas of China adopted by many Han Chinese.[407]
Mahayana Buddhism (Dacheng) and its subsets Pure Land (Amidism), Tiantai and Chn (better
known in English by its Japanese pronunciation Zen) are the most widely practiced
denominations of Buddhism. Theravada is practiced largely by ethnic minorities along the
Southern geographic fringes of the Chinese mainland.[408]
Christianity was first introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty, with the arrival of Nestorian
Christianity in 635 AD. Official government statistics put the number of Christians at 25 million,
including 10 million Catholics,[409] but these count only members of officially sanctioned church
bodies.[410]
Islam in China dates to a mission in 651; over the following centuries, Muslim traders and
scholars became prominent in China.[411][412][413] Accurate statistics on China's current Muslim
population are hard to find; the State Administration for Religious Affairs states there are more
than 21 million Muslims in the country (1.5%2% of the total population), with unofficial
estimates ranging as high as 50 million.[414][415][416][417]
China also has numerous minority religions, including Hinduism, and a number of more modern
religions and sects, such as Xiantiandao (Yiguandao), Zailiism and Deism.[418] In July 1999, the
Falun Gong spiritual practice was officially banned by the authorities,[221] and many international
organizations have criticized the government's recent treatment of Falun Gong.[419] There are no
reliable estimates of the number of Falun Gong practitioners in China,[420] although informal
estimates have given figures as high as 70 million.[421][422]
Culture
Main articles: Culture of the People's Republic of China and Chinese culture
Cuisine
Main article: Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is highly diverse, drawing on several millennia of culinary history. The dynastic
emperors of ancient China were known to host banquets with over 100 dishes served at a time,[431]
employing countless imperial kitchen staff and concubines to prepare the food. Such royal dishes
gradually became a part of wider Chinese culture. China's staple food is rice, but the country is
also well known for its meat dishes. Spices are endemic to Chinese cuisine.
Numerous foreign offshoots of Chinese food, such as Hong Kong cuisine and American Chinese
food, have emerged in the various nations which play host to the Chinese diaspora.
Sports
Main articles: Sport in the People's Republic of China and China at the Olympics
Physical fitness is widely emphasized in Chinese culture. Morning exercises are a common
activity, with elderly citizens encouraged to practice qigong and t'ai chi ch'uan.[434] Young people
in China are also keen on football and basketball, especially in urban centers with limited space
and grass areas. The American National Basketball Association has a huge following among
Chinese youths, with ethnic Chinese players such as Yao Ming being held in high esteem.[435]
Commercial gyms and fitness clubs are rapidly gaining popularity in China, with over 3,000 such
establishments serving around 3 million active subscribers in China's major cities in 2010.[436] In
addition, China is home to a huge number of cyclists, with an estimated 470 million bicycles as
of 2012.[343] Many more traditional sports, such as dragon boat racing, Mongolian-style wrestling
and horse racing are also popular.[437]
China has participated in the Olympic Games since 1932, although it has only participated as the
PRC since 1952. China hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where its athletes received
51 gold medals the highest number of gold medals of any participating nation that year.[438]
China also won the most medals of any nation at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, with 231
overall, including 95 gold medals.[439][440] China will host the 2013 East Asian Games in Tianjin
and the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing.
See also
China portal
People's Republic of China portal
Asia portal
Outline of China
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Further reading
Meng, Fanhua (2011). Phenomenon of Chinese Culture at the Turn of the 21st century.
Singapore: Silkroad Press. ISBN 978-981-4332-35-4.
Farah, Paolo (2006). "Five Years of China's WTO Membership: EU and US Perspectives
on China's Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review
Mechanism". Legal Issues of Economic Integration. Kluwer Law International. Volume
33, Number 3. pp. 263304. Abstract.
Jacques, Martin (2009).When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and
the Birth of a New Global Order. Penguin Books. Revised edition (28 August 2012).
ISBN 978-1-59420-185-1.
Sang Ye (2006). China Candid: The People on the People's Republic. University of
California Press. ISBN 0-520-24514-8.