Official name: People's Republic of China (Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo).
Extent: 9.561.000 km².
Population: 1.321.851.888 inhabitants (2007).
Language: Chinese, spoken with many regional phonetic differences, but written uniformly, is the main language; Mandarin is mainly spoken in the north, it makes up the base of the new national language promoted by the government: the Wu, Cantonese and Haca dialects are spoken in the south; amont minorities, the Tibetans have their own language and writing, quite characteristic, whereas the Uigurs of Sinkiang (Xinjiang) speak a language connected to Turkish.
Capital: Beijing (13.8 million inhabitants) (2000).
Other cities: Shanghai (16.7 million inhabitants); Tianjin (10 million inhabitants); Chongqing (30.9 million inhabitants); Wuhan (7.4 million inhabitants); Guangzhou (9.9 million inhabitants) (2000).
Religion: Cult freedom is acknowledged by the Constitution. During the Cultural Revolution the cult venues were closed. After 1977 the government adopted a policy of religious tolerance, and the Constitution of 1982 allows citizens to have cult freedom and protects religious activities. Many temples, churches and mosques have been qualified again. The three most ancient religions or philosophies are Confucianism, Buddhism or Taoism; most people practice a mixture of the three of then; around 5% of the population is Muslim and there is a small minority of Christians.
