Basic information about China

Covering approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, China is the world's second-largest country by land area, and either the third or fourth-largest by total area, depending on the method of measurement. China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes and the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts in the arid north to subtropical forests in the wetter south. The Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometres (9,000 mi) long, and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East and South China Seas. (Wikipedia)

Capital: Beijing (39°55′N 116°23′E)
Largest city: Shanghai

Official languages: Standard Chinese
Recognised regional languages: Mongolian; Tibetan; Uyghur; Zhuang

Ethnic groups:
91.51% Han
55 minorities

People's Republic proclaimed: 1949 

Area: 9,596,961 km2

Population: 1,357,380,000

Density: 145/km2