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Fact
Sheet :
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Area : 9,596,960
sq km
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Population : 1,321,851,888 (July 2007 est.)
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Capital : Beijing
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Languages : Standard
Chinese or Mandarin, Yue (Cantonese), minority languages
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Currency : yuan
(CNY)
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Government type : Communist
state
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Elements of History :
For
centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing
the rest of the world in the arts and sciences. But in the
19th and early 20th centuries, China was beset by civil unrest,
major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After
World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established
a dictatorship that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed
strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens
of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
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Climate : extremely
diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
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