China

China makes up the heart of East Asia and has the world's largest combined land border. Off mainland China's coast lies Taiwan, a disputed territory that split from China after the communist revolution and is recognized as independent by much of the global community outside of China. Beijing, the largest city in China, serves as the nation's capital, while Shanghai represents China's industrial center. Hong Kong is another Chinese territory, serving as the commercial hub, which was returned to Chinese rule from the British despite mass civil unrest in 2014 and 2019. There are also land disputes involving China along the Himalayan mountain range in the country's southeast, mainly with India. An interesting functional fact about China is that the entire country, though among the largest in the world, operates under one uniform time zone. The eastern half of China is mostly arid, with rocky highlands, whereas the western half is green and full of flowing rivers. The north of the country is home to the Gobi Desert, while the south features rolling hills and stunning rock formations. Associated with China's biodiversity are the issues it faces in poaching and air pollution, which the government has been working fervently to combat. Demographically, China is majority Han Chinese. While large populations of minorities exist in certain autonomous regions like Tibet, most cultural differences arise in language rather than ethnicity. While China has advanced the quality of life for many minority groups, they have also been subject to repression, with many, such as the Uyghur Muslims, being sent to forced labor camps by the government. China’s official language is Mandarin Chinese, which is used in government, education, and media, but the country is also home to over 200 other languages, including Cantonese, Shanghainese, and Tibetan, reflecting its vast regional diversity. Religion in China has a long history, with ancient schools of thought such as Confucianism and Daoism emerging in the country. Buddhism also gained a strong foothold in China, but the atheist communist government that came to power worked to contain its growth. Today, China is majority nonreligious, with about a fifth of its population adhering to Buddhism. The country also hosts a rapidly growing Christian population. China has become increasingly urban in recent years as population growth accelerated. As industrialization sped up, China couldn't sustain itself and implemented the One-Child Policy. Chinese culture is known for its intensity, with extreme pressures placed on students, particularly as they prepare for the infamous college entrance exam. In addition, while the government is often labeled as "communist," China is economically capitalist, with certain aspects of Leninist philosophy applied in its governance.