General Information
Government
Diplomatic Information
Economy
Geography/Demographics
Maps of China_______________________________________________________________________________
People's Republic of China
Conventional short form: China
Local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Local short form: Zhongguo
Abbreviation: PRCGovernment Type: Communist state
Capital: Beijing
Geographic Coordinates: 39 55 N, 116 23 E
Time Difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Note: despite its size, all of China falls within one time zoneAdministrative Divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
Provinces:
Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang
Autonomous Regions:
Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang Uygur, Xizang (Tibet)
Municipalities:
Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin
Independence:
221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)National Holiday:
Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Executive Branch:
Chief of State: President Hu Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
Vice President: Zeng Qinghong (since 15 March 2003)
Head of Government: Premier Wen Jiabao (since 16 March 2003)
Cabinet: State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)
Elections: president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term)Legislative Branch:
Unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,987 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses, and People's Liberation Army to serve five-year terms)
Chinese Diplomatic Representation in the United States:
Chief of Mission: Ambassador Zhang Yesui
Chancery: 3505 International Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: [1] (202) 495-2266
Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
Consulate(s) General: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United StatesU.S. Diplomatic Representation in China:
Chief of Mission: Ambassador Jon Huntsman
Embassy: No. 55 An Jia Lou Lu 100600
Telephone: (86-10) 8531-3000
Consulate(s) General: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang
Embassy of the United States of America in China
Currency: Renminbi (RMB); note - also referred to by the unit yuan (CNY)
Exchange Rates: yuan per US dollar - 6.8249 (2009), 6.9385 (2008), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005)
Inflation Rate: -0.8% (2009 est.)GDP (purchasing power parity): $8.789 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): $4.814 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP per capita: $6,600 (2009 est.)
GDP (real growth rate): 8.7% (2009 est.)Labor Force: 812.7 million (2009 est.)
Unemployment rate: 4.3% (September 2009 est.)
China is the world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and the U.S.)
Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peakLocation: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Geographic Coordinates:35 00 N, 105 00 E
Total Area: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq kmLand Boundaries: 22,117 km
Border Countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Regional Borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 kmElevation Extremes:
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 mNatural Resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
Population: 1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 72.88 years
male: 71.13 years
female: 74.82 years (2007 est.)Nationality: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages
