General Information » China Overview » Geography

The People’s Republic of China is in eastern Asia. It ranks behind Russia and Canada in area and is almost identical in size to the United States. The country is either the third or fourth largest in the world, depending on your viewpoint of its territorial claims, notably the island of Taiwan. The Chinese government considers Taiwan – which is administered independently as the Republic of China – as its 23rd province (sheng), which would make it the world’s third-largest nation. Mainland China covers about 9.6 million square kilometres and measures 5,250km from west to east and 5,500km north-south. It shares borders with 14 countries; the longest is with Mongolia, at nearly 4,700km, and the shortest is with Afghanistan, at less than 80km. It has a coastline, measuring 14,500km, with the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, all part of the Pacific Ocean. Excluding Taiwan, the country is divided into 22 provinces (). There are also five autonomous regions, four municipalities (including Shanghai and Beijing) and two special administrative regions – Hong Kong and Macau.