China

Several terms redirect here. For the present-day Republic of China, see Taiwan. For other uses, see China (disambiguation), PRC (disambiguation), and 中国 (disambiguation).

People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国 (Chinese) Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó
Flag Emblem
Anthem:  义勇军进行曲 Yìyǒngjūn jìnxíngqǔ "March of the Volunteers"
People's Republic of China   Territory claimed but not controlled
Capital	Beijing 39°55′N 116°23′E
Largest city by municipal population	Chongqing
Largest city by urban population	Shanghai
Official language	Standard Chinese
Official script	Simplified Chinese (Mainland) Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong, Macau)
Ethnic groups (2020)	91.11% Han Chinese 1.39% Zhuang 0.84% Uyghur 0.81% Hui 0.79% Miao 0.74% Manchu 0.70% Yi 0.68% Tujia 0.50% Tibetan 2.44% others
Demonym	Chinese
Government	Unitary communist state
• CCP General Secretary and President	Xi Jinping
• Premier	Li Qiang
• Congress Chairman	Zhao Leji
• Conference Chairman	Wang Huning
Legislature	National People's Congress
Formation
• First imperial dynasty	221 BCE
• Establishment of the Republic of China	1 January 1912
• Proclamation of the People's Republic	1 October 1949
Area
• Total	9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi) (3rd)
• Water (%)	2.8
Population
• 2025 estimate	1,404,890,000 (2nd)
• Density	146/km2 (378.1/sq mi) (83rd)
GDP (PPP)	2026 estimate
• Total	$44.295 trillion (1st)
• Per capita	$31,596 (73rd)
GDP (nominal)	2026 estimate
• Total	$20.852 trillion (2nd)
• Per capita	$14,874 (74th)
Gini (2022)	36.0 medium inequality
HDI (2023)	0.797 high (78th)
Currency	Renminbi (yuan, 元/¥) (CNY)
Time zone	UTC+8 (CST)
Calling code	+86 (Mainland) +852 (Hong Kong) +853 (Macau)
ISO 3166 code	CN
Internet TLD	.cn .中国 .中國 (Mainland) .hk .香港 (Hong Kong) .mo .澳门 .澳門 (Macau)

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's second-most populous country after India, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion (17% of the world's population), across an area of 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest country by area. It is divided into 33 province-level divisions, including two special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital, while Shanghai is the most populous city by urban area. Its geography features the vast Central Plain, major rivers such as the Yangtze and Yellow River, deserts, subtropical and temperate forests, plateaus, and mountain ranges such as the Himalayas.

Humans first arrived in China during the Paleolithic. By the 2nd millennium BCE, dynastic states had emerged. The 1st millennium BCE saw political turmoil and cultural growth. In 221 BCE, China was unified under the Qin and the succeeding Han dynasty, ushering in two millennia of imperial rule across periods of unity and division. Its achievements include the Silk Road and the invention of gunpowder, paper, printing, and the compass. After increased Western political, economic, and philosophical influence, the 1911 Revolution overthrew the empire and established the Republic of China (ROC). The Warlord Era and Chinese Civil War followed, interrupted by Japan's invasion. This ended in a Chinese victory in 1945. In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) proclaimed the PRC and forced the ROC's retreat to Taiwan. Both sides claim political legitimacy. CCP attempts to advance communism faltered through famine and political turmoil. The reform and opening up that began in 1978 moved China towards a socialist market economy, spurring economic growth.

The PRC is a unitary state with the CCP as its sole ruling party. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a member of many multilateral organizations. China is the world's largest manufacturer and makes up about one-fifth of the global economy. It is the second largest economy on Earth. International organizations have criticized the PRC, alleging authoritarianism and human rights abuses. Possessing a large military and nuclear stockpile, China has been described as a superpower due to its influence in geopolitics, science and technology, manufacturing, economics and culture.

Chinese art and culture has influenced much of Asia. Chinese characters are among the oldest writing systems on Earth, with a literary tradition dating back millennia to the Chinese classics. China is the birthplace of Confucianism and Daoism, which form the traditional three teachings of Chinese philosophy and folk religion alongside Buddhism. Chinese cuisine is diverse and highly regional, with rice as a staple in the south and wheat in the north. It has 60 World Heritage Sites, including the Great Wall and Grand Canal. The Han, mostly speakers of Sinitic languages, are China's dominant ethnicity, although it is home to 55 recognized minorities, including the Hui, Mongols, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Zhuang.

Etymology

Main article: Names of China

The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced through Portuguese, Malay, and Persian back to the Sanskrit word Cīna (चिन), used in ancient India. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture from the 3rd century BCE to 4th century CE, including the Mahabharata and the Laws of Manu. In 1655, the missionary Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived ultimately from the name of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE) or the prior state of Qin. This remains a common etymology, although Indian sources precedes the dynasty, though not the state. Another possible source is the ancient Guizhou polity of Yelang, known as ʐina in Loloish languages.

The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (中华人民共和国; Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó). The shorter form of this name is 中国; Zhōngguó, from zhōng ('central' or 'middle') and guó ('state'), a term first used for the demesne of the Western Zhou dynasty. The names of ruling imperial dynasties were typically used to refer to the region and state. In the 1800s, Zhongguo was officially adopted as the name of the country by the Qing dynasty. China is sometimes referred to as mainland China or "the Mainland" when distinguishing it from the Republic of China on Taiwan or the PRC's Special Administrative Regions.

History

Main article: History of China

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Chinese history.

Prehistory

Main article: Prehistory of China

Evidence of early humans such as Homo erectus in China dates to the Paleolithic, around 1.7 million years ago, with unconfirmed sites as old as 2 million years ago. Modern Homo sapiens are attested from around 50,000 years ago. Following the end of the Last Glacial Period, in about 8,000 BCE, pottery-making Neolithic cultures emerged. By the 6000s BCE, sedentary agricultural societies had spread across the lower Yellow River basin. These societies became increasingly complex, urbanized, and stratified, but many experienced a population collapse in the late 2000s BCE for unclear reasons.

Ancient China

A set of Western Zhou-era ritual bronzes, c. 1000 BCE

After 2000 BCE, a Bronze Age culture emerged in the Central Plain, dubbed the Erlitou culture after its main site. Erlitou has been controversially identified with the Xia, the traditionally-accepted first dynasty, but no written records exist to confirm this. The Shang dynasty purportedly succeeded the Xia around 1600 BCE, with its early stages tentatively identified with an expansionist state known archaeologically as the Erligang culture. The historicity of the Late Shang is attested through divinational writings in the oracle bone script. These are the earliest known form of writing in China and the ancestor of modern Chinese characters.

