China

China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17% of the world population. China borders fourteen countries by land across an area of 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the third-largest country by area. The country is divided into 33 province-level divisions: 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital, while Shanghai is the most populous city by urban area and largest financial center. China saw the first humans in the region arriving during the Paleolithic era. By the 2nd millennium BCE dynastic states had emerged in the Yellow River basin. The 8th–3rd centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the Zhou dynasty, accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques, literature and philosophy. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor, ushering in two millennia of imperial dynasties. With the invention of gunpowder and paper, the establishment of the Silk Road, and the Great Wall, Chinese culture flourished and has heavily influenced its neighbors and lands further afield. China began to cede parts of the country in the 19th century, to European powers by a series of unequal treaties. The 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China was established the following year. The country was unstable and fragmented during the Warlord Era, which ended upon the Northern Expedition conducted by the Kuomintang to reunify the country. The Chinese Civil War began in 1927, when Kuomintang forces purged members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China was invaded by the Empire of Japan in 1937, leading the CCP and Kuomintang to form the Second United Front to fight the Japanese. The Second Sino-Japanese War ended in a Chinese victory; however, the CCP and the Kuomintang resumed their civil war. In 1949, the CCP proclaimed the People's Republic of China and forced the Kuomintang-led government to retreat to the island of Taiwan. The country was split, with both sides claiming to be the legitimate government. Following the implementation of land reforms, attempts by the CCP to realize communism failed: the Great Leap Forward was responsible for the Great Chinese Famine which resulted in millions of deaths, and the Cultural Revolution was a period of turmoil and persecution. The reform and opening up that began in 1978 moved the country away from a planned economy towards a market-based economy, spurring an economic boom. A movement for political liberalization stalled after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Since 1949, China has been a unitary communist state with the CCP as its sole ruling party. It is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and a member of numerous multilateral and regional organizations. Making up around one-fifth of the world economy, the Chinese economy is the world's largest by PPP-adjusted GDP. China is the second-wealthiest country, albeit ranking poorly in measures of democracy and human rights. The country has been one of the fastest-growing economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer. China is a nuclear-weapon state with the world's largest standing army and the second-largest defense budget. It is described as either a potential or established superpower due to its influence in the fields of geopolitics, technology, manufacturing, economics and culture. China is known for its cuisine and culture. It is a megadiverse country, and has 60 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.