China, officially People's Republic of China, nation in East Asia, the world's third-largest nation by area and the largest by population. Officially the People's Republic of China, it is bordered on the north by the Mongolian Republic and Russia; on the north-east by Russia and North Korea; on the east by the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea; on the south by the South China Sea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan, and Nepal; on the west by Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan; and on the north-west by Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. China includes more than 3,400 offshore islands, of which Hainan, in the South China Sea, is by far the largest. The total area of China is about 9,571,300 sq km (3,695,000 sq mi), not including Nationalist China or Taiwan.

Beijing is the capital of China, the nation's largest city is Shanghai. About fifth of the world's total population lives within China's borders. China gave birth to one of the world's earliest civilizations and has a recorded history that dates from some 3,500 years ago. Zhonghua, the Chinese name for the nation, means "central land", a reference to the Chinese belief that their nation was the geographical centre of the Earth and the only true civilization.

Population 
        1,211,210,000
        (1996 official estimate)
Population Density
        126 people/sq km
        (326 people/sq mi)
        (1996 estimate)
Urban/Rural Breakdown
        36% Urban
        64% Rural
Largest Cities
        Shanghai 8,760,000
        Beijing 6,560,000
        Tianjin 4,970,000
        (1993 estimates)
Largest Metropolitan Areas
        Shanghai 14,150,000
        Beijing 12,510,000
        Tianjin 9,420,000
        (1995 estimates)
Ethnic Groups
        93% Han (Chinese)
        7%  Other
        including Zhuang, Hui, Uygur, Yi, Miao, Manchu, 
        Tibetan, Mongol, Tujia, Bouyei, Korean, 
        Dong, Yao, Bai, Hani, Kazakh, Dai, and Li minorities
Languages
Official Language
        Mandarin Chinese (Putongua)
Other Languages
        Six other major Chinese dialects 
Religions
        69% Non-religious or atheist
        20% orthodox Chinese beliefs
mainly Confucianism and Daoism
        9% Buddhism
        2% Other
        including Islam and Christianity