The Shang were overthrown by the Zhou c. 1046 BCE. The Zhou ruled over a vast and loose confederation of vassal states across central China gradually weakened by regional lords. Centralized authority finally collapsed in 771 BCE, giving way to constant regional warfare. During the Eastern Zhou, a multitude of small aristocratic Spring and Autumn period polities evolved into seven territorial Warring States over the following centuries. Literary and philosophical developments of this period include the emergence of various schools of thought, such as Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, and Legalism, alongside Chinese classics like the Analects and the Tao Te Ching.

Imperial China

Further information: Chinese Empire

Classical period

Soldier statues of the Terracotta Army, buried alongside Qin Shi Huang c. 210 BCE

In the 220s BCE, Qin rapidly conquered the other warring states. In 221, its ruler Qin Shi Huang proclaimed himself the first emperor (皇帝; Huángdì) and founded the Qin dynasty. He led an autocratic Legalist state organized in a system of commanderies and counties. The dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after his death.

Following widespread revolts, the Han dynasty emerged to rule China between 206 BCE and 220 CE. The Han gradually reinstated centralized control, legitimizing their rule through Confucian scholarship. Military expeditions against the Xiongnu, a confederation of nomadic steppe tribes frequently in conflict with the dynasty, expanded Han influence into parts of Central Asia and helped to establish the Silk Road, allowing for trade connections between China and western Eurasia. Contemporaneously, merchants established maritime trade routes linking China, Southeast Asia, and India.

The Han faced widespread uprisings and the emergence of local warlords in the 100s CE. By 220, the empire was split into the Three Kingdoms. These were briefly united by the Jin dynasty in 280, which fell into civil war. Sinicized formerly nomadic peoples who had settled in Northern China, such as the Xiongnu, rebelled and founded new dynasties. These coalesced into the Northern and Southern dynasties in the 400s. During these conflicts, Buddhism was introduced to China via the Silk Road.

Medieval period

After centuries of warfare, China was reunited under the Sui in 589, who constructed the Grand Canal to link Northern and Southern China. The Sui collapsed in the 610s, and were succeeded by the Tang. The Tang dynasty centralized the state and dispatched military expeditions to pacify the surrounding regions. It promoted Buddhism, but through expanding international trade built a heavily cosmopolitan society centered on its capital of Chang'an. It reformed the civil service examinations and oversaw a flourishing of art, poetry, architecture, and scholarship. The 755–763 An Lushan rebellion weakened the Tang, which gradually fragmented before collapsing completely in 907.

Section from the Song-era landscape painting, Along the River During the Qingming Festival, early 1100s

The Song dynasty rose to power in 960. It faced military crises, unable to subdue its Sinicized non-Han neighbors, the Khitan-led Liao dynasty and the Tangut-led Western Xia. The consistent focus on defense allowed for a heavily centralized state and military, which made the first military application of gunpowder. The proliferation of printing technology allowed books to become widely available, while the elite class of scholar-officials grew increasingly powerful. Production, population, and trade expanded massively, alongside innovations such as industrial metallurgy and hydraulic machinery. The Song capital Kaifeng was overrun by the Jurchen-led Jin in 1127, forcing the Song to retreat to Southern China. During this period, the revivalist philosophical movement of Neo-Confucianism emerged.

Late imperial period

A Ming dynasty section of the Great Wall of China

In 1206, Genghis Khan united the nomadic Mongols to the north under the Mongol Empire. Over the following fifty years, they conquered the Western Xia and the Jin, in addition to their other conquests as far west as Europe. The empire split into separate khanates. In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty and subjugated the Song by 1279. The Yuan maintained a Mongol elite culture, but Chinese culture remained largely unchanged.

In the 1340s, central China was devastated by disease, famine, and mass floods along the Yellow River. Various rebellions erupted, leading to a peasant leader declaring himself the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1368. The Ming built a new capital at Beijing, with the Forbidden City as its imperial palace, although the lower Yangtze remained the wealthiest region. Trade grew, and the European colonization of the Americas brought new crops and a massive influx of silver to China. The population doubled, and a growing publishing industry began producing works in vernacular Chinese. including the Four Classic Novels.

Tax evasion became common among the rich during the 1500s, resulting in greater rent and tax burdens on the poor. The bankrupt and factionalized government was unable to contain peasant rebellions. The Manchu to the north declared the Qing dynasty in 1636 and conquered the Ming, killing their last claimant emperor in 1662 and conquering a Ming rump state on Taiwan in 1683. From the late 1600s to the end of the 1700s, the High Qing era saw economic growth and territorial expansion westward, including the occupation of Tibet and much of Central Asia.

1805 painting of the European factories in Guangzhou (Canton)

European powers fought various wars against the Qing dynasty during the 19th century. These began with the United Kingdom's First Opium War in 1839–1842, which resulted in the first of the "unequal treaties" imposed on the dynasty, which opened treaty ports, allowed Christian missionary activity, and loosened trade restrictions. China faced an economic crisis and internal unrest, and uprisings such as the 1850–1864 Taiping Rebellion resulted in the deaths of millions. Reformist factions of the Qing state responded with the Self-Strengthening Movement, seeking to adopt western weapons and technologies, but this had little impact for much of the empire.

The Qing's defeat against the Empire of Japan in 1895 resulted in the loss of Taiwan and the growth of both reformist and revolutionary political movements. An imperial push for reform in 1898 was ended after an internal coup, while the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion was defeated by a coalition of foreign powers in 1901. The Qing state again advanced reforms, but growing revolutionary and anti-Manchu sentiment culminated in the 1911 Revolution. A coalition of revolutionaries led by Sun Yat-sen overthrew the Qing and declared the Republic of China in 1912.

Republic of China

Main article: Republic of China (1912–1949)

The Shanghai Bund, c. 1934

President Yuan Shikai crushed his main opposition, the Kuomintang, and ruled China as a dictator until his death in 1916, following an abortive attempt to restore the monarchy. During the succeeding Warlord Era, feuding regional warlords and governors took power across China, while Tibet and Mongolia declared independence. The nominal republican government had little control outside Beijing. During this period, New Culture intellectuals and students rebelled against traditional society. A crackdown on a student protest in 1919 led to the May Fourth Movement and further agitation by intellectuals for a cultural and political upheaval, with many embracing Western political ideas such as communism.

Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek toasting together in 1945 following the end of World War II

In the mid-1920s, the Kuomintang allied with the nascent Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and launched the Northern Expedition to reunify China. In 1927, the Kuomintang violent purged the CCP and gained the allegiance of the northern warlords, establishing a new government at Nanjing. The CCP was driven into the countryside and repressed, before regrouping in the northwest.

Japan occupied Manchuria in 1931, before launching an invasion of the rest of China in 1937. A renewed coalition between the CCP and Kuomintang fought Japan in what became a theater of World War II, as Japanese forces committed numerous war atrocities against the civilian population and occupied most of China's major cities. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, China became a founding member of the United Nations and regained control over Manchuria and Taiwan. The civil war between the CCP and the Kuomintang resumed the following year.

People's Republic of China

Main article: History of the People's Republic of China

After a string of military victories, CCP chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. The Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan and continued to claim legitimacy. The following year, the PRC began to occupy and annex Tibet. The PRC, a people's democratic dictatorship under CCP control, enacted many reforms: it restructured the economy under state control, promoted literacy and women's equality, expanded heavy industry, and promoted land collectivization through the Land Reform Movement, which saw state-tolerated violence against landlords by the peasantry and the death of upwards of a million people.

A big-character poster and portrait of Mao Zedong in Beijing during the Cultural Revolution, 1976

In 1958, Mao launched the Great Leap Forward, a mass industrialization project which resulted in the Great Chinese Famine and around 30 million deaths. As the Cold War deepened, the PRC grew politically isolated from its former ally, the Soviet Union, as well as the Western Bloc. China detonated its first atomic bomb in 1964. Attempting to reassert control of the CCP after the Great Leap, Mao and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966, sparking a decade of political violence, crackdowns on perceived counterrevolutionaries, and social upheaval that lasted until Mao's death in 1976.

Deng Xiaoping served as paramount leader from 1978 to 1989. The PRC's reform and opening up during the 1980s and 1990s saw economic liberalization towards a socialist market economy, rapid economic growth, friendlier relations with the West, and crackdowns on political dissent in events such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. China shifted away from an agricultural economy and rapidly urbanized, although this led to stark economic inequality between urban and rural areas, as well as environmental deterioration. Since the 1990s, market forces has become China's main economic driver. Paramount leader Xi Jinping, in power since 2012, has launched a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign and has overseen the centralization of political power and the expansion of Chinese economic influence through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Geography

Main article: Geography of China

Further information: Climate of China

Köppen-Geiger climate classification map for mainland China

China's geography is highly varied, featuring a dry and mountainous west, alongside both mountains and wide river valleys in the east. Chinese civilization was traditionally centered in the lowlands around its two largest rivers: the Yangtze and the Yellow River, both originating on the Tibetan Plateau. This temperate region is bordered by forest and steppe to the north, alongside the mountainous and subtropical south. China's shoreline spans the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea, all part of the Pacific Ocean. Besides Taiwan, its largest island is Hainan, while Zhoushan is the largest archipelago. Poyang Lake is the largest of the country's many freshwater lakes.

Large mountain ranges in the west, including the Himalayas and Tian Shan, separate China from South and Central Asia. It features both the Turpan Depression, among the deepest points on land, and the high Tibetan Plateau. The world's highest point, Mount Everest (8,848 metres (29,029 ft)), lies on the border with Nepal. China has a wide variety of ore and mineral resources.

Its climate is mainly dominated by dry seasons and wet monsoons, which lead to pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower latitudes are warm and moist. Its northwestern deserts receive as little as 50 mm (2.0 in) of rainfall annually, while much of southern China exceeds 1,000 mm (39 in). Much of eastern China is well-suited for agriculture, with two or three crops able to be harvested per year. The south is dominated by rice farming, while the north grows crops such as wheat and maize. In 2021, 12% of global permanent meadows and pastures belonged to China, as well as 8% of global cropland.

Environment

Main articles: Environment of China, Wildlife of China, and Environmental issues in China

See also: Renewable energy in China, Water resources of China, Energy policy of China, and Climate change in China

A giant panda, a symbol of China, eating bamboo

China is one of 17 megadiverse countries, containing a wide variety of forests, shrublands, wetlands, steppes, and deserts, which host (as of 2018) 92,300 known species of plants, animals, and fungi. According to government surveys, China's forest coverage grew from 10% of the overall territory in 1949 to 25% in 2024. The far north contains taiga, which to the south transitions into deciduous forest. South of the Yangtze, mixed conifer and deciduous forest is common, with tropical and subtropical forests farther south.

In the 21st century, China has suffered from environmental deterioration and pollution due to rapid development, alongside the broader effects of climate change. About 11% of its plant species and 21% of its vertebrate species are threatened or endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and poaching. "Flagship" endangered species such as the giant panda and tiger have received additional funding and protection.

Although China ranks as the highest CO₂ emitting country, it only emits 8 tons of CO₂ per capita as of 2020, significantly lower than many developed countries. Total greenhouse gas emissions by China are the world's largest. The PRC has prioritized clamping down on pollution, announcing its aims to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

China is the world's leading investor in renewable energy and its commercialization, investing CN¥3.6 trillion in 2022 alone. Traditionally reliant on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, China's adaptation of renewable energy has increased significantly in recent years. In 2025, 54.4% of China's electricity came from coal, while 42% came from clean energy sources. Despite its emphasis on renewables, China remains deeply connected to global oil markets.

Political geography

Main articles: Borders of China, Coastline of China, and Territorial changes of the People's Republic of China

Map depicting territorial disputes between the PRC and neighboring states.

China is the second-largest country by land area after Russia, and the third- or fourth-largest by total area. Total area figures range from 9,572,900 km² (3,696,100 sq mi) to 9,596,961 km² (3,705,407 sq mi). China borders 14 nations, with a combined land border length of 22,117 km (13,743 mi). Its coastline spans approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi).

The PRC has engaged in 23 border disputes since 1949, of which six are unsettled. It actively disputes several portions of its Himalayan border with India, including the Aksai Chin in Kashmir and most of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It maintains maritime disputes with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and with various countries over the South China Sea Islands, including the Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands.

