Capital City:

Beijing

Area:

9,571,300 sq km / 3,695,500 sq mi

Population:

1,284,303,700 (2002 estimate)

GDP:

$1.08 trillion (2000)

Form of Government:

Communist state

Official Language[s]:

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect)

Monetary unit:

1 yuan, consisting of 10 jiao

Religion[s]:

Officially atheist

Major Cities:

Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Harbin, Chengdu, Nanjing, Xi'an, Dalian, Zibo, Qingdao, Changchun, Jinan, Hangzhou, Zhengzhou, Tangshan, Kunming, Changsha, Taiyuan, Fuzhou, Nanchang

Industries:

Iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, consumer durables, food processing, autos, consumer electronics, telecommunications

Agriculture:

Rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork; commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds; pigs, cattle, poultry

Natural Resources:

Coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, one of the world’s largest hydropower potential

Encarta article on People's Republic of China

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