Administrative Divisions of China

Administrative Divisions

• China is constitutionally a unitary state divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, and four direct-administered municipalities.
• The special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau are also part of China.
• The PRC regards Taiwan as its Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu as part of Fujian Province, and islands in the South China Sea as part of Hainan Province and Guangdong Province.

Chinese People and Language

• China has the largest population in the world, with over 1.4 billion people.
• The population density in China is 153 per kilometer square (396 per square mile).
• The median age in China is 38.4 years.
• About 60.8% of the population live in urban areas.
• There are 56 ethnic groups in China, with the Han being the largest group, making up almost 91% of the population.
• Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, and Miao have the largest populations among the 55 minority groups.
• About 35 million people in China live in caves, mostly in Shaanxi Province.

Language

• Chinese is the only surviving pictographic writing system.
• Mandarin is the official Chinese language and is taught in schools all over China.
• There are many dialects and languages in China, including Cantonese, Wu, and others.

Beliefs

• China has no unifying religion, and people hold a wide range of beliefs, from atheism to ancestor worship to one of China's 'Four Major Religions': Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, or Christianity.

Economy

• China has a fast-booming economy, with an average growth rate of 10% per year for three decades.
• China is the world's second-largest economy, with a 2020 GDP of 15.8 trillion USD.
• China is known as 'the factory of the world" and is the world's largest producer of concrete, steel, fertilizer, clothing, and toys.

Cities

• China has 660 cities, with 90 having a population of over 1 million people.
• There are 18 cities with a population of over 10 million, with Shanghai being the most populous city with over 24 million people.
• China builds a skyscraper every five days, with over 200 skyscrapers under construction.

Infrastructure

• China has the longest high-speed railway network, which was over 38,000 kilometers (24,000 miles) long at the end of 2020.
• The total length of railway lines in China is more than 146,000 kilometers (90,000 miles) long, the second longest in the world.
• China has the world's longest sea-crossing bridge, the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, with a total length of 55 kilometers (34 miles).

Culture

• Confucianism was a leading philosophy in ancient China, existing for more than 2,500 years.
• Confucianism focuses on inner virtue, morality, and respect for the community and nature.