Politics

Main article: Politics of China

The Great Hall of the People
where the National People's Congress convenes

Zhongnanhai, headquarters of the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party

The PRC is a unitary state under the absolute leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Since the 1980s, the CCP has called its guiding theories and policies socialism with Chinese characteristics, which it considers an adapted form of Marxism–Leninism that emphasizes a market economy as the primary stage of socialism. The PRC describes itself as a socialist state, and a people's democratic dictatorship. Many academic sources describe it as an authoritarian state, although others dispute this label.

The National People's Congress (NPC) holds the unified powers of the state and oversight over all state organs, with its NPC Standing Committee elected to meet between the annual NPC meetings. Its elections are indirect and the CCP controls nominations. The NPC ostensibly elects positions such as the president, vice president, military chairman, and chief justice, and approves the president's nomination for premier (the head of government). In practice, the CCP leadership chooses candidates for these posts. The premier heads the State Council, which includes 26 ministers, including the heads of ministries and commissions. The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference is an advisory body that formally leads the CCP's united front system, which aims to gain support from non-CCP intellectuals, eight minor parties, and people's organizations.

The governance of China is characterized by a high degree of political centralization but significant economic decentralization. Policy instruments or processes are often tested locally before being adapted and applied more widely. Surveys have generally shown that the Chinese public has a high level of satisfaction with the government. These views are generally attributed to the material comforts and security available to large segments of the Chinese as well as the government's responsiveness.

Chinese Communist Party

Xi Jinping
CCP General Secretary and President

Li Qiang
Premier

Zhao Leji
Congress Chairman

Wang Huning
CPPCC Chairman

The CCP is the founding and sole ruling party of the PRC, organized to Leninist principles as a vanguard party. The party's highest body is its National Congress, which mainly consists of members elected by party membership and meets every five years. The National Congress elects the Central Committee, which convenes yearly as the highest party organ between congresses. The Central Committee ostensibly elects the party's top leadership, the Politburo, Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) and the general secretary. In practice, the committee typically approves a slate of candidates created by existing party leadership.

The Politburo usually gathers once a month, while the smaller Politburo Standing Committee is thought to meet weekly. The general secretary holds ultimate power and authority over party and state and serves as the paramount leader of China. The current general secretary is Xi Jinping, who took office on 15 November 2012. The National Congress also elects the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's main disciplinary and anti-corruption organ.

As the CCP and the government itself are closely intertwined, disputes within the party represent the main form of political contention in China. The CCP controls appointments in government bodies, with most senior government officials being CCP members. The appointment of CCP cadres and the leadership of major state-owned enterprises and institutions is managed by the party's Organization Department. The CCP maintains committees on a national and local scale, with about 5.1 million committees at the grassroots level.

Administrative divisions

Main articles: Administrative divisions of China, Districts of Hong Kong, and Municipalities and parishes of Macau

The PRC is divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions (each with a designated minority group), four direct-administered municipalities, as well as the special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau, which hold large amounts of political and economic autonomy. Provinces and autonomous regions are divided into prefectures and prefecture-level cities, which themselves are divided into counties and county-level cities. The PRC claims the ROC's territory, most of which is under the claimed Taiwan Province.

First level administrative divisions of the PRC by type

Type	List
Provinces	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)
	Taiwan (台湾省), governed by the Republic of China
Autonomous regions	Guangxi (广西壮族自治区) Inner Mongolia (内蒙古自治区) Ningxia (宁夏回族自治区) Tibet (西藏自治区) Xinjiang (新疆维吾尔自治区)
Direct-administered municipalities	Beijing (北京市) Chongqing (重庆市) Shanghai (上海市) Tianjin (天津市)
Special administrative regions	Hong Kong (香港特别行政区) Macau (澳门特别行政区)

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of China

Diplomatic relations of China

  People's Republic of China (PRC)

  Republic of China (ROC)

  States that have diplomatic relations with the PRC

  States that have diplomatic relations with the ROC

  States that have diplomatic relations with neither

China is one of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and the second largest contributor to the United Nations. China has the largest diplomatic network of any country: It has diplomatic relations with 179 United Nations member states and embassies in 174. China is a member of the G20, BRICS, East Asia Summit, APEC, and other intergovernmental organizations.

China is widely described as superpower due to its influence in geopolitics, technology, manufacturing, economics and culture. Although China moderated its relations with the West during the reform era, its rise in power has brought political tensions with many of its neighbors in Asia and with the United States, the current dominant superpower. Although China is among the United States' largest trade partners, their relationship is tempered by a trade war and strong disagreements over the political status of Taiwan. The PRC maintains the one China principle, recognizing itself as the only legitimate Chinese government and Taiwan as a part of China, which it officially regards as a de jure province.

China's foreign policy is based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, which include a principle of non-intervention in other countries' domestic affairs. Per its policy of non-alignment, China has no defense pacts except for its 1961 treaty with North Korea, although it maintains close relationships with neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Russia. The PRC has invested heavily in developing countries across Asia, Latin America, and Africa, creating a system of development banks and loans through the Belt and Road Initiative.

Military

Main articles: Military budget of China, People's Liberation Army, and Paramilitary forces of China

Chengdu J-20 5th generation stealth fighter

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the main armed forces of China, under the direct control of the CCP. It consists of four services: the Ground Force, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Rocket Force, and four arms: the Aerospace Force, the Cyberspace Force, the Information Support Force, and the Joint Logistics Support Force. It has around 2 million active soldiers, alongside the world's third-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, and the world's largest navy by ship count.

The PLA is considered one of the world's most powerful militaries and has rapidly modernized in the recent decades. A 2026 study estimates that its 2025 expenditure was 2.27 trillion yuan (US$336 billion), 12% of global military spending and 1.7% of China's GDP. The PLA, the People's Armed Police and the Militia are commanded by the Central Military Commission (CMC). The chairman of the CMC, currently Xi Jinping, is the commander-in-chief of the PLA chairman responsibility system.

Human rights

Main articles: Human rights in China and Censorship in China

Various human rights organizations, United Nations assessments, and foreign governments have accused China of severe human rights violations. It has been accused of political repression, torture, indefinite detention, restrictions on free speech and religious practice, excessive use of capital punishment, and the persecution of ethnic minorities.

The PRC cracked down on political rights in Hong Kong following the 2019-2020 protests.

