China,[l] officially the People's Republic of China (PRC),[m] is a
country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a
population of around 1.4 billion in 2019. Covering approximately 9.6
million square kilometers (3.7 million mi2), it is the world's third
or fourth largest country by area.[n] As a one-party state led by the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it exercises jurisdiction over 22
provinces,[o] five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled
municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the
special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.China emerged as
one of the world's first civilizations, in the fertile basin of the
Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's
political system was based on absolute hereditary monarchies, or
dynasties, beginning with the semi-mythical Xia dynasty in 21st
century BCE. Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified
numerous times. In the 3rd century BCE, the Qin reunited core China
and established the first Chinese empire. The succeeding Han dynasty,
which ruled from 206 BCE until 220 CE, saw some of the most advanced
technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass, along
with agricultural and medical improvements. The invention of gunpowder
and movable type in the Tang dynasty (618â€"907) and Northern Song
(960â€"1127) completed the Four Great Inventions. Tang culture spread
widely in Asia, as the new Silk Route brought traders to as far as
Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa. The Qing Empire, China's final
dynasty, suffered heavy losses to foreign colonialism. The Chinese
monarchy collapsed in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, when the
Republic of China (ROC) replaced the Qing dynasty. China was invaded
by Imperial Japan during World War II. The Chinese Civil War resulted
in a division of territory in 1949, when the CCP led by Mao Zedong
established the People's Republic of China on mainland China while the
Kuomintang-led ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan.[p]
country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a
population of around 1.4 billion in 2019. Covering approximately 9.6
million square kilometers (3.7 million mi2), it is the world's third
or fourth largest country by area.[n] As a one-party state led by the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it exercises jurisdiction over 22
provinces,[o] five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled
municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the
special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.China emerged as
one of the world's first civilizations, in the fertile basin of the
Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's
political system was based on absolute hereditary monarchies, or
dynasties, beginning with the semi-mythical Xia dynasty in 21st
century BCE. Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified
numerous times. In the 3rd century BCE, the Qin reunited core China
and established the first Chinese empire. The succeeding Han dynasty,
which ruled from 206 BCE until 220 CE, saw some of the most advanced
technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass, along
with agricultural and medical improvements. The invention of gunpowder
and movable type in the Tang dynasty (618â€"907) and Northern Song
(960â€"1127) completed the Four Great Inventions. Tang culture spread
widely in Asia, as the new Silk Route brought traders to as far as
Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa. The Qing Empire, China's final
dynasty, suffered heavy losses to foreign colonialism. The Chinese
monarchy collapsed in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, when the
Republic of China (ROC) replaced the Qing dynasty. China was invaded
by Imperial Japan during World War II. The Chinese Civil War resulted
in a division of territory in 1949, when the CCP led by Mao Zedong
established the People's Republic of China on mainland China while the
Kuomintang-led ROC government retreated to the island of Taiwan.[p]
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