ChinaisseenvariouslyasanancientcivilizationextendingoveralargeareainEastAsia,anationand/oramultinationalentity.

　　Withnearly4,000yearsofcontinuoushistory,Chinaisoneoftheworld'soldestcivilizations.Priortothe19thcentury,itpossessedoneofthemostadvancedsocietiesandeconomiesintheworld;butthroughsuccessivedynastiesitthenmissedtheIndustrialRevolutionandbegantodecline.Inthe19thand20thcentury,imperialism,internalweaknessandcivilwarsdamagedthecountryanditseconomy,andledtotheoverthrowofimperialrule.

　　Inthe1950s,changetoeconomicpoliciesinTaiwantransformedtheislandintoatechnology-orientedindustrializeddevelopedeconomyafteraperiodofhighgrowthratesandrapidindustrialization.InmainlandChina,inthe1970s,reformsknownastheFourModernizationsimprovedagriculture,industry,technologyanddefense,raisinglivingstandardsandmakingthePRConeofthegreatpowers.By2011challengesincludedthegrowingdividebetweenrichandpoor,environmentaldegradation,andrampantcorruption.

　　Historically,theculturalsphereofChinahasextendedacrossEastAsiaasawhole,withChinesereligion,customs,andwritingsystemsbeingadoptedtovaryingdegreesbyneighborssuchasJapan,KoreaandVietnam.Throughitshistory,Chinawasthesourceofmanymajorinventions.Ithasalsooneoftheworld'soldestwrittenlanguagesystems.ThefirstevidenceofhumanpresenceintheregionwasfoundattheZhoukoudiancave.ItisoneoftheearliestknownspecimensofHomoerectus,nowcommonlyknownasthePekingMan,estimatedtohavelivedfrom300,000to780,000yearsago.