Although the PRC's 1982 constitution protects a wide variety of civil and political rights, these largely lack enforcement mechanisms. The petitioning system allows citizens to raise complaints of wrongdoing, although the concerns are often left unaddressed, and some petitioners have faced punitive arrest or incarceration. In the 21st century, the PRC has participated extensively with the United Nations Human Rights Council, but has remained strongly critical of international scrutiny of its human rights, seeing it as an interference in its internal affairs.

In Xinjiang, China has restricted the civil rights of the Uyghurs, who face widespread discrimination. The Xi administration has launched police crackdowns, heavy surveillance programs, and restrictions on Islamic religious practice and the use of the Uyghur language. It has interred one to two million Uyghurs in a network of internment camps in the late 2018s, which have evolved into a system of prisons and forced labor. The United States has accused the PRC of committing genocide in Xinjiang, while several UN OHCHR experts have described its compulsory labor system as possibly amounting to "enslavement as a crime against humanity".

The PRC has heavily restricted the civil and political rights of Hong Kong residents. Since the 2019–2020 protests, the PRC has cracked down on the anti-establishment movement in the SAR and removed much of its political autonomy. The PRC has cracked down on political expression in Tibet and strengthened state surveillance, restricting residents from obtaining passports and most foreigners from entering the region.

Economy

Main article: Economy of China

See also: Income inequality in China and Industry in China

The Shanghai Bund and Lujiazui seen from the Shanghai Tower

Haiyang Nuclear Power Plant in Shandong

The modern PRC is often described by analysts as an example of state capitalism or party-state capitalism, with both market forces and the state playing a major role in the economy. Various state organs manage the economy according to the State Council's five-year plans. The PRC describes its economic system as a "socialist market economy," in which the market plays a decisive role in resource allocation under the macro-control of a socialist state. The Chinese economy has expanded more than 20 times since 2000, achieving the second-largest economy by GDP (CN¥140 trillion in 2025) and the largest when adjusted for purchasing power parity. The PRC has brought more people out of extreme poverty than any other country in history, roughly 800 million.

The private sector is the largest portion of the Chinese economy, while about 30–40% is under state ownership. Less than 10% of exports were by state-owned companies, while industries such as transportation, utilities, and financial services are generally under state ownership. Since the 1990s, the PRC has decentralized its economic planning, with about 85% of government spending delegated to the provincial or local level, with local governments adapting national economic plans to suit local interests. China is the world's leading manufacturing power, accounting for 30% of global manufacturing; it is the largest producer of steel, rare earths, ships, and automobiles, as well as the largest exporter of electronics. It has struggled to establish its currency, the renminbi (in units of yuan), as an international reserve currency; as of 2025, it is the seventh largest currency in foreign exchange reserves.

About a third of China's workforce are domestic migrant workers, the floating population. The hukou ('household individual') system restricts citizens' access to services and utilities outside of their registered home, leading to pronounced inequalities between workers from urban and rural areas. Especially in larger cities, only those with local hukou may be able to buy property, though hukou restrictions have loosened significantly in the recent decades. The PRC has a high debt-to-GDP ratio (almost 300% in 2020), with household debt at about 65% of the GDP.

Science and technology

Main articles: Science and technology in China, List of Chinese discoveries, and List of Chinese inventions

Launch of Shenzhou 13 by a Long March 2F rocket

As the world's largest economy for much of its history, China has produced many inventions and scientific discoveries. It is credited with the invention of paper, printing, the compass, and gunpowder. The PRC has pursued rapid technological development since the reform era. It has greatly advanced in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology, while the Xi administration has prioritized green technology and reducing Chinese dependence on foreign technology. It has emphasized technocratic leadership in the 2020s, promoting experts in scientific fields to national leadership positions, while bringing major private technology firms such as Tencent and Alibaba under state regulation. Geopolitical tensions have led to Europe and the United States to restrict Chinese access to their technology.

Since launching its first satellite in 1970, China has maintained an active space program. Behind the United States and the Soviet Union, it was the third country to independently launch an orbital satellite and in 2003 became the third to bring astronauts into orbit. The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program has sent multiple robotic landers to the moon, the Planetary Exploration of China program has sent a lander and rover to Mars, while its Tiangong space station has hosted crewed operations in Low Earth orbit since 2021.

Infrastructure and transportation

Main articles: Transport in China and Telecommunications in China

A Fuxing high-speed train running in Beijing

Since the 1990s, automobiles have supplanted trains as the primary form of transport in China. According to state data, the Chinese highway network exceed 6,000,000 kilometres (3,700,000 mi) by the end of 2021, having grown 30% over the past decade. In addition to local and provincial routes, this network includes the national highways, which are divided between the ordinary highways (of various classes) and the national expressway system. China has the largest highway and rail systems in the world by capacity, and the second-longest rail network at 165,000 km (102,526 mi). According to 2022 state data, over 95% of cities exceeding one million residents have access to high-speed rail. Out of the 50 busiest container ports, 18 are located in China, including the world's busiest, the Port of Shanghai.

Chinese cities are disparate in their level of infrastructure. Tier-one cities such as Beijing and Shanghai have elaborate and advanced infrastructure networks, while smaller cities and rural areas often have outdated and underfunded transit and public utilities.

The Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world

The State Grid Corporation of China, the world's largest utility company, manages the electrical grid for most of the country, with the China Southern Power Grid as the electric utility in some southern provinces. Power generation is primarily managed by five state-owned corporations, alongside local and provincial utilities. Most of China's renewable energy comes from hydropower. The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest power station by capacity.

China has the largest number of internet users and websites of any country. According to state data, it has 1.125 billion internet users as of 2025, about 80% of its population. The PRC has an extensive system of internet censorship. The Great Firewall, a system of internet controls and regulations, blocks access to many foreign websites. It can be circumvented through virtual private networks, but these face occasional crackdowns. The Cyberspace Administration of China acts as the national internet regulator and censor. Most telecommunications are operated by three state-owned companies: China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of China

See also: Chinese nationality law and Family planning policies of China

Map of China's population density across third-level administrative divisions. Based on the results of the 2020 census.

The 2020 Chinese census recorded the population as approximately 1,411,778,724. About 17.95% were 14 years old or younger, 63.35% were between 15 and 59, and 18.7% were over 60. Between 2010 and 2020, the average population growth rate was 0.53%. Since 2022, deaths have outpaced births. China has among the lowest total fertility rates (births per woman) in the world, around 1.0 as of 2025.

