People s Republic of China A.

Etymology -The Chinese call their country Zhongguo, which means Central Country or Middle Kingdom . The name China was given to it by foreigners and is probably based on a corruption of Qin (pronounced chin ), a Chinese dynasty that ruled during the 3rd century B.C. B. Geography *Capital - Beijing *Borders/ Boundaries E- East China Sea and North Korea N- Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan W- Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan S- India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam and South China Sea *Geographic Coordinates - 35 00 N, 105 00 E *Area - 9, 596, 961 sq km *Climate -extremely diverse; tropical in south and subartic in north *Natural Regions 1. Northeast China -forested mountains surrounding a broad fertile plain 2. North China -area between Mongolian Steppe on the north and the Yangtze River Basin on the south -area of reserved coal and petroleum deposit 3. Subtropical Central China - largest and most populous region -constitute of the total population of China and includes 3 Traditional Division (Central China, South China and South West China) 4. Tropical South China -smallest natural region -thin stretched of land that continues along the China s border with South East Asia -tropical vegetation and warmth, humid climate -mountains and hills characterize the entire region 5. Inner Mongolian Grassland -along the Sino- Mongolian border -much of the region is a desert terrain, where the land is covered with the rock and sand and supports almost no vegetation; called by the Chinese as gobi or stony desert -notable for large coal reserves 6. Northwest China -tall mountains, glaciers, deserts, broad basins and streams with no outlet to the sea

7. Tibetan Plateau -world s highest plateau with an average elevation of 4, 500 meters (about 14, 800 ft) -dotted with salt lakes and marshes -On China s border with Nepal is Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world 8, 850 meters (29, 035 ft) *Waters -Yangtze, Huang Ho and Xi Jiang are the major head waters of China; flows from east to west -drains 50% to Pacific Ocean, 10% to Indian and Arctic Ocean and 40% to deserts *Mineral Resources -iron, aluminum, tin, antimony, magnesium, tungsten, molybdenum, mercury, manganese, lead, zinc, copper, uranium, fluorite, mica, phosphate, rock, quartz, salt, silica, talc, carbon, oil, natural gas C. People *Population - 1, 336, 718, 015 (est. July 2011) #1 *Nationality - Chinese *Religion - officially atheist D. Government *Government Type - Communist State *Local Divisions - 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 administrative regions (Hongkong and Macau) E. Currency - Yuan Renmimbi