China

China is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The PRC also claims Taiwan – which is controlled by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity – as its 23rd province, a claim controversial due to the complex political status of Taiwan and the unresolved Chinese Civil War.

Did you know that:
1. One in every five people in the world is Chinese. China’s population is estimated to reach a whopping 1,338,612,968 by July 2009.
2. Fortune cookies are not a traditional Chinese custom. They were invented in 1920 by a worker in the Key Heong Noodle Factory in San Francisco.
3. China is also known as the “Flowery Kingdom” and many of the fruits and flowers (such as the orange and orchid) are now grown all over the world.
4. Toiled paper was invented in China and was initially only for emperors.
5. The Chinese invented paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
6.  Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone.
7. Ping-pong is one of the most popular games in China, but it was not invented in China. It originated in Britain, where it is called table tennis.