China Underground > Magazine > China Magazine > People’s Republic of China, Essential info

People’s Republic of China, Essential info

Last Updated on 2022/04/22

China, officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC), in Asia, is the world’s most populous state, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by its vanguard party based in the capital of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau), and claims sovereignty over Taiwan.

Please check our China Travel Guide!

After World War II, the communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China’s sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, MAO’s successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.

Official name: The people’s Republic of China, 中华人民共和国, Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó
Population of China: 1,376,049,000 (2015)
Area of China: 9,596,961 km2 (3rd/4th)
GDP: $20.853 trillion (1st)
Per capita: $15,095 (83rd)
Capital of China: Beijing
Largest City: Shanghai
Official languages: Putonghua (Standard Chinese)
Official script: Simplified Chinese
Ethnic groups: 91.51% Han, 55 minorities
Government: the country is ruled “under the leadership” of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
President and Party General Secretary: Xi Jinping
Premier: Li Keqiang
Formation
•  First Dynasty of China was established during the pre-imperial time – c. 2070 BCE
•  First Unification of imperial China under the Qin Dynasty – 221 BCE
•  Republic established – on 1 January 1912
•  People’s Republic proclaimed – on 1 October 1949
Calling code: +86
ISO 3166 code: CN
Internet TLD:.cn , .中國 , .中国

China flag photo
Flag of China. Wǔ Xīng Hóng Qí (“Five-star Red Flag”). A large golden star within an arc of four smaller golden stars, in the canton, on a field of red. Designed by Zeng Liansong

Provinces (省)

Anhui (安徽省)
Fujian (福建省)
Gansu (甘肃省)
Guangdong (广东省)
Guizhou (贵州省)
Hainan (海南省)
Hebei (河北省)
Heilongjiang (黑龙江省)
Henan (河南省)
Hubei (湖北省)
Hunan (湖南省)
Jiangsu (江苏省)
Jiangxi (江西省)
Jilin (吉林省)
Liaoning (辽宁省)
Qinghai (青海省)
Shaanxi (陕西省)
Shandong (山东省)
Shanxi (山西省)
Sichuan (四川省)
Yunnan (云南省)
Zhejiang (浙江省)

Claimed provinces

Taiwan (台湾省) governed by ROC

Autonomous regions (自治区)

Guangxi (广西壮族自治区)
Inner Mongolia / Nei Mongol (内蒙古自治区)
Ningxia (宁夏回族自治区)
Xinjiang (新疆维吾尔自治区)
Tibet / Xizang (西藏自治区)

Municipalities (直辖市)

Beijing (北京市)
Chongqing (重庆市)
Shanghai (上海市)
Tianjin (天津市)

Special administrative regions (特别行政区)

Hong Kong / Xianggang (香港特别行政区)
Macau / Aomen (澳门特别行政区)

MAP OF CHINA

List of ethnic groups in China

The Han Chinese are the largest ethnic group, where (as of 2010) some 91.51% of the population was classified as Han Chinese (~1.2 billion). The major minority ethnic groups in China are Zhuang (16.9 million), Uyghur (11.5 million), Hui (10.5 million), Manchu (10.3 million), Miao (9.4 million), Yi (8.7 million), Tujia (8.3 million), Tibetan (6.2 million), Mongol (5.9 million), Dong (2.8 million), Buyei (2.8 million), Yao (2.7 million), Bai (1.9 million), Korean (1.8 million), Hani (1.6 million), Li (1.4 million), Kazakh (1.4 million), and Dai (1.2 million).

Featured Photo by sanfamedia.com

Topics: travel in China,living in China,China hotel,China trips,China hotspots,China flights,China hotels

Post Author

Previous

China’s powerful internet regulator has a new boss – Xu Lin

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.