The National Bureau of Statistics estimated that the population fell 850,000 from 2021 to 2022, the first decline since 1961. In 2025, China recorded 7.92 million births, the lowest recorded birthrate since at least 1949. China's population is concentrated in the eastern half of the country; although 64% of China's territory is west of the Heihe–Tengchong Line, as of 2020 only 6.5% of its population lives west of the line.

Spurred by fears of overpopulation, China maintained a one-child policy from 1979 to 2015, restricting most families to a single child. The policy was most strictly enforced in urban areas, while families from ethnic minorities and rural communities were exempt from one-child limits. A two-child policy was introduced in 2015, and in July 2021, family size limits as well as penalties for exceeding them were removed. The policy resulted in a skewed sex ratio, as many families preferred to have sons.

China maintains a restrictive immigration policy, with permanent residence granted to only around 12,000 foreigners as of 2023, while an additional 845,697 foreign nationals lived in mainland China as of the 2020 census.

Cities and urbanization

Main article: Urbanization in China

See also: List of cities in China, List of cities in China by population, and Megalopolises in China

Guangzhou, a major transportation hub and one of China's three largest cities

China has urbanized significantly in recent decades. The percent of the country's population living in urban areas increased from 20% in 1980 to over 68% in 2025, according to Chinese government figures, while the United Nations calculates an urbanization rate of 83.7%. Cities in China often include smaller towns and rural areas under their jurisdiction. Shanghai is its most populous urban area. Two urban agglomerations, the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze Delta, contain many of the largest cities and tens of millions of people.

The figures in the table below are from the 2020 census, and are only estimates of the urban populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking exists for total municipal populations. The large floating population of migrant workers make conducting censuses in urban areas difficult.

Largest cities or municipalities in China China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2020 Urban population and urban temporary population
Rank	Name	Province	Pop.	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
1	Shanghai	SH	24,281,400	11	Hong Kong	HK	7,448,900
2	Beijing	BJ	19,164,000	12	Zhengzhou	HA	7,179,400
3	Guangzhou	GD	13,858,700	13	Nanjing	JS	6,823,500
4	Shenzhen	GD	13,438,800	14	Xi'an	SN	6,642,100
5	Tianjin	TJ	11,744,400	15	Jinan	SD	6,409,600
6	Chongqing	CQ	11,488,000	16	Shenyang	LN	5,900,000
7	Dongguan	GD	9,752,500	17	Qingdao	SD	5,501,400
8	Chengdu	SC	8,875,600	18	Harbin	HL	5,054,500
9	Wuhan	HB	8,652,900	19	Hefei	AH	4,750,100
10	Hangzhou	ZJ	8,109,000	20	Changchun	JL	4,730,900

Languages and ethnic groups

Main articles: Languages of China and List of ethnic groups in China

An ethnolinguistic map of China (1967), illustrating the geographic distribution of language families and ethnic groups.

The PRC legally recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups. The largest of these are the Han Chinese, who constitute more than 91% of the total population. The minority groups are generally found in the western and border regions of China. Social and wealth inequalities exist between many minority groups and the Han and have heightened since the reform era.

Most Han are speakers of Mandarin Chinese, of which Standard Chinese is a standardized form and the official language of the PRC. Around 300 million people speak other Chinese languages (often described as dialects in Chinese sources). While also written with Chinese characters, these are not highly mutually intelligible with Mandarin or each other. The primary branches of Chinese are Mandarin, Wu, Yue (Cantonese), Min, Gan, Hakka, and Xiang; the latter six are mainly spoken in Southern China. Since the 1950s, local dialects have steadily assimilated into Mandarin or one of the main regional registers. Simplified Chinese characters, first standardized in the 1950s, are used to write Chinese throughout mainland China, while traditional Chinese characters remain in use in the SARs and Taiwan. Hanyu Pinyin is the official romanization system for Chinese in the PRC.

Other language families are found throughout China. Distantly related to Chinese, Tibeto-Burman languages are found in the west and southwest. In southwestern China, many Hmong–Mien and Kra–Dai languages are spoken by minority groups. Offshoots of the Austroasiatic and Austronesian language families are also found in the south in smaller numbers. In the northwest, Turkic (including Uyghur) and Mongolic languages are found, as well as two Indo-European languages (Russian and Tajik). Several endangered Tungusic languages are found in northwestern and northeastern China.

Religion

Main article: Religion in China

See also: Irreligion in China and Antireligious campaigns in China

Ming dynasty painting depicting the sages of the three teachings: the Buddha, Laozi, and Confucius

The Chinese religious tradition is heavily syncretic, incorporating various folk religious practices alongside Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. These 'three teachings' were the three main institutionalized schools of Chinese religion. These exist alongside introduced minority religions such as Christianity and Islam, as well as various new religious movements. Statistics on affiliation are difficult to gather due to complex and varying definitions of religion and the diffusive nature of local traditions. Many people follow religious teachings and practices without considering themselves adherents.

Confucianism is a philosophical and spiritual tradition that originated in the Eastern Zhou, emphasizing the study of the classics and the relations of the individual, society, and heaven. Following Western influences, it has sometimes been identified as a religion. Daoism emphasizes the Dao ('way') as the world's origin and fundamental force, and seeks to harness it through spiritual cultivation. Initially a philosophical movement during the Eastern Zhou, the religious tradition of Daoism emerged during the 2nd century CE. Mahayana Buddhism was introduced to China during the Han dynasty and spread rapidly over the following centuries. Although it was often dismissed by the Confucian literati, Buddhism greatly influenced other Chinese religious and philosophical traditions.

Although the PRC and CCP are legally atheist, freedom of religion is formally guaranteed by the Chinese constitution. The PRC officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism. Formal religious practice is managed by "patriotic associations" for each of the recognized faiths overseen by the CCP's United Front Work Department. However, the majority of religious activities take place outside of these registered organizations. The PRC has attempted to crack down on some forms of unregistered religious practice, such as Protestant house churches. Religious practices among minority groups, such as Islam among the Uyghur and Tibetan Buddhism, have come under close state scrutiny and regulation over fears of separatism.

Education

Main articles: Education in China and Higher education in China

See also: Literacy in China

Students at a junior high school classroom in Zhejiang, 2019

Following an optional two to three years of preschool, China has nine years of free compulsory education, generally with six years of elementary school and three years of junior high school. If they pass entrance examinations, students may then attend a senior high school, choosing between an academic or vocational track. The gaokao exams allow access to undergraduate higher education, with additional examinations required to attend postgraduate programs and achieve a master's or doctoral degree. As of 2022, 95% of junior high students continue to high school, while higher education has a 59.6% enrollment rate.

