Country Information

	General		WTO commitments
	Government		Investing and doing business in China
	Economic indicators		Accessing and entering China
	Reforms and national development		Province; autonomous region; city snapshots

General
 

Country name

People's Republic of China (PRC)

Capital city

Beijing (pop. 12.6 million)

Population

1.3 billion (2004); 0.57% growth rate (2004 estimate)
Distribution by:  rural/urban   age    sex

Land area

9,596,960 sq km (3rd largest country in the world)
Population density is 135.5 km²

People

Han Chinese (93%) and 55 ethnic groups

Official language

Mandarin (Pŭtōnghuà)

Mandarin is spoken by possibly more people (over 1 billion) than any other language. It is the main language of government, the media and education in China.

Religions

Officially atheist; Confucianism; Buddhism; Taoism; Islam; Christianity.

National insignia

Flag   Coat of arms 

"The March of the Volunteers", written in 1935, with lyrics by the poet Tian Han and music by the composer Nie Er, honoring those who went to the front to fight the Japanese invaders in northeast China in the 1930s. Decided upon as the provisional national anthem of the new China on September 27, 1949, at the First Plenary Session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the song was officially adopted as the national anthem of the PRC on December 4, 1982, by the National People’s Congress.
¯Listen to the anthem here

Currency

Renminbi (RMB), also known as the Yuan (until 21 July 05 was pegged to US dollar; now valued against a basket of currencies known to include the US dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, South Korean Won, UK Pound, Thai Baht and Russian Rouble).
Notes: yuan in 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 denominations; jiao in 5, 2 and 1 denominations.
Coins: 1 yuan, 5 jiao and 1 jiao denominations.

Weights and measures

Metric

220 volts; 50 Hz. Note that the type of electrical outlet may vary by province. Thus, the type of plugs required will depend on the location in China. Type A   Type I   Type G

National Day (Oct. 1); the Spring Festival (the Chinese lunar New Year's Day; see lunar calendar below), International Labour Day (May 1). A week's vacation is associated with each of the three major holidays (known as "golden weeks"). Major holidays are occasions for family reunions and travelling.

New Year's Day (Jan. 1); Youth Day (May 4); CPC Founding Day (July 1); Army Day (August 1); Lantern Festival (15th day of 1st lunar month); Tomb Sweeping Day (5th Solar Term - early April); Dragon Boat Festival (5th day of 5th lunar month); Double Seven Festival (7th day of 7th lunar month); Spirit Festival (15th day of 7th lunar month); Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of 8th lunar month); Double Ninth Festival (9th day of 9th lunar month).

Lunar calendar

2005 to 2016

None

History

Communications

263 million (2003)

269 million (2003)

86;

AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)

3,240 (1997):  China Central Television (209); provincial TV stations (31); local city stations (about 3,000)

.cn

160,421 (2003)

94 million (2004)

Transportation

Standard gauge: 68,000 km 1.435 metre gauge
Narrow gauge: 3,600 km 1.000 metre and 0.750 metre gauge local industrial lines
Total: 70,058 km

Paved: 314,204 km (with at least 16,314 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 1,088,494 km
Total: 1,402,698 km

Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu, Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shantou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang.