China, located in East Asia, is the third largest country in the world in terms of area (after the \TUSSR\t and Canada) and the world's most populous nation, with a population of more than 1 billion, or nearly one-fourth of the world's total. Its coastline, bordering on the Yellow, East China, and South China seas, is about 12,000 km (7,500 mi) long. China shares a land border of about 21,260 km (13,210 mi) with 11 other countries: North Korea, the \TUSSR\t, Mongolia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma, Laos, and Vietnam. Other neighbors include the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong and the Portuguese territory of Macao, scheduled to return to Chinese control in 1997 and 1999. The offshore island of Taiwan is a separate political entity from China, which has continued to demand the return of the island to its political jurisdiction since 1949. China disputes the ownership of the \TSpratley Island\t and the Paracel Islands with Vietnam. The official name of China is Chung-hua-Jen-min Kung-ho-kuo, (Zhongua Renmin Gongheguo), or the People's Republic of China. The republic was established in 1949, but the name China, which is commonly used by foreigners, is probably derived from the Ch'in (Qin) dynasty (221-206 BC), which first unified the nation. The Chinese themselves use the name Chung hua (Zhongua; Middle Country), which originated with the early Chinese concept that China was in the middle of the world. China is divided into 23 provinces (including Taiwan) and 5 autonomous border regions, where other ethnic groups constitute a majority of the population. For ease of reference the provinces and autonomous regions are usually grouped into 6 large administrative regions. These units are as follows: (1) the Northeastern Region, which includes the provinces of Heilungkiang (Heilongjiang), Kirin (Jilin), and Liaoning (see \TManchuria\t); (2) the Northern Region, which includes the provinces of Hopei (Hebei) and \TShansi\t (Shanxi), the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Nei Menggu Zizhigu; see \TInner Mongolia\t), and the centrally controlled municipalities of \TPeking\t (Beijing) and \TTientsin\t (Tianjin); (3) the Eastern Region, which includes the provinces of \TShantung\t (Shandong), \TKiangsi\t (Jiangxi), \TKiangsu\t (Jiangsu), \TAnhwei\t (Anhui), \TChekiang\t (Zhejiang), and \TFukien\t (Fujian), and the centrally controlled municipality of \TShanghai\t; (4) the South Central Region, which includes the provinces of \THainan\t, \THonan\t (Henan), \THunan\t, \THupei\t, (Hubei), and \TKwangtung\t (Guangdong), and the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region (Guangxi Zhuang Zizhiqu); (5) the Southwestern Region, which includes the provinces of \TSzechwan\t (Sichuan), Kweichow (Guizhou), and \TYunnan\t (Yunnan), and the Tibet Autonomous Region (Xizang Zizhiqu; see \TTibet\t); (6) the Northwestern Region, which includes the provinces of \TShensi\t (Shaanxi), \TKansu\t (Gansu), and \TTsinghai\t (Qinghai) and the Ningsia Hui Autonomous Region (Ningxia Hui Zizhiqu) and the Sinkiang Uighur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu; see \TSinkiang\t). China's written history begins during the 16th century BC with the \TShang\t dynasty (c.1600-c.1027 BC). Since then, China has been ruled, until modern times, by a series of dynasties (see \TChinese archaeology\t; \TChina, history of\t). After the fall of the \TCh'ing\t (Qing or Manchu) dynasty in 1912, a republic was established. In 1921 the Chinese Communist party was founded, and in 1926 the long civil war between the ruling nationalists, or \TKuomintang\t (Guomindang), led by \TChiang Kai-shek\t, and the Communists, led by \TMao Tse-tung\t (Mao Zedong), began. The Communists successfully took over all of China by 1949, establishing the People's Republic of China. The Kuomintang retreated to the island of \TTaiwan\t, establishing the independent Republic of China. The United Nations, however, recognized Taiwan as the legitimate government of China, until 1971, when the People's Republic was recognized and assumed the U.N. seat formerly held by Taiwan. In 1979 the United States recognized the legitimacy of the People's Republic and diplomatic relations between the two nations were established. The sovereignty of Taiwan is still disputed. LAND AND RESOURCES The topography of China is often described roughly as forming three levels of elevation, which rise, like steps, from the lowlands along the east coast to the high mountains in the west. Each step, or level, of elevation occupies approximately one-third of the country. The highest level, with altitudes above 2,000 m (6,600 ft), occupies all of Tibet and adjacent areas of southwestern and south central China. The intermediate level, at altitudes from 1,000 to 2,000 m (3,300 to 6,600 ft), occupies the northern border regions of Inner Mongolia and Sinkiang (Xinjiang) and extends southwestward across the center of the country to the province of Yunnan (Yunnan). The third and lowest level, at elevations below 1,000 m (3,300 ft), occupies the eastern and most populated section of the country. The three elevation steps cross China in roughly north-south trending bands and are themselves crossed by prominent east-west trending mountain ranges that subdivide the three elevation regions into nine subregions. Tibetan Highland The highest elevation step is the Tibetan highland. At the core of the region is the Tibetan Plateau, with an average elevation of more than 4,000 m (13,000 ft). The plateau is rimmed by mountain ranges with peaks that rise to more than 6,100 m (20,000 ft). Forming the northern edge of the plateau are the \TKunlun Mountains\t and the Nan Shan range, which enclose the \TKoko Nor\t (Qinghai), a lake. On the southern edge of the plateau are the \THimalayas\t, which rise to the world's highest elevation (8,848 m/29,028 ft) in Mount \TEverest\t, on the Tibet-Nepal border. The Tibetan Plateau is bordered on the west by the \TKarakoram\t and \TPamir\t mountain ranges. The eastern edge of the plateau is cut off from the rest of China by canyons and intervening rugged mountain ranges from which flow China's principal river, the \TYangtze\t (Chang Jiang), and some of the major rivers of Southeast Asia, including the Ya-lu-tsang-pu (Yaluzangbu or Upper Brahmaputra), Salween, and Mekong rivers. Uplands The second elevation step lies between 1,000 and 2,000 m (3,300 and 6,600 ft) and consists of five subregions, which are, from north to south: the Sinkiang (Xinjiang)-Mongolian upland, the Mongolian border upland, the Tsinling (Ch'in Ling or Qin Ling) Mountains, the Szechwan (Sichuan) Basin, and the Yunnan-Kweichow (Yunnan-Guizhou) Plateau upland. The Sinkiang-Mongolian upland covers most of Inner Mongolia, Kansu (Gansu), and Sinkiang (Xinjiang). A semidesert region, it includes, in the west, the Dzungarian and Tarim basins of Sinkiang, the latter containing the \TTakla Makan Desert\t (Taklimakan). These basins are separated from each other by the \TTien Shan\t (Tian Shan) range. The eastern portion of the upland lies mainly within the \TGobi\t and \TOrdos\t deserts. The second subregion of the middle elevation step is the Mongolian border upland; it lies between the Gobi and Ordos deserts of Inner Mongolia and the North China plain to the southeast. The main features of this subregion are the Greater Khingan range (Tahsinganling Shanmo or Da Hinggan Ling) and the Loess Plateau, which occupies most of Shensi (Shaanxi), Shansi (Shanxi), Honan (Henan), and Kansu (Gansu) provinces. The loess for which the plateau is named is a fertile windblown deposit that covers the plateau to depths of more than 30 m (100 ft). The third subregion of the middle elevation step is the Tsinling Mountains (Qinling), a range that extends east-west from the Kunlun Mountains. The Tsinling are important as a divide between the \THwang Ho\t (Huang He or Yellow River) and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) basins. The fourth subregion, located south of the Tsinling (Qinling) Mountains, is known both as the Red Basin, on account of its underlying red sandstones, and the Szechwan (Sichuan) Basin, because of its location in Szechwan (Sichuan) province. The basin is traversed by the Yangtze River (Chiang Jiang). The fifth and most southerly of the five middle elevation subregions is the Yunnan-Kweichow (Yunnan-Guizhou) Plateau upland, located in Yunnan and Kweichow provinces. Underlain mainly by limestone, the plateau is known for a spectacularly eroded karst scenery, often depicted in traditional Chinese painting. Lowlands The lowest elevation step, occupying lands less than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level, lies in eastern China. It consists of three subregions: the eastern lowland, the eastern Manchurian upland, and the southeastern upland. By far the most important subregion is the eastern lowland, which covers only about 10% of China's total area but is where most of China's huge population is concentrated. The principal lowlands of this region are the lowlands of the Manchurian plain, which are drained by the Liao River (Liao He) and upper reaches of the Sungari River (Songhua jiang); the alluvial North China plain, drained by the Hwang Ho (Huang He); and the vast plains of the Yangtze (Chang) lowland, drained by the Yangtze and Huai rivers (Huai He), in central China. The Yangtze and Hwang Ho are both exceptionally flood prone. The second low-lying subregion is the eastern Manchurian upland, located in northeastern China, east of the Manchurian plain. Although referred to as an upland, the region consists of low hills with elevations of less than 900 m (3,000 ft). The third low-elevation subregion is the southeastern upland, which occupies all of eastern China south of the Yangtze (Chang) lowland and consists mostly of low mountains. The Canton (Guangzhou) plain is the largest lowland in the southeastern upland. Soils China's most productive soils for agriculture are alluvial soils, chernozems, and brown and chestnut-brown soils. The alluvial soils are found mainly in the lowlands of the North China plain, the Yangtze (Chang) River valley and delta, the Canton (Guangzhou) plain, and most other flood-prone valleys. They are well-suited to rice and wheat cultivation. The small chernozem belt is located mainly in the northern area of the Manchurian plain and along the southern border of Inner Mongolia. Chernozems are fertile, black soils that are rich in humus and plant nutrients and excellent for grain cultivation. Somewhat less productive agriculturally are brown and chestnut-brown soils, which are found on the drier margins of the chernozem zone. Although they are moderately fertile, especially when irrigated, these soils are used mainly for pasture owing to the limited rainfall areas where they occur. Where developed on loess (as in Shensi/Shanxi, Shansi/Shanxi, and Honan/Henan provinces), the brown soils are fertile, but they are also subject to heavy erosion. Less productive agriculturally are podzols and gray-brown forest soils and gray desert, saline, and lateritic soils. The podzols and gray-brown forest soils develop in temperate climates under forests; they are associated with coniferous forests in northeastern Manchuria, the Tsinling (Qinling) Mountains, and other central uplands. The gray desert soils, low in humus, are formed in semiarid regions and occur widely in Inner Mongolia and Sinkiang (Xinjiang). They are used mainly as pasturage. Saline soils are found both in the inland desert basins and along the seacoasts. After removal of the salt, the maritime saline soils are fertile for cotton or rice cultivation. The lateritic red and yellow soils in the subtropical areas of southern China are used for growing rice, tea, and mulberry trees. Climate Eastern China has a temperate mid-latitude climate with heavy monsoon rains in summer, the humid conditions along the coast giving way inland to semiarid steppes and to mid-latitude desert conditions in the north and northwest. Southeastern China has a subtropical climate with heavy summer rains. Central and southwestern China have a continental climate with cold, dry winters. A belt of arid mid-latitude climate prevails in the desert lands, and subarctic conditions characterize the uplands of Tibet and northern Manchuria. The distribution of the major types of climate and of the precipitation and temperature conditions associated with them primarily results from the marked seasonal, or monsoonal, reversal of winds that occurs between winter and summer. In winter the air over the interior cools, sinks, and forms a high-pressure system centered on Mongolia from which cold dry air flows outward to the south and east. In summer the reverse process occurs. Overheating creates an intense low-pressure system in the interior of Asia that causes the Pacific polar front to move northward and bring heavy summer rains to the Yangtze (Chang) Basin. These are known as the Mai-yu (Maiyu) (Plum Rains) because they occur when the plums are ripening. The advent of the Mai-yu in June and July marks the beginning of the monsoon in central China, after which the rainfall belts shift to northern China. The average annual precipitation decreases markedly from 2,000 mm (80 in) along the southeastern coast to 750 mm (30 in) in central China south of the Tsinling (Qinling) Mountains. Northern China generally receives less than 500 mm (20 in), and as little as 100 mm (4 in) are recorded in parts of the Takla Makan (Taklimakan) and Gobi deserts. Temperatures also vary considerably from north to south and between summer and winter. In winter the isotherms, or lines connecting points of equal temperature, are remarkably regular in their east-west alignment. Average January temperatures are below freezing throughout the north and west, but they rise steadily southward to an average of 9 deg C (40 deg F) at Wu-han (Wuhan) to 16 deg C (60 deg F) at Canton (Guangzhou). China's summer temperatures are more uniform, with isotherms running in a north-south direction. Average July temperatures are above 20 deg C (70 deg F) in most of China and decrease toward the western highlands. The annual temperature range between summer and winter increases from 9 deg C (15 deg F) in \THainan\t, an island province in the extreme south, to more than 27 deg C (80 deg F) in northern Manchuria. Drainage China's rivers carry about 2,800 cu km (670 cu mi) of water to the sea every year, amounting to 40% of Asia's total annual runoff. By far the largest system is the Pacific Ocean drainage basin, which covers about 5,400,000 sq km (2,100,000 sq mi). Five major river systems lie within this basin, the \TAmur\t (Heilong Jiang), Hwang Ho (Huang He), Huai Ho (Huai He), Yangtze (Chang), and Chu (Zhu). The Amur has a total length of 4,700 km (2,900 mi) and is joined by the Sungari (Songhua) and the Ussuri (Wusuli) rivers. The Hwang Ho is 4,800 km (2,980 mi) long and has a basin area of 772,000 sq km (298,000 sq mi). It rises from the Tibetan highlands and eventually enters the North China plain, where its bed is enclosed on both sides by dikes. The Huai is 1,100 km (680 mi) long and drains a basin area of 210,000 sq km (81,000 sq mi). The Yangtze, China's principal river, is 5,990 km (3,720 mi) long and drains a basin of 1,800,000 sq km (700,000 sq mi). The Chu, the most southerly of the five rivers in the Pacific drainage basin, is a composite river consisting of Hsi (Xi), Pei (Bei), and Tung (Dong) rivers, which converge close to the outlet into the sea. The Chu Chiang drainage basin covers 448,000 sq km (173,000 sq mi). China's three other drainage basins are the Arctic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and inland drainage basins. Of least importance is the Arctic Ocean drainage basin, which covers only 40,000 sq km (15,000 sq mi) in the northwest. The Indian Ocean drainage basin contains two major rivers, the Ya-lu-tsang-pu (Yarlung Zangbo or Upper Brahmaputra) and the Nu (Upper Salween), and has an area of 780,000 sq km (300,000 sq mi). The inland drainage basin, which includes most of the rivers in northern Tibet, Sinkiang (Xinjiang), and Inner Mongolia, covers 36% of China's total area. Most rivers are intermittent streams, ending in playas, or salty swamps. The large interior lakes are Koko Nor, Lop Nor, and Na-mu. Vegetation China falls within two major vegetation zones that are separated by a line running diagonally across the country from the Greater Khingan Range (Da Hinggan Ling) in the northeast to the Himalayas in the southwest. South and east of this line is the forested vegetation zone, and north and west of the line is the northwestern steppe-desert vegetation zone. The forested vegetation zone contains more than 20,000 species of flora. Much of the deciduous forests of central China have been depleted, as have much of Manchuria's steppe grasses, in order to plant crops. Recently, reforestation projects have been started as part of flood-control programs. Coniferous forests are found in the mountainous regions and in northern Manchuria. In the less diverse northwest with about 5,000 plant species, arid grasslands gradually give way to desert vegetation. Animal Life China is rich in vertebrate fauna, with about 3,440 species. The country can be divided into two zoogeographical regions: the palearctic region in the north and the oriental region in the south. The palearctic region covers the Tibetan Plateau, Sinkiang (Xinjiang), Inner Mongolia, and northeast and north China, where horses, camels, tapirs, river foxes, and forest jerboa are the major native mammals. The oriental region includes southwest, south and central China, where the common mammals are Chinese pangolins, monkeys, apes, gibbons, and tree shrews. Since the late 1960s the Chinese government has instituted programs to conserve and protect wildlife, of which the giant panda is the most publicized species. Resources China is well endowed with mineral resources and has the world's largest reserves of antimony and tungsten. Antimony resources come mainly from southwestern Hunan province, and China currently produces almost 20% of the world's output. Tungsten reserves are found mainly in Kiangsi (Jiangxi), Hunan, and Kwangtung (Guangdong) provinces, and China produces about 15% of the world's output. China also has considerable reserves of bauxite (from which aluminum is made), iron ore, tin, lead, manganese, mercury, and molybdenum. Major deficiencies are copper (for which aluminum can be substituted), nickel, and phosphates. China has the world's largest coal reserves, most of which are located in northeast, north, northwest, and central China. Its potential hydroelectric power is in the range of 500,000,000 to 1,000,000,000 kW but the installed capacity today is only 26,000,000 kW. Southwest, central, and south China have nearly 84% of the country's water power resources. China has proved oil reserves of more than 22 million barrels; by 1987 it had become the world's fourth largest oil producer. Oilfields are spread east-west in a curve from the Manchurian plain through the North China plain, Szechwan (Sichuan), Tsinghai (Qinghai), and Kansu (Gansu) to Sinkiang (Xinjiang). Another belt runs north-south along the offshore seas from Po Hai (Bo Hai) in the Yellow Sea southward along the continental shelf to the South China Sea. PEOPLE China is a multiracial state whose population includes about 94% Han Chinese and about 6% of some 60 other ethnic groups, the largest being \LHui\ls, \TMongols\t, \LUighur\ls (Uygur), Chuangs (Zhuang), Yis, Tibetans (Zang), Miaos, Manchus, Pu-is (Pu yi), and Koreans. National autonomous regions, districts, or counties have been established in areas where these ethnic groups are concentrated. Languages China's languages are classified into four major linguistic families: the \TSino-Tibetan\t, \TUral-Altaic\t, \TIndo-European\t, and \TMon-Khmer\t. Mandarin dialects, the largest group of the Sino-Tibetan family, are spoken by about two-thirds of China's population. The Mandarin Peking dialect is now China's national spoken language. The Ural-Altaic linguistic family includes the Turkic linguistic groups (\TKazakh\t/Kazak, \TKirghiz\t/Kirgiz, \TUzbek\t, SALAR, and Uighur/Uygur), Mongolic groups (Meng, Tu, Tungsiang/Dongziang, Paoan/Bonan, and Daghurs/Daurs), and Tungusic groups (Manchu, Evenki/Ewenki, Orochon/Orogen, and Sibo/Xibe). The Mon-Khmer linguistic family of Southeast Asia is represented in Yunnan province by the Wa (Va), the Puland (Blang), and the Penglung (Benglong). The Indo-European linguistic family is represented only by \TTadzhik\t (Tajik) speakers. Religion Traditionally, the major religions found in China were \TBuddhism\t and \TTaoism\t. Most Chinese also believed in \Tancestor worship\t and \TConfucianism\t, a system of social and political values. Muslim and Christian (primarily Roman Catholic) minorities were also important. After 1949, under the Communist government, the practice of religion was discouraged, although freedom to believe in religion was guaranteed under the constitution of 1954. During the \TCultural Revolution\t of the mid-1960s, religious institutions were destroyed, but since 1978 the government has become more tolerant of religious observance. Demography China contains about one-fourth of the world's people; the latest official census, completed in 1982, placed the country's population at more than 1 billion, about half of whom are under the age of 30. During the 1950s the population grew at a rate of 2% per year. The rate of growth slowed to 1.1% by 1984 but then turned upward again after 1985. Current laws obligate couples to practice family planning, and penalties are imposed on families with more than three children. The adoption of a new farming system since 1982, however, has increased the economic value of offspring and made family planning less effective in rural areas. About 95% of China's people are crowded into the eastern and southeastern sections of the country. The most densely populated areas are in the Yangtze plain and the Canton delta. In 1982 an estimated 21% of China's population were urban, up from 13.3% in 1952. The pace of urbanization accelerated in 1984-86 when many rural counties were incorporated into metropolitan areas, adding 90 million people to the urban population. The largest urban centers are \TShanghai\t, \TPeking\t, \TTientsin\t, SHENYANG, \TWu-han\t, \TCanton\t, \THarbin\t, \TChungking\t, \TNanking\t, \TSian\t, and CHENGTU. Education Major changes have occurred in China's educational system since 1949. During the 1950s and early 1960s educational policy was directed toward producing college and secondary school graduates who were politically reliable and technically qualified. Students were required to spend half of their school hours on academic subjects and the other half learning practical skills in factories and fields. The Cultural Revolution redirected educational policy. Revolutionary committees were formed to run the schools, and for the next 11 years the emphasis was on political indoctrination in revolutionary ideology. Under the "open door" policy, workers, peasants, and soldiers were invited to lecture in universities, and university students were required to work for specified periods on farms and in factories. The traditional university entrance examinations were abolished, and students were selected on the basis of work performance and party loyalty. In 1977 the educational policies of the Cultural Revolution were abandoned. Entrance examinations were reintroduced and tuition for higher education was reinstituted in 1985. More than 40,000 bright students were sent to study in colleges and universities in Western Europe, Japan, and the United States, although the government in 1988 announced plans to reduce the number of students sent abroad. Efforts have been made to extend the years of schooling to 10 in urban areas and 9 in rural areas (5 years at the elementary level and 4 to 5 years of secondary school). In 1986, 96% of school-age children were enrolled in schools. (See also \TChinese universities\t.) Health Life expectancy has increased greatly since 1949, when it was only about 30 years. General public-health conditions have been significantly improved and major diseases have been brought under control, resulting in a steady reduction in the mortality rate. The number of hospitals increased from 2,600 in 1949 to 59,693 in 1986 and the number of clinics rose from 769 to 127,575. The number of physicians--both Western-style doctors and doctors of traditional Chinese medicine--has also increased dramatically. Health-care and other social-welfare benefits are provided by work units. The Arts After 1949, traditional Chinese culture was largely replaced by a new culture, intended to serve the masses and help build socialism. Painting, poetry, fiction, drama, opera, film, and storytelling are all used to implement the government's political programs. (See also \TChinese art and architecture\t; \TChinese literature\t; \TChinese music\t.) ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Since 1949, China has had a centrally planned economy based on the Stalinist model. From 1953 to 1990, seven five-year plans were implemented to coordinate economic development. The First Five-Year Plan (1953-57) concentrated on the development of heavy industry financed with Soviet assistance. The Second Five-Year Plan (1958-62) was interrupted by Mao Tse-tung's radical measures of the \TGreat Leap Forward\t and the establishment of rural communes. The new policies caused a great setback for China's economic development. A period of readjustment followed in 1962-65. The Third and Fourth Five-Year plans (1966-70 and 1971-75) were disrupted by the \TCultural Revolution\t. An ambitious Ten-Year Plan (1976-85) calling for modernization in all sectors was inaugurated in 1978 but was soon abandoned in favor of new adjustments and reforms. In September 1982 the government adopted a new program designed to quadruple the gross annual value of the nation's industrial and agricultural output by the year 2000. The Sixth and Seventh Five-Year plans (1981-85 and 1986-90) were designed to attain this long-term strategic goal. During the 1980s the government also pursued a series of reform policies to increase productivity in agriculture and industry through decentralization and to open the door to foreign investment. The reform policies, while increasing industrial and agricultural output substantially, also contributed to inflation, corruption, speculation, and income disparities. Beginning in October 1988 new policies were initiated to reimpose government control and slow down growth to achieve economic stability. Manufacturing China nationalized all capital-goods industries after the Communist accession in 1949 and pursued a policy of rapid, state-directed industrialization with special emphasis on the development of steel and defense-related industries. Since the initiation of economic reforms in 1978, efforts have been made to correct the structural imbalance this policy produced. New investment has been concentrated in the textile and consumer durable goods industries. From 1985 to 1988 the output of durable consumer goods showed phenomenal growth, making China one of the world's foremost producers of these products. Industry grew much more vigorously in rural than in urban areas during the 1980s. The share of village industry in the total industrial output value rose from 7.2% in 1976 to as much as 25% by 1989. The astounding growth of rural industry has, however, acted as a disincentive to agriculture. In the coastal areas, four special economic zones offering tax and trade benefits to foreign companies were established. In addition, 14 coastal cities and Hainan island were opened to foreign investment in 1984. Manufacturing is located in seven main industrial regions. The Northeastern Region, with a huge iron and steel complex located at \TAn-shan\t (Anshan), is China's oldest and most industrialized region. Its diversified resource base supports petroleum refining, coal mining, and iron and steel, chemical, and timber industries. The Northern Region centering on Pao-t'ou (Baotou) and Huhehot (Hohhot) is a relatively new industrial region. About 90% of its industrial projects date from the First and Second Five-Year Plans. It includes the Peking-Tientsin (Beijing-Tianjin) industrial belt, a coal-mining district producing iron and steel, machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The Eastern Region is an old industrial region centered in Shanghai. The South Central Region has well-developed food-processing and handicraft industries. Farther north, recent industrial development has taken place. Iron and coal resources support an iron and steel complex at Wu-han (Wuhan) as well as other industries. The Northwestern Region, is the newest industrial region. Its rapidly growing industrial cities include \TSian\t and \TLan-chou\t (Lanzhou) and are supported by petroleum refining and by iron and steel, petrochemical, and cotton textile industries. The Southwestern Region is China's principal producer of nonferrous metals, and its major industrial centers are \TCh'eng-tu\t (Chengdu), K'UN-MING (Kunming), and \TChungking\t (Chongqing). Energy China's economic development is aided by abundant coal, petroleum, and natural-gas reserves. Coal accounts for 80% of China's energy consumption. In 1988, China produced 970,000,000 metric tons (1,069,240,000 U.S. tons) of coal, making it the number one coal producer in the world. Coal is found in almost every province, and at least one-third of all coal produced is derived from small, locally important coal mines. Crude-oil production has increased dramatically since the early 1960s, when petroleum was discovered at Taching (Daqing), in Heilungkiang province. In 1983, 106,070,000 metric tons (151,015,000 U.S. tons) were produced. Offshore oil fields have also been developed in the Po Hai Gulf of the Yellow Sea and along the continental shelf as far south as Vietnam. In 1988, China produced 543,000,000 kW h of electricity. Some 108,000,000 of this was from hydroelectric stations, although the country has tapped only 7% of its hydropower potential. Most power stations are the traditional large-supply type, but China also leads the world in the use of small power stations that supply local industries. A nuclear power plant near Shanghai with a capacity of 300,000 kW was scheduled to begin operation in 1990; another near Hong Kong, with a capacity of 1,800,000 kW, was to be completed in 1993. Plans to build a giant hydroelectric project (17,000 MW capacity) on the Sun-men Gorge of the Yangtze River were postponed in 1989 for at least 5 years due to concerns over the dam's cost and environmental impact. Agriculture Despite the rapid industrialization of recent years, China remains a predominantly agricultural country. Agriculture has undergone major social and technical changes since 1949, however. Due to a land-reform program initiated in 1949, virtually all large landholdings had been redistributed to the peasants by 1952. Peasant households were first organized into small mutual-aid teams and then into elementary and advanced cooperatives. In 1958, peasant households were reorganized into communes, each of which consisted of a number of villages. The day-to-day work of the commune was organized around "brigades," which served as a link between the commune and the Communist party hierarchy and were assigned production goals by the government. Under rural reforms introduced in 1979, the land was contracted to individual peasant households, giving the peasants more freedom to choose the crops they grew and permitting them to sell any output exceeding assigned levels on the open market. The reforms led to dramatic gains in agricultural production and the emergence of millions of specialized households producing cash crops and engaging in nonagricultural activities. Of China's total land area, 11% is under cultivation and an additional 43% is in permanent pasture. Much of China's agricultural land is irrigated, especially in the North China plain, the Yangtze (Chang) lowland, and the Szechwan (Sichuan) basin, where some of the irrigation canals date back as far as the 3d century BC. Terracing of the land is also a prominent characteristic of Chinese agriculture in hilly areas; the terraces serve both to control soil erosion and to catch the rains of the summer monsoon for flooding hillside rice paddies. Two crops a year, and in places three, are obtained from irrigated land where winters are mild. New hybrid seed strains and the availability of chemical fertilizers further increase the productivity of the land. Food grains constitute the principal crop grown in China, the leading food grains being rice, wheat, corn, millet, and kaoliang (a form of sorghum); legumes (peas and beans) and tubers (potatoes) are also frequently classified as food grains in official Chinese statistics. Production of food grains rose dramatically from 1980 to 1984 but then became stagnant. Output in 1988 totaled 394,010,000 metric tons (434,317,000 U.S. tons), up from 302,560,000 metric tons (333,515,000 U.S. tons) in 1980. Rice is the leading food grain, and although traditionally grown in the warmer lands of central and southern China, rice can now be grown in every province except Tsinghai (Qinghai) as a result of the development of cold-tolerant hybrids. New hybrid strains of high-yielding rice have also been developed, producing twice as much per hector as traditional seeds. China produced 174,416,000 metric tons (192,240,000 U.S. tons) of rice in 1987 and is the world's leading rice producer. Wheat production in 1987 was 87,768,000 metric tons (96,737,000 U.S. tons), cultivated on 28,812,000 ha (71,145,000 acres) of land, making it the second most important crop in China. Although traditionally cultivated in the cooler north and east where rice could not be grown, about 80% of all wheat grown today is winter wheat produced as a second crop (after rice) or in rotation with rice and cotton. Corn is the third leading food grain, totaling about 20% of total food grain. Kaoliang and millet, most important in the drier areas of the north, northeast, and northwest, are giving way to higher-yielding corn. Sweet potatoes, more popular than white potatoes, are widely grown for food throughout China, as are rapeseed, peanuts, and soybeans, from which oil and other foods are produced. The most important commercial crop is cotton. Output peaked in 1984, when about 6,100,000 metric tons (6,724,000 U.S. tons) of cotton lint were produced, and has subsequently declined. The principal livestock raised are pigs and chickens. In 1988, China had over 342,000,000 pigs and an estimated 1,100,000,000 chickens, more than any other country in the world. Efforts are underway to increase production by introducing large-scale, mechanized pig and poultry farms. Other livestock play a minor role in traditional Chinese agriculture and are significant only in areas unsuited to traditional intensive farming methods. Cattle are mainly raised on northern frontier lands, and sheep and goats are raised mainly in the steppes of Inner Mongolia and Sinkiang (Xinjiang) and the high mountains of Tibet and the western provinces. After 1978, Chinese agriculture rapidly moved toward commercialization and diversification. The share of farming in the gross rural output value declined from 68.9% in 1980 to 49.6% in 1987 while the share of rural industry rose from 19.5% to 34.8%. Rural construction, transportation, and commerce also increased, from 11.6% to 15.6% with further gains predicted. Forestry and Fishing In 1981, China grew about 9% of the world's softwoods and more than 6% of the hardwoods. More than 60% of China's timber comes from the Manchurian mountains, which have China's most extensive forest reserves. About 300 tree nurseries, which raise mainly Korean pine, Scots pine, and Manchurian ash, have been established. On the Khingan ranges, vast areas have been forested since 1953; forest belts were also built along the line of the Great Wall. Rapid industrialization and population growth, however, have created immense demand for timber. Large-scale destruction of forests has denuded huge mountain areas in northeast and southwest China, causing erosion and other environmental damage. Although fishing is less developed than in neighboring Japan, China was the third largest fish producer in the world in 1988, after Japan and the Soviet Union. Fish culture is growing in importance because of the construction of ponds and dams for flood control and for power plants. Marine fishing has also expanded, with most of the powered