China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is one of the world's largest countries by area and has one of the world's largest populations. Its capital is Beijing.
China's recorded history spans ancient dynasties, imperial rule, revolution, civil war, socialist state-building, market reform and rapid industrial growth. It is now a major global power in manufacturing, trade, technology, diplomacy and military affairs.
Geography
China borders many countries and has coastlines on the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea. Its landscape includes mountains, deserts, plateaus, river basins, plains, forests and long coastal regions.
Major physical features include the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, Gobi Desert, Yangtze River and Yellow River. The east and south contain many of the country's largest cities and economic zones.
History
China's early civilisation developed around river valleys and later dynastic states. Important dynasties include the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing.
The Qing dynasty fell in 1911, leading to the Republic of China. After civil war and Japanese invasion, the Communist Party of China founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Government
China is governed as a one-party socialist republic led by the Communist Party of China. The National People's Congress is formally the highest organ of state power.
The State Council is the chief administrative authority, while the Communist Party controls the central political direction of the state, military and public institutions.
Economy
China moved from a highly planned economy towards market-oriented reforms from the late 1970s. It became a major manufacturing and export centre and later expanded strongly into infrastructure, technology, finance and services.
Economic growth has also brought problems, including inequality, environmental pressure, local-government debt, housing-market stress and tensions with other major economies.
Culture
Chinese culture includes many languages, regional identities, cuisines, religions, philosophies, festivals, arts and literary traditions. Mandarin Chinese is the official national language, while many other Chinese languages and minority languages are spoken.
Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, folk religion, imperial history and modern nationalism all influence different parts of Chinese cultural life.
See Also
References
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