China officially the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia With a population ofover1381 billion itisthe world's most populous state [16] The state is governed bythe Communist Party of China based inthe capital of Beijing [17] It exercises jurisdiction over22 provinces five autonomous regions four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing Tianjin Shanghai and Chongqing) two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau) and claims sovereignty over Taiwan The country's major urban areas include Shanghai Guangzhou Beijing Chongqing Shenzhen Tianjin and Hong Kong China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia and has been characterized as a potential superpower [18][19] Covering approximately 96 million square kilometers China isthe world's second largest state by land area [20] and either thethirdorfourth-largest by total area depending onthe method of measurement [i] China's landscape is vast and diverse ranging from forest steppes andthe Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts inthe arid north to subtropical forests inthe wetter south The Himalaya Karakoram Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers thethirdandsixth longest inthe world respectively runfromthe Tibetan Plateau tothe densely populated eastern seaboard China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is14500 kilometers (9000 mi) long andis bounded bythe Bohai Yellow East China and South China seas China is one ofthe cradles of civilization withits known history beginningwith an ancient civilization – one ofthe world's earliest – that flourished inthe fertile basin ofthe Yellow River inthe North China Plain For millennia China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties Since 221 BC when the Qin Dynasty first conquered several states to form a Chinese empire the state has expanded fractured and reformed numerous times The Republic of China (ROC) replaced thelast dynasty in1912and ruled the Chinese mainland until1949 when it was defeated bythe Communist Party of China inthe Chinese Civil War The Communist Party established the People's Republic of China in Beijing on1 October 1949whilethe ROC government relocated to Taiwan withits present de facto temporary capital in Taipei Both the ROC and PRC continueto claim to be the legitimate government of all China though the latter has more recognition inthe world and controls more territory Since the introduction of economic reforms in1978 China has become one ofthe world's fastest-growing major economies As of2014itisthe world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity (PPP) China is also the world's largest exporter andsecond-largest importer of goods [21] China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army andsecond-largest defense budget [22][23] The PRC is a member ofthe United Nations asit replaced the ROC as a permanent member ofthe U N Security Council in1971 China is also a member of numerous formal