fleet based at \TLu-shun\t, \TTsingtao\t, Hainan, and Shanghai. Transportation The backbone of China's transportation system is its rail network, which has more than doubled in length since 1949. About 70% of the railroads constructed since 1949 are in the western and northwestern parts of the country. The principal railways include the Peking-Canton line via Wu-han, the Tientsin-Shanghai line via Nanking, and the Peking to Shen-yang line. The major east-west trunk extends from Urmchi through Lan-chou and from \TCheng-chou\t to the east coast of Lien-yun-kang. The length of highways has increased more than elevenfold since 1949. Many new trunk roads have been constructed to open up outlying Western regions. The major new highways are the Szechwan-Tibet, Sinkian-Tibet, and Tsinghai-Tibet. The Karakoram Highway, across the Himalayas from Kashgar to Islamabad, Pakistan, opened in 1986. In 1986, China's domestic air routes, radiating mainly from Peking and Shanghai, totaled 216,700 km (134,650 mi). International flights serve Peking, shanghai and other cities. The principal seaports are Talien, Tientsin, Tsingtao, Shanghai, Canton, Chan-chiang, and Ch'in-huang-tao. Foreign Trade From 1949 to 1960, 70% of China's foreign trade was conducted with the \TUSSR\t and Eastern Europe. After the Sino-Soviet rift, China's trade with Japan and the Western countries increased rapidly. By 1987, trade with the \TUSSR\t and Eastern Europe accounted for only 5% of total trade. Machinery, industrial raw materials, and consumer goods were the principal imports of the 1980s, and textiles, footwear, and petroleum had become the leading exports by 1988. In 1989, China announced cutbacks of imports in its effort to slow the economy, although it continued to court foreign investors as a source of capital needed for economic modernization. GOVERNMENT China is a Communist state, with all authority resting in the Chinese Communist party (CCP). The country has had five constitutions since the Communists reorganized the national government in 1949. The first provisional constitution (1949) was superseded by the 1954 constitution adopted by the First National People's Congress (NPC), by the 1975 constitution adopted by the Fourth NPC, by the 1978 constitution adopted by the Fifth NPC, and by the 1982 constitution adopted by the sixth NPC. The 1982 constitution restored the post of president, which had been abolished in 1975. When he retired in 1988, Yang Shankun was selected as president. The NPC is the highest organ of state power. It can amend the constitution, elect to or remove from office the highest state dignitaries, and decide on the national economic plan. The NPC elects a Standing Committee, whose chairman is equivalent to the head of state. The NPC is composed of deputies elected to 5-year-terms. De facto power is held by the CCP, which had 47 million members in 1989. In 1982 the CCP abolished the post of party chairman in favor of a general secretary and named \THu Yao-pang\t (Hu Yaobang), who had replaced \THua Kuo-feng\t (Hua Guofeng) as party chairman in 1981, to the post. Hu resigned in 1987 after large-scale student demonstrations and was succeeded by \TChao Tzu-yang\t (Zhao Ziyang), who later gave up the premiership to \TLi Peng\t. The Thirteenth Party Congress (October 1987) continued a transfer of power to younger leaders begun in 1985 by \TTeng Hsiao-p'ing\t (Deng Xiaoping). Teng himself resigned from the party politburo in 1987 and gave up his last official post (head of the state military committee) in 1989 but remained China's paramount leader. The party leadership was reshuffled in June 1989 after two months of large-scale prodemocracy demonstrations in Peking and other cities. Teng ordered the demonstrations suppressed by the army on June 4 and dismissed Chao as general secretary. \TChiang Tse-min\t (Jiang Zemin) was named the new party general secretary, but neither hard-liners nor reformers appeared to have decisive power. For local administrative purposes China is divided into 21 provinces (not including Taiwan), 5 autonomous regions, and 3 cities (Peking/Beijing, Tientsin/Tianjin, and Shanghai) directly under central government control. The provinces and autonomous regions are broken down into prefectures, cities, counties, and special districts. The counties are further broken down into rural and urban administrative units, communes, and towns, respectively. Provinces and autonomous regions are governed by local People's Congresses, and lower levels of government, by local People's Governments. Chuen-Yan David Lai Reviewed by Chu-Yuan Cheng Bibliography: \TGeneral\t: Bonavia, David, The Chinese (1980); Butterfield, F., China: Alive in the Bitter Sea, rev. ed. (1990); Fang Lizhi, Bringing Down the Great Wall: Writings on Science, Culture, and Democracy in China, ed. and trans. by James H. Williams (1991); Hinton, Harold C., ed., The People's Republic of China: A Documentary Survey, 5 vols. (1980); Hook, Brian, ed., The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (1982); Kaplan, Frederick M., et al., Encyclopedia of China Today, 3d ed. (1982); Pan, L. The New Chinese Revolution (1987); Pye, L. W., China: An Introduction, 3d ed. 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