The country of China

Total Population 1.328 billion (2008) about 22% of total population in the world.

China boasts a total land area of 9.6 million square kilometers, across four time zones. Beijing, the capital of China, is located in the Eastern 8th Zone, "Beijing Time" is the standard for the whole country.

China has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 Special Administrative Regions - Hong Kong and Macao.

The national language is Mandarin, which is one of the five working languages at the United Nations. As a written language, Chinese has been used for 6,000 years.

The People's Republic of China is a unified, multi-national country, comprising 56 nationalities. The Han people make up 91.02 percent of the total population, leaving 8.98 percent for the other 55 ethnic minorities.

When President Hu Jintao became head of China's ruling Communist Party in late 2002, the question on everyone's lips was "Who is Hu?"

China, one of the four oldest civilizations in the world, has a written history of 4,000 years and boasts rich cultural relics and historical sites. It is the inventor of compass, paper-making, gunpowder and printing. The Great Wall, Grand Canal and Karez irrigation system are three great ancient engineering projects built 2,000 years ago.