Chinese Map


China is located in the east of the Asian continent, covered with a huge land area of about 9.6 million sq km(the third-largest country in the world, next only to Russia and Canada). It has  23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 centrally administered municipalities and 2 special administrative regions.

With a brilliant 5000-year histroy, China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world.It is a united multi-ethnic nation of 56 ethnic groups, where lives 1.3 billion people(about one fifth of the world's total), the majority (91.6 percent) of the population is of the Han ethnic group.

China has abundant natural resources, such as water resources(more than 1,500 rivers), land and mineral resources and various plants and rare animals. China’s rich resources bring tremendous opportunities for the development in varous industries.

China, economically extremely backward before 1949, has become one of the world's major economic powers with the greatest potential, and the overall living standard has reached that of a fairly well-off society. The Chinese government strengthened and improved its macro-control and China's economy maintained its steady and rapid growth into the 21st century. The gross domestic product (GDP) for 2005 amounted to 18,232.1 billion yuan, 9.9 percent higher than the previous year. At the 2005 average exchange rate, GDP equated to US$2,225.7 billion, and US$1,700 per capita.

China adopts the "five-year-plan" strategy for economic development, and has implemented altogether nine five-year plans between 1953 and 2000, laying a solid foundation for China's economic development. The 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-2005) was outstandingly successful, most of its economic targets being achieved ahead of schedule. During these five years, China's average GDP growth reached 9.5 percent and its economy entered the ranks of the world's strongest.