China is situated in eastern Asia, bordered by the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next to Russia and Canada, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, or one-fifteenth of the world's landmass.

The Chinese border stretches over 22,000 kilometers on land and its coastline extends well over 18,000 kilometers, surrounded by the waters of the Bohai Sea, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China Sea. The Bohai Sea is the only inland sea of China.

There are 6,536 islands larger than 500 square meters. The largest island being Taiwan, a total area of about 36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea Islands are the southernmost island group of China.

CAPITAL: Beijing, 16,800 square kilometers with a population of about 17.55 million (2009).

CLIMATE: China lies mainly in the northern temperate zone under the influence of monsoons. From September and October to March and April, monsoons blow from Siberia and the Mongolian Plateau into China, This force decreases as it goes southward, causing dry and cold winters in the country and a temperature difference of 40 degrees centigrade between the north and the south. The temperature in China during the winter is 5 to 18 degrees centigrade lower than that in other countries on the same latitude in winter. Monsoons blow into China from the ocean in the summer, bringing with them warm and wet currents, thus rain. Great differences in climate are found from region to region, owing to China's extensive territory and complex topography. The northern part of Heilongjiang Province in the northeast has no summer, while Hainan Island in the south has a long summer but no winter. The Huaihe River valley features four distinct seasons, and the western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is covered by snow all year round. The southern part of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is spring-like for all seasons and the northwestern inland regions can see great variations of temperature during the day. Annual precipitation also varies greatly from region to region: as high as 1,500 millimeters along the southeastern coast, and as low as 50 millimeters in the northwest.

POPULATION: 1.37 billion (2010), about 22% of the world's total population.

The Chinese population is unevenly distributed, with the eastern part heavily populated (more than 400 people per square kilometer) and the west scarcely populated (about 10 persons per square kilometer). The national average density is 138 persons square kilometer.

The average size of the Chinese household is 3.7 persons. The proportion of population aged 0-14 is 19.4 percent, 69% between the ages 15-59, and 11.6% for the age group over 60. The average life span of the Chinese citizen is 72.27 years, with the male at 68.71, and female at 73.04.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: China has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macao).