Population: more than 1.43 billion people live in China (2020). The majority of the people live in cities and towns.
Capital: Beijing with 21.7 million inhabitants is not only China's capital city but also the second biggest city after Shanghai.
Name: People's Republic of China (PRC)
Government: Republic, communist state
Languages: Mandarin or Standard Chinese (official language), while Cantonese (Yue) and Shanghainese (Wu) are among other most spoken languages
Literacy: More than 96% can read and write.
Religion: No main religion, as religious memberships are not supported by the government. Main religions are Buddhist (18%), Christian 5%, Muslim 1.8%, Taoist, Hindu and Folk Religions (22%)
Currency: 1 Renmimbi (Yuan) equals 100 Jiao
Flag colors: red with five golden stars
National day: 1 October - in 1949 the People's Republic of China was formed
National symbols: dragon and giant panda
National colours: red and yellow
National anthem: 'March of the Volunt
National day: 1 October - in 1949 the People's Republic of China was formed
National symbols: dragon and giant panda
National colours: red and yellow
National anthem: 'March of the Volunteers'
Terracotta Warriors: See the over 5000 sculptures of life-size soldiers, made from terracotta, in Xian. The sculptures which are on one of the world's most famous archeological sites, are older than 2,000 years.
Forbidden City in Beijing: The Forbidden City houses the Palace museum with the Chinese Imperial Palace and the Summer Palace, that were still used until 1911.
Potala Palace in Lhasa/Tibet: This is where every Dalai Lama has held his official residence until the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950
Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve near Chengdu: See the pandas in their natural habitat and visit the breeding and research centre to learn more about the endangered pandas.
History: For many centuries, China has been one of the most advanced civilizations accomplishing major scientific and artistic treasures. The Xia and Shang dynasties are considered as the oldest Chinese civilizations. Over the centuries many emperors ruled the country, the last emperor of China, the last ruler of the Qing dynasty, was Pu Yi who abducted in 1912. In the 20th century the world was shaken by bloody wars and from 1937-1945 Japan occupied large industrial areas in China and took over the Chinese government. Since 1949 the Communist Party of China rules the country. The current president of the People's Republic of China is Xi Jinping.