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$Unique_ID{COW00874}
$Pretitle{260}
$Title{China
Chapter 5. Territory, Population and History}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{New Star Publishing}
$Affiliation{Foreign Language Press, Beijing}
$Subject{million
china
population
kilometres
percent
china's
sea
}
$Date{1989}
$Log{Shanhai Pass*0087401.scf
Table 4.*0087401.tab
}
Country: China
Book: What's New in China
Author: New Star Publishing
Affiliation: Foreign Language Press, Beijing
Date: 1989
Chapter 5. Territory, Population and History
[See Shanhai Pass: Eastern part of the Great Wall. Courtesy Embassy of China,
Washington DC]
China is a country with an ancient civilization. She is well-known
throughout the world as a vast territory with rich resources, beautiful
mountains and rivers and a large population.
I. Territory
Area: 9.6 million square kilometres. Of the total, the mountains region
makes up 33 percent; the plateau 26 percent; the basin 19 percent; the plain
12 percent; and the hilly area 10 percent.
Boundary: China has a land boundary of more than 20,000 kilometres long,
and is bordered by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the USSR, the
People's Republic of Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim,
Bhutan, Burma, Laos and Viet Nam. The coastline of the mainland measures more
than 18,000 kilometres, and is flanked by the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the
East China Sea and the South China Sea.
Capital: Beijing (with a population of 10 million).
Administrative Divisions: 23 provinces, five autonomous regions and
three municipalities directly under the central government. There are more
than 2,000 administrative units at the county level throughout the country.
China's longest river: the Changjiang (Yangtze) River, which is 63.8
million kilometres long.
China's largest lake: the Qinghai Lake, which has an area of 4,427 square
kilometres.
China's largest island: Taiwan Island covering an area of 35,989 square
kilometres.
China's highest mountain range: the Himalayas, which lies on the
Sino-Nepalese border. It is 8,848 metres above sea level.
II. Population
Population: 1.1 billion (April 1989).
Population density: 109 people per square kilometre (1985).
Birth rate: 20.78 per thousand (1988).
Natural growth rate: 14.2 per thousand (1988).
Distribution: 30 percent in cities and towns, and 70 percent in rural
areas.
Nationalities: 56 in all. The Han nationality has the largest population
of about 1 billion. The ethnic minority groups include Mongolian (more than
3.5 million), Hui (about 7.5 million), Tibetan (about 4 million), Uygur (about
6 million), Miao (more than 5 million), Yi (about 5.5 million), Zhuang (more
than 13 million), Bouyei (more than 2 million), Korean (near 2 million),
Manchu (more than 4 million), and Tujia (more than 2.8 million). Those with a
population of between 1,000-5,000 people include Russian, Tatar, Drung,
Oroqen, Gaoshan, Hezhen, the Moinba (Monba) and Lboba.
III. History
China has a written history of about 4,000 years. China's ancient and
important inventions include the compass, paper-making, powder and printing,
all of which have had a profound influence on the development of the world's
civilizations. China is also known for its Great Wall and the Beijing-Hangzhou
Grand Canal which is 1,794 kilometres long, still the longest in the world
today. China also has many cultural relics and sites of historical interest.
Many of them have been excavated and put under state protection. They are the
valuable treasure house of culture. At present, 242 ancient cultural sites
enjoy state protection.
[See Table 4.: A Brief Chinese Chronology]