As of 2022, China had 158 million students enrolled in compulsory school, and 46.5 million enrolled in higher education. There are over 200,000 elementary and junior high schools, over 22,000 secondary schools, and over 3,000 colleges and universities. Both private and public schools exist at all levels, with 10.6% of elementary and junior high students attending private schools. Its academic publication apparatus became the world's largest publisher of scientific papers in 2016.

Health

Main article: Health in China

See also: Medicine in China and Pharmaceutical industry in China

A pharmacy in Guangxi, selling both allopathic and traditional Chinese medicine

The vast majority of primary health care institutions in China offer both allopathic and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In 2017, there were approximately 9,000 community health centers in urban areas—which oversaw roughly 25,000 health stations—and 37,000 township health centers in rural areas. There were about 639,000 village clinics, which operate as independent, for-profit enterprises subsidized by the state.

The National Health Commission, together with its counterparts in the local commissions, oversees the health needs of the population. After the beginning of the reform and opening up in 1978, the health of the Chinese public improved rapidly because of better nutrition, although many of the free public health services provided in the countryside disappeared. Healthcare in China became mostly privatized, and experienced a significant rise in quality. China is a major producer and exporter of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

According to 2025 state data, the life expectancy at birth exceeds 79 years, and the infant mortality rate is 4 per 1,000. Rates of stunted growth declined from 33.1% in 1990 to 4.5% in 2024. Chinese mental health services are inadequate. China's large population and dense cities have led to serious disease outbreaks, such as SARS in 2003. The COVID-19 pandemic was first identified in Wuhan.

Culture

Main articles: Chinese culture and Culture of the People's Republic of China

Red paper lanterns hung up for Chinese New Year festivities in Beijing

Beginning in the Qin and Han dynasties and continuing over the following millennia, an area of Chinese cultural influence grew to encompass much of East Asia. Japan, Korea, and Vietnam adopted various political, philosophical, religious, and aesthetic concepts from China, boosted by their adoption of Chinese characters and participation within the tributary system. China has 60 World Heritage Sites, the second-most of any country (behind Italy). Chinese culture has historically emphasized family connections, with filial piety and the veneration of ancestors seen as vital duties under Confucian ethics. Prior to the 20th century, family relations were highly patriarchal, and arranged marriages were commonplace.

Prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1912, China traditionally used a lunisolar calendar of 12 months. The 60-part sexagenary cycle was often used to enumerate days as well as years, alongside the twelve-year Chinese zodiac. Major holidays and festivals in China include the Chinese New Year (or Spring Festival), the Qingming Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day.

Art

Main article: Chinese art

An 18th century hand fan with a poem and nature painting

Elite culture of the imperial period saw skill in art as a marker of refinement and high social status. Renowned art pieces often bear inscriptions and seals from their previous owners, allowing for the tracing of provenance over long periods of time. Traditional Chinese art makes use of a wide array of common motifs, metaphors, and symbols, often using nature as allegory.

Chinese paintings are traditionally made with ink brushes on paper or silk. Horizontal handscrolls and vertical hanging scrolls are common formats, alongside wall paintings, folding screens and hand fans. Calligraphy, emerging during the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, was traditionally regarded in China as the most prestigious form of art, and remains among the most widely practiced. Western genres and techniques of painting gained popularity in China during the early 20th century, while the People's Republic promoted art as a means to embody socialist ideals during the Mao era. The 21st century has seen a boom in the production and international influence of Chinese contemporary art.

Pottery and metal crafts in China date to ancient times. Porcelain, also known as china, became a common form of ceramic during the 7th century. By the 14th century, it became popular to decorate porcelain vessels with elaborate blue and white patterns, which became the most popular and widely recognized form of Chinese ceramics. Jade crafts and lacquerware have been popular decorative mediums since ancient times.

Architecture

Further information: Chinese architecture

The Forbidden City in Beijing, with the Gate of Divine Prowess at center

Wood is the most commonly used material in traditional Chinese architecture. Buildings are often built around complex wooden frames with three layers. Usually made of ceramic tiles, the roofs of important buildings are often ornate and hipped, with additional sets of eaves below the main roof. Material for foundations range from rammed earth to brick to marble depending on the extravagance of the building. Traditional buildings are often arranged around cardinal directions, with grandeur expressed through large complexes of buildings rather than through height. Courtyards, enclosed by walls and covered corridors on three or four sides, are ubiquitous. Gates to these building complexes can be freestanding or attached to walls, and bear symbolic significance in both secular and religious contexts.

Pagodas, multi-story towers far taller than other forms of traditional architecture, are religious structures introduced to China alongside Buddhism. As early pagodas were often made from brick or stone, many of China's oldest surviving buildings are pagodas. Western-style architecture was introduced during the 19th century, but was generally restricted to buildings built or used by Europeans. Chinese students began to study architecture in the west during the early 20th century, and began to incorporate traditional architectural principles alongside modern styles and techniques. After Soviet-inspired construction during the Mao era, the reform era has seen a boom in the construction of modern skyscrapers and office buildings, largely supplanting traditional architecture with various forms of contemporary architecture.

Performing arts

Further information: Music of China

Two actors in a performance of Farewell My Concubine, a Peking opera

Records of performing arts in China date back to the Zhou era. The music of China is highly diverse and regional. Traditional Chinese music uses a wide variety of instruments, including the dizi (a flute), erhu (a bowed string instrument), guqin (a plucked string instrument), guzheng (a plucked zither), pipa (a lute), sheng (a mouth organ), suona (a wind instrument), and various types of bells and drums. Western-style music and conservatories were introduced during the 1800s. Western classical music remains highly prestigious. The Chinese orchestra developed in the early 20th century as a fusion of Western orchestral music with Chinese instruments. Inspired by Western Jazz and boosted by the introduction of recording studios, Mandarin pop music emerged in Shanghai in the 1920s, while the folk rock-inspired Cantopop became popular around Hong Kong during the 1970s. After reform and opening up, various forms of pop and rock music reached widespread popularity across mainland China.

Chinese opera emerged in Southern China during the 16th century in the form of Kunqu, evolving from local folk music. Influenced by Kunqu, Peking opera reached national popularity during the Qing dynasty, while various local and regional forms of opera evolved across the country. During the Mao era, the PRC promoted revolutionary opera and communist-oriented folk music.

