China (Chinese: 中国; pinyin: Zhōngguó), officially the People’s Republic of China (PRC; Chinese: 中华人民共和国; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó), is a country in East Asia. It is the world’s most populous country, with a population of more than 1.4 billion people. China spans five geographical time zones and borders 14 countries, the second most of any country in the world after Russia. Covering an area of approximately 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), it is the world’s third or fourth largest country. The country consists of 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai.
Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dynasties. Chinese writing, Chinese classic literature, and the Hundred Schools of Thought emerged during this period and influenced China and its neighbors for centuries to come. In the third century BCE, Qin’s wars of unification created the first Chinese empire, the short-lived Qin dynasty. The Qin was followed by the more stable Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), which established a model for nearly two millennia in which the Chinese empire was one of the world’s foremost economic powers. The empire expanded, fractured and re-unified, was conquered and reestablished, absorbed foreign religions and ideas, and made world-leading scientific advances, such as the Four Great Inventions: gunpowder, paper, the compass, and printing. After centuries of disunion following the fall of the Han, the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties achieved what the Roman Empire could not: reunification of the empire. The multi-ethnic Tang welcomed foreign trade and culture that came over the Silk Road and adapted Buddhism to Chinese needs. The early modern Song dynasty (960–1279) became increasingly urban and commercial. The civilian scholar-official or literati used the examination system and the doctrines of Neo-Confucianism to replace the military aristocrats of earlier dynasties. The Mongol invasion established the Yuan dynasty in 1279, but the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) re-established Han Chinese control. The Manchu-led Qing dynasty nearly doubled the empire’s territory and established a multi-ethnic state that was the basis of the modern Chinese nation, but suffered heavy losses to foreign imperialism in the 19th century.
The Chinese monarchy collapsed in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, when the Republic of China (ROC) replaced the Qing dynasty. Japan invaded China in 1937, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War and temporarily halting the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT). The surrender and expulsion of Japanese forces from China in 1945 left a power vacuum in the country, which led to renewed fighting between the CCP and the Kuomintang. The civil war ended in 1949 with the division of Chinese territory; the CCP established the People’s Republic of China on the mainland while the Kuomintang-led ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan. Both claimed to be the sole legitimate government of China, although the United Nations has recognized the PRC as the sole representation since 1971. From 1959 to 1961, the PRC implemented an economic and social campaign called the Great Leap Forward that resulted in an estimated 15 to 55 million deaths, mostly through starvation. China conducted a series of economic reforms since 1978, and entered into the World Trade Organization in 2001.
China is currently governed as a unitary one-party socialist republic by the CCP. China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a founding member of several multilateral and regional cooperation organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund, the New Development Bank, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the RCEP, and is a member of the BRICS, the G8+5, the G20, the APEC, and the East Asia Summit. It ranks among the lowest in international measurements of civil liberties, government transparency, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and ethnic minorities. The Chinese authorities have been criticized by political dissidents and human rights activists for widespread human rights abuses, including political repression, mass censorship, mass surveillance of their citizens and violent suppression of protests.
China is the world’s largest economy by GDP by purchasing power parity, the second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the second-wealthiest country. The country is one of the fastest growing major economies and is the world’s largest manufacturer and exporter. China is a recognized nuclear-weapon state with the world’s largest standing army by military personnel and second-largest defense budget. China is considered to be a potential superpower due to its large markets, growing military strength, economic potential, and influence in international affairs.
中国原指华夏族的发源地中原地区，后又指中原政权的辖境。中原位于河南省为核心的黄河中下游，约360万平方公里的古代汉地九州，是中国政治经济核心地带。历代王朝政权透过与周边各民族政权的交流与征战，疆域版图几经扩张与缩减，目前包括黑龙江流域、塞北、西域、青藏及南海诸岛等地。现今国际上广泛承认代表“中国”的政权是中华人民共和国。
华夏是人类的文明摇篮之一。 新石器时期，中原地区开始出现聚落组织；公元前27世纪左右出现方国，方国制度以共主为首；前20世纪开始，古代中国进入世袭的封建阶段；公元前2世纪，秦灭六国，完成中国第一次大一统。此后两千年来，中国的政治制度以半传统的夏代为基础的世袭君主制运作，此后经多次扩大，破裂，重组，朝代更迭，经过数次统一与分裂交替进行。直到1911年辛亥革命后建立中华民国，废除君主制，实行共和制。1945年第二次国共内战爆发后，中国共产党逐渐控制中国的大部分领土，1949年10月1日，中华人民共和国建立。中国国民党执政的中华民国政府撤退至台湾，形成两岸分治的现状。在联合国系统内，中华民国政府拥有“中国”代表权，直到1971年联合国大会2758号决议通过后，被中华人民共和国取代。
中国经济在相当长的历史时期中在世界上占有重要地位，其周期通常与王朝的兴衰更替对应。中国经济史可分为几个阶段：第一阶段为远古至西晋末年，其中以三国孙吴时转变较大；第二阶段为东晋至北宋末年，其中以唐安史之乱划分为前后；第三阶段为南宋建立至鸦片战争。自明清以来，由于保守的对外政策，实行海禁，以及受重农抑商思想和对于工业的轻视，中国工业化程度发展较慢。而西方国家在19世纪工业革命后的工业成品，无论在数量和质量上，相较于当时中国纯手工业经济出产的商品，占有压倒性优势，而同时期的西方由于工业革命的影响，工业化水平大幅提高，以工业为基础的经济也快速发展，致使中国经济遂落后于西方。1978年改革开放施行后，中国经济发展迅速，对世界经济的影响也日渐显著。目前，中国是仅次于美国的全球第二大经济体。
中国文化历经上千年的历史演变，是各区域、各民族古代文化长期相互交流、借鉴、融合的结果。作为其主体的汉文化对日本、朝鲜和东南亚有深远影响，形成汉字文化圈。中国传统艺术形式有国乐、相声、戏曲、书法、国画、文学、陶瓷艺术、雕刻等，传统娱乐活动有象棋、围棋、麻将、中国武术等。茶、酒、菜和筷子等为中国的特色饮食文化，春节（旧历新年）、元宵、清明、端午、七夕、中秋、重阳、冬至等为中国传统节日。中国传统上是一个儒学国家，以夏历为历法，以五伦为道德准则。春秋时期孔子“有教无类，因材施教”开始办私塾培养人才，汉朝时采用察举推选政府官员，隋朝起实行科举在平民中选拔人才。此外，中国历朝历代都设有史官，因此保存有十分详尽的历史资料，如《二十四史》、《资治通鉴》等。古代中国在科学领域上也有丰厚的成就。