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China is the world’s largest country by population .The Chinese call this Zhong Guo, which means "Middle Kingdom".
China has three major rivers which are the Huang He (Yellow River) in the north, the Yangtze (Chang Jiang) in central China, and the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) which is in the south. The country includes towering mountains, high plateaus, and broad plains.
Beijing, China’s capital, is the cultural, economic, and communications center. Shanghai, located near the Yangtze, is the most populated urban center, and the largest commercial and industrial city.
In ancient times, China was East Asia’s dominant civilization. Other countries were strongly influenced by China so they adopted some features of Chinese art, food, material, culture, philosophy, government, technology, and written language.
China’s political strength became threatened when European empires spread into East Asia. In the 19th century attacks weakened China’s last dynasty, the Qing, which was finally overthrown by Chinese Nationalists in 1891. Over several decades, China was ripped apart by wars, Japanese invasions, and a civil war between Communists and Nationalists.
In 1949 the Chinese Communist Party won the civil war and established the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland. Today, most countries recognize the PRC as the official government of China.
After coming to power in 1949, the Communist government began placing agriculture and industry under state control. In the late 1970’s, the government reversed some of the earlier policies and encouraged foreign investment. Although China is still a poor country by world standards, the economy has grown greatly as a result of the boom1980’s and1990's.
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