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China has one of the world's oldest people and continuous civilizations, consisting of states and cultures dating back more than six millennia.

Home to one billion people, China is known as 中国 (Zhōngguó)in Mandarin. The character 中 (Zhōng) means "middle". The character 国 (Guó) means "kingdom".

An appropriate English translation would be "Middle Kingdom".

As the science of archaeology improves, it gradually confirms more of the ancient records of China's earliest times. It seems, that however far back you go, Chinese history is essentially a series of autocratic dynasties. These lasted until the founding of China's modern government in 1949. (It would be impossible to write a complete guide to Chinese history in this site. If you are interested, then visit my "Resources" page for a list of further reading materials)

China ranges from mostly plateaus and mountains in the west to lower lands in the east. Principal rivers flow from west to east, including the Yangtze, the Huang He (Yellow river), and the Amur. China also houses the Himalayas, containing Earth's highest point, Mount Everest. The northwest also has high plateaus with more arid desert landscapes such as the Takla-Makan and the Gobi Desert, which has been expanding.

There are several major dialects within the Chinese language itself. The most spoken dialects are Mandarin (spoken by over 70% of the population) and Cantonese. Other, but less common dialects/languages spoken include Wu, Min, Xiang, Gan, Hakka Thai, Mongolian, Tibetan, Turkic, Hmong and Korean.

The main faiths in China are Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam and Ancestral Worship, though the country is officially atheist.

Hundreds of ethnic groups have existed in China throughout its history. The largest ethnic group in China by far is the Han. This group, however, is internally diverse and can be further divided into smaller ethnic groups that share similar traits.

Today, mainland China is administered by the People's Republic of China—a one-party state under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party—while the island of Taiwan and surrounding islands are administered by the Republic of China. The current President is Hu Jintao, the current Premier is Wen Jiabao