China,
(People's Republic of China), is situated in eastern Asia, bounded by
the Pacific in the east. The third largest country in the world, next
to Canada and Russia, it has an area of 9.6 million square kilometers,
or one-fifteenth of the world's land mass. It begins from the
confluence of the Heilong and Wusuli rivers (135 degrees and 5 minutes
east longitude) in the east to the Pamirs west of Wuqia County in
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (73 degrees and 40 minutes east
longitude) in the west, about 5,200 kilometers apart; and from the
midstream of the Heilong River north of Mohe (53 degrees and 31
minutes north latitude) in the north to the southernmost island
Zengmu'ansha in the South China Sea (4 degrees and 15 minutes north
latitude), about 5,500 kilometers apart.
The border stretches over 22,000 kilometers on land and the coastline
extends well over 18,000 kilometers, washed by the waters of the
Bohai, the Huanghai, the East China and the South China seas. The
Bohai Sea is the inland sea of China.
There are 6,536 islands larger than
500 square meters, the largest is Taiwan, with a total area of about
36,000 square kilometers, and the second, Hainan. The South China Sea
Islands are the southernmost island group of China.
For further information about China, please go to
China General Information page. |
