Country name: People's Republic of China                                                    
Location: East Asia, on the west coast of Pacific Ocean
Area: 9,596,960 sq km 
Population: 1.3 billion (mainland)
Capital city: Beijing (pop. 14 million)
People: Han Chinese (91.9%), plus 55 ethnic minorities
Population: 1.3 billion     

Official language: Chinese Putonghua (Beijing Mandarin dialect)
Religion: Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism; Muslim (14 million), Christian (7 million)
Average Life span: 71 years old by the end of 2000
Head of State: Hu Jintao
National Flag: Five-star red flag, length and width proportion: 3:2. 
National Day: October 1, founded in 1949
Currency: Renminbi (RMB) yuan
Weights and Measures: metric system
GDP: 8940.4 billion yuan

Geography

The People's Republic of China is situated in the southeastern part of the Eurasian Continent, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, and between North Korea and Vietnam, the total area of China is almost 9,600,000 sq. km.

In addition to over 14,000 km of coastline, China has borders (app. 20,000 km) with Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyz Stan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.

China is mostly mountainous, with high plateaus, deserts in west, plains, deltas, and hills in east.

In the southwest is the Tibetan plateau, often referred to as the 'roof of the world' as it averages 4,000m in altitude. To the North West are a series of highlands and basins, and to the East lowlands, which are subject to widespread flooding. 

The highest point in the world, Mount Everest at 8,848 m, is located on the China/Nepal border.

Rivers flow from west to east into the Pacific Ocean except a few in southwest China that flow to the south. The nation's largest rivers originate on the Qinghai - Tibet Plateau and thus have a high drop. The Yangtze River 6,300 kilometers long is the largest river in China. The Yellow River, the second largest river in China, is also the birthplace of ancient Chinese civilization.

Climate:

The vast territory of China spans nearly 50 latitudinal degrees, and most of it is in the temperate zone, with a small part extending south into the tropical and subtropical zones and the northernmost tip close to the Frigid Zone. There are perennial icy and snowy zones in some alpine regions. China is a world-renowned monsoon region, where most parts are cold and dry in winter and hot and rainy in summer. Diverse temperature belts and arid and humid areas have formed the country's complex climate, a complexity that is enhanced by the country's variegated landform. The northern part of Heilongjiang Province has long winter but no summer, while the Hainan Island has long summer but no winter. The Huai River valley is marked by distinct seasonal changes, but it is spring all year round in the south Yunnan Guizhou Plateau. In the northwest hinterland, the temperature changes strikingly. China's high tundra zone is in the southwest of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where the temperature is low all year round. Some deserts are perennially dry and rain-poor.

History

When the Chinese refer to their history, they might be speaking of times that are already legendary. After all, Chinese written history dates back approximately four thousand years. Archaeological material, which has been found, indicates that people were already living in the territory of China today one million years ago. Before 221 BC rulers were referred to as kings, after the unification in 221 BC they were proclaimed as emperors. The new Republic was formed in 1912, under president Sun Yatsen, ending the succession of Chinese rulers that we refer to as Dynasties. And People's Republic of China was founded in 1^st Oct, 1949.