Cuisine

Main article: Chinese cuisine

A man at a Chinese Muslim restaurant in Xi'an preparing food in woks

Chinese meals generally incorporate a grain (fan) alongside meat or vegetable-based dishes (cai). Flour—as steamed buns, dumplings, pancakes, or noodles—is the primary grain in the north, alongside maize, millet, rice, and in some regions, sorghum. Rice—steamed or in the form of congee, rice noodles or rice cakes—dominates in the south. Although Chinese cuisine is highly diverse and regional, pork, chicken, fish, and duck tend to be the most common meats. Soybeans are a common staple across China, made into products such as tofu and soy sauce. Stir frying in woks is the most common cooking method, alongside deep-frying, steaming, and hot pot, where dishes are cooked in simmering broth at the table.

People in China generally eat three meals a day, often with a simple breakfast and a more elaborate dinner. Chopsticks are the main eating utensil. Dishes are usually served to be shared among multiple people, rather than served in individual portions. Hot tea almost always accompanies meals across the country, in lieu of water. Alcoholic drinks such as rice wines and the distilled liquor baijiu are commonly served with meals. Chinese cuisine was traditionally divided into four great traditions: Lu (Shandong), Yang (Jiangsu), Chuan (Sichuan), and Yue (Guangdong). Fujian cuisine is sometimes listed in lieu of Yang. Chinese Buddhists have developed a unique cuisine that avoids meat, while Chinese Islamic cuisine excludes pork and alcohol.

Fashion

Main article: Chinese clothing

Traditional clothing in a Song dynasty painting

Various forms of robe served as the main form of clothing for both men and women throughout Chinese history, changing and adapting over the centuries. New dynasties often sought to reform formal clothing, with the Qing enforcing fashions based off traditional Manchu clothes. Silk, hemp, and later cotton were the main textiles used in traditional clothing. Both men and women generally bound their hair with caps or pins, except during periods where foreign hairstyles were enforced by the ruling elite. Although hairstyles changed greatly, only groups outside conventional society, such as monks, criminals, and foreigners deviated from the norm.

Chinese fashions changed greatly during the 20th century. Traditional designs largely gave way to western clothing during the Republican era and the early years of the People's Republic. Qipao became a popular form of women's dress during the early 20th century, but are today rare outside of formal occasions. While simple, practical clothing which avoided bright colors was the norm during the Mao era, the reform era saw the emergence of a fashion industry and increasing similarities between Chinese and contemporary western fashions. In the 21st century, the Hanfu movement has sought to promote a reconstructed form of traditional Chinese clothing.

Literature

Main articles: Chinese literature and Chinese poetry

Bamboo slips from the Warring States period, containing part of a commentary on the Classic of Poetry

China has among the longest continuous literary traditions in the world. The Late Shang-era oracle bone inscriptions are the oldest known Chinese writing, while the oldest surviving literary works—such as the Book of Documents—date to the early Zhou. The Chinese literary canon was historically centered of the Five Classics (a diverse set of ancient transmitted texts) and the Four Books (central Confucian texts). The traditional literati regarded literature as didactic in purpose, with fiction seen as useless and potentially corruptive. However, poetry was viewed highly for its ability to convey the nature of reality. The poetry of the Tang era was particularly prized by later dynasties.

Classical Chinese was the standard literary register until the early 20th century, when it was overtaken by written vernacular Chinese. Before this, fiction was generally written in vernacular Chinese, and literary works were generally written in Classical Chinese. Popular vernacular literature spread with the introduction of printing, resulting in works such as the Four Classic Novels of the Ming and Qing periods.

Modern Chinese literature has been heavily influenced by the political upheavals of the 19th and 20th centuries, seeking to explain the contemporary political climate or imagine its future. New Culture writers promoted the importance of fiction and vernacular Chinese experimented with new modernist forms, while writers of the Reform era sought to explain the trauma of the Mao era and Cultural Revolution.

Media

Main article: Mass media in China

China's largest media company is China Central Television, which competes with various provincial television networks. China is the largest online video market, with its major streaming platforms including iQIYI, Youku, and Sohu. As of 2025, Chinese film industry is the second largest by global box office earnings (behind the United States), although 98% of these earnings are from domestic consumers. The PRC limits the number of foreign films which can be shown domestically. According to state sources, China has over 90,000 movie screens as of 2025, the most of any country.

As of 2023, China has over 2,600 radio stations, all state-owned, and over 1,900 newspapers. Cities generally have a newspaper published by the local government, and another by the local CCP branch. Journalism is tightly controlled and monitored by the CCP, with content critical of the government prohibited. Foreign Chinese-language news outlets are blocked, while English-language outlets are occasionally available but often censored. Prominent newspapers in China include the CCP's People's Daily and the state-run Global Times, China Daily, and Reference News.

Sport and games

Main article: Sport in China

Further information: Video games in China

Mahjong originated as a gambling game during the Qing dynasty.

Traditional sports such as martial arts and dragon boat racing have been practiced in China for over a millennium. The ball game cuju predates the Qin dynasty and remained popular for millennia, declining during the late Qing dynasty. Chuiwan (similar to modern golf) and polo were popular sports among elites throughout portions of the imperial period, while commoners played various regional ball games. Modern sporting was introduced to China from the West during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. China first attended the Olympic Games in 1932. The PRC began to invest heavily in elite sports during the 1990s, and in 2008 Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics. Elite sports in China are managed by the General Administration of Sport, which oversees management centers for various sports, as well as provincial sports committees and teams. The vast majority of sports funding, especially for elite sports, comes from the government. China hosted the Winter Olympics in 2022, and the Asian Games in 1990, 2010, and 2022.

Various card, dice, and board games gained popularity in imperial China, most notably weiqi (also known as Go) and xiangqi (a relative of chess). Mahjong emerged during the 1800s, initially one of many popular gambling games. China is the world's largest video game market. Video games were introduced from Japan in the 1980s, and online video games grew to immense popularity alongside the spread of the internet.

See also

• Outline of China
• Bibliography of Chinese history

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External links

Government

• The Central People's Government of People's Republic of China

General information

• Country profile – China at BBC News
• China, People's Republic of (archived 2012) from UCB Libraries GovPubs

Maps

• Wikimedia Atlas of the People's Republic of China
• Geographic data related to China at OpenStreetMap