Eastern Asia · CHN
China
The story · 13 chapters
How it was drawn
A state born on the Yellow River that grew, split and reunited over three thousand years, reached its widest extent under the Qing, and was redrawn in the twentieth century.
Play the story Take the first lessonThrough the ages
Rivals in history
The kingdoms, empires and states China fought or stood against, from the first to today.
- Xiongnu209 BC to 89
The nomad Xiongnu confederation defeats the first Han emperor in 200 BC and receives silk and princesses as the price of peace. Emperor Wu attacks from 133 BC, and after the Xiongnu split in two, Han armies crush the northern branch in 89 AD.
- Goguryeo598 to 668
The Sui launch huge invasions of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, and the disaster of 612 helps bring the dynasty down. The Tang fail in 645, then destroy Goguryeo in 668 in alliance with Silla.
- Tibetan Empire640 to 822
The Tang and the Tibetan Empire fight for two centuries over the Tarim basin, the Gansu corridor and the routes of the Silk Road. Tibetan troops briefly occupy Chang'an in 763. A peace treaty is sworn in 821 and 822.
- Liao Dynasty938 to 1125
The Khitan Liao gain the Sixteen Prefectures around Beijing in 938 and hold them against the Song. The Treaty of Chanyuan in 1005 obliges the Song to pay yearly silk and silver, keeping peace for more than a century.
- Jurchen Jin1125 to 1234
The Jurchen, allied with the Song, destroy the Liao, then turn on the Song and capture their capital Kaifeng in 1127 with two emperors. The Song rebuild in the south, and the Huai river becomes the border in 1141.
- Mongol Empire1211 to 1279
Genghis Khan invades the Jin in 1211 and takes Beijing in 1215. His successors destroy the Jin in 1234 and, after a long war, the Southern Song, whose last emperor dies in the sea battle of Yamen in 1279.
- Tsardom of Russia1652 to 1689
Russian Cossacks advance along the Amur and build forts such as Albazin, which Qing armies besiege in 1685 and 1686. The Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689 keeps the Amur basin Chinese, until Russia takes much of it in 1858 and 1860.
- Dzungar Khanate1687 to 1757
The Dzungars, the last great nomad empire, fight the Qing for Mongolia, Tibet and the Tarim basin. The Kangxi emperor defeats Galdan in the 1690s, and the Qianlong emperor destroys the khanate between 1755 and 1757.
- British Empire1839 to 1860
China's attempt to stop the opium trade leads to the First Opium War, which costs it Hong Kong Island in 1842. In the Second Opium War, British and French troops take Beijing in 1860 and burn the Summer Palace.
- Empire of Japan1894 to 1945
Japan defeats China in 1895 and takes Taiwan, seizes Manchuria in 1931 and launches full scale war in 1937, taking Nanjing, where its troops massacre civilians. The war ends with Japan's surrender in 1945.
- Republic of China (Taiwan)Since 1949Still open
After losing the civil war, the Nationalist government holds Taiwan and a few islands. Shelling of Kinmen in 1954 and 1958 and missile tests in 1995 and 1996 mark the rivalry. Beijing still claims Taiwan and stages large military drills around it.
The border between Tibet and India has never been agreed. China wins a short war in 1962 and keeps Aksai Chin, while India holds Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims. A clash in the Galwan valley in 2020 kills soldiers on both sides.
- Soviet Union1960 to 1991
The Communist allies split around 1960. In 1969 Soviet and Chinese troops fight on Zhenbao Island in the Ussuri river and along the Xinjiang border. Relations are normalised in 1989, and a border agreement follows in 1991.
- Vietnam1974 to 1991
China seizes the western Paracel Islands from South Vietnam in 1974. In 1979 it invades northern Vietnam for a month to punish it for toppling the Khmer Rouge, and the two navies clash in the Spratly Islands in 1988. Relations are restored in 1991.
Today
China now
) dynasties. C. under the Qin Dynasty and lasted until the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. During this period, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. In the 19th century, the Qing Dynasty suffered heavily from overextension by territorial conquest, insolvency, civil war, imperialism, military defeats, and foreign expropriation of ports and infrastructure.
- Capital
- Beijing
- Government
- communist party-led state
- Head of government
- Li Qiang
- Head of state
- Xi Jinping
- Languages
- Putonghua
- Area
- 9,562,910 km²
Through time
Then and now
- Population1.42 billion2023 · 544 million in 1950
- Life expectancy78.0 years2023 · 43.8 years in 1950
- GDP per person$19,2382022 · $799 in 1950
- Living in cities66%2025 · 11% in 1950
- Literacy97%2020 · 48% in 1950
- Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
- Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
- Military spending1.7% of GDP2025
- War deathsNone2025
Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.
Relations
Close partners and tensions
Close partners
- Japan
- France
- Germany
- Russian Federation
- India
Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.