!!! Overview
[{$pagename}] officially the [People's Republic of China] ([PRC]), is a [country] and a unitary sovereign state in [East Asia] and the world's most populous country, with a [population] of around 1.404 [billion] ([Year 2019]).

[{$pagename}] covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres (3.7 million square miles), it is the world's second-largest state by land area] and third- or fourth-largest by total area.

Governed by the Communist Party of China, and exercises [jurisdiction] over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities ([Beijing], [Tianjin], [Shanghai], and [Chongqing]) and the Special Administrative Regions [Hong Kong] and [Macau], also claiming sovereignty over [Taiwan].

[{$pagename}] emerged as one of the world's earliest civilizations in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, [{$pagename}]'s political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty. 

Since then, [{$pagename}] has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times. 
In [1912|Year 1912], the [Republic of China] ([ROC]) replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until [1949|Year 1949], when it was defeated by the communist People's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. 
The Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in [Beijing] on 21 September [1949|Year 1949], while the ROC government retreated to Taiwan with its present de facto capital in Taipei. 
Both the [ROC] and [PRC] continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all [{$pagename}], though the People's Republic of China has more recognition in the world and controls more territory.


[{$pagename}] has [codes] of:
* [ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]: [CN]
* [ISO 3166-1 alpha-3]: [CHN]
* [GS1 Country Code]: 690-699
* [DCC]: 156
* [NPA]: 86

!! More Information
There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:
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* [#1] - [China|Wikipedia:China|target='_blank'] - based on information obtained 2017-12-19-