Red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner.
23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural): Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, and Zhejiang. China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
Population:
1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)
Languages:
Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Geographic coordinates:
35° 00' N, 105° 00' E
Area total:
9,596,960 sq. km
Land area:
9,326,410 sq. km
Water area:
270,550 sq. km
Total land boundaries:
22,147.34 km
Borders with neighbor countries:
Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 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
Coastline:
14,500 km
Elevation extremes:
Turpan Pendi -154 m - Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)
Internet country code:
.cn
Currency:
yuan (CNY)
Name - abbreviation:
PRC
Name - conventional long form:
People's Republic of China
Name - conventional short form:
China
Name - local long form:
Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Name - local short form:
Zhong Guo
Constitution:
most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Government type:
Communist state
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)