China
People's Republic of China
- Capital: Beijing
- Eastern Asia
- 14 neighbours in Travle
China overview
China's capital is Beijing, and the World Bank counts about 1406.6 million people for 2025. Natural Earth's boundary data gives it 15 land neighbours, and the Travle map uses exactly the same 14.
Unicode CLDR gives Chinese official status nationally and lists 5 more languages with regional official status.
Population, density and language
The World Bank counts 1,406,585,000 people in China for 2025, which is 2nd of 170 by population. Spread over 9,562,910 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 147 people per km², 38th of 169 by density.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.
| Language | Share (est.) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 90% | official |
| Wu Chinese | 6% | — |
| Cantonese | 5.2% | — |
| Cantonese | 5.2% | — |
| Xiang Chinese | 2.9% | — |
| Hakka Chinese | 2.3% | — |
CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.
How big is China, really?
With 9,562,910 km² (2024, land plus inland water), China is 4th of 169 by surface area and covers 6.81% of the combined area of those entries.
In that ordering, United States (9,831,510 km²) is just larger; Brazil (8,510,420 km²) just smaller.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.China at a glance
- Capital
- Beijing
- Region
- Eastern Asia, Asia
- Population
- 1,406,585,000 (2025)
- Surface area
- 9,562,910 km² (2024)
- Density
- 147 people per km²
- Official languages
- Chinese
- Currency
- Yuan Renminbi (CNY)
- Calling code
- +86
- Internet domain
- .cn
- Land neighbours
- 15 (Natural Earth) · 14 (Travle)
Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.
China within Eastern Asia
Natural Earth places China in Eastern Asia (UN subregion). Of the 6 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, China is 1st by population and 1st by surface area, with 87.3% of the combined population of those entries.
| Country | Population (2025) | Area km² (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| China | 1,406,585,000 | 9,562,910 |
 Japan | 123,366,734 | 377,975 |
 South Korea | 51,684,564 | 100,460 |
 North Korea | 26,571,036 | 120,540 |
 Mongolia | 3,568,978 | 1,564,116 |
 Taiwan | – | – |
Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.
Location, borders and position
China is in Eastern Asia, Asia. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the northern hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere. Its capital, Beijing, is at about 39.9° N and 116.4° E.
On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives China 15 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 14.
Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.
Where China is on the map
Countries bordering China
Natural Earth marks parts of China's boundaries with India and Bhutan as disputed and part of the boundary with Pakistan as indefinite. It places Hong Kong and Macau under the same sovereign as China, so their lines are not counted as international borders here.
| Country | Direction | Land boundary in Natural Earth | Border in Travle |
|---|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan | west | Yes | Yes |
 Bhutan | south-west | Yes (disputed segment) | Yes |
 India | south-west | Yes (disputed segment) | Yes |
 Kazakhstan | north-west | Yes | Yes |
 Kyrgyzstan | west | Yes | Yes |
 Laos | south | Yes | Yes |
| Mongolia | north | Yes | Yes |
 Myanmar | south | Yes | Yes |
 Nepal | south-west | Yes | Yes |
| North Korea | east | Yes | Yes |
 Pakistan | west | Yes (indefinite segment) | Yes |
 Russia | north | Yes | Yes |
 Tajikistan | west | Yes | Yes |
 Vietnam | south | Yes | Yes |
Natural Earth also draws boundary lines with Siachen Glacier, which it maps as separate areas without an ISO country code. They are not listed as countries here.
Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.
Money and language in China
Currency
- Yuan Renminbi: code CNY, numeric 156. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.
Official languages
- Chinese: official in 2 territories in CLDR, including China.
- 5 more languages have regional official status: Uyghur, Zhuang, Mongolian, Tibetan and Korean.
CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.
Currency, domain and dialling code
- Currency
- Yuan Renminbi (CNY)
Source: Unicode CLDR release-48-2 currencyData (region CN); code, name and number from ISO 4217 list one (SIX), published 2026-09-17; checked 2026-10-19. - Internet domain
- .cn
Source: IANA Root Zone Database; checked 2026-10-19. - International dialling code
- +86
Source: ITU, List of ITU-T Recommendation E.164 assigned country codes (position on 15 December 2016); checked 2026-10-19. - Time
- 2 zones in the IANA database; offsets range from UTC+06:00 to UTC+08:00 in 2026
IANA zones: Asia/Shanghai, Asia/Urumqi
Source: IANA Time Zone Database 2026e (zone.tab); UTC offsets computed for 15 Jan and 15 Jul 2026 with Node.js ICU tz 2026a; checked 2026-10-19.
China codes and abbreviations
| Standard | Code |
|---|---|
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 | CN |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | CHN |
| ISO 3166-1 numeric | 156 |
| ISO 4217 currency (Yuan Renminbi) | CNY · 156 |
| Country-code top-level domain | .cn |
| ITU-T E.164 country code | +86 |
Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.
Fun facts about China
- China is 2nd of the 170 entries in Travle's country list with a World Bank population figure.
- Only 3 entries are larger by surface area in Travle's country list.
- It has the largest population of the 6 entries in Eastern Asia from Travle's country list.
- The IANA time zone database lists 2 zones for China.
- The longest Travle trip from China takes 13 steps, to Lesotho.
- UNESCO lists 61 World Heritage properties in China; the earliest inscription dates from 1987.
Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.
How far can you travel from China in Travle?
From China, 14 countries are one step away, and 125 are reachable in total. The farthest is Lesotho, 13 steps away.
| Steps | Countries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | |
| 2 | 17 | |
| 3 | 11 | |
| 4 | 18 | |
| 5 | 15 | |
| 6 | 3 | |
| 7 | 4 | |
| 8 | 9 | |
| 9 | 13 | |
| 10 | 13 | |
| 11 | 5 | |
| 12 | 2 | |
| 13 | 1 |
In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 13 steps and end in Lesotho. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).
Nearby routes from China
Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.
- Afghanistan: 1 step (China → Afghanistan)
- Bhutan: 1 step (China → Bhutan)
- India: 1 step (China → India)
- Kazakhstan: 1 step (China → Kazakhstan)
- Kyrgyzstan: 1 step (China → Kyrgyzstan)
- Laos: 1 step (China → Laos)
- Mongolia: 1 step (China → Mongolia)
- Myanmar: 1 step (China → Myanmar)
- Nepal: 1 step (China → Nepal)
- North Korea: 1 step (China → North Korea)
- Pakistan: 1 step (China → Pakistan)
- Russia: 1 step (China → Russia)
- Tajikistan: 1 step (China → Tajikistan)
- Vietnam: 1 step (China → Vietnam)
Azerbaijan: 2 steps (China → Russia → Azerbaijan)
Bangladesh: 2 steps (China → India → Bangladesh)
Belarus: 2 steps (China → Russia → Belarus)
Cambodia: 2 steps (China → Laos → Cambodia)
Estonia: 2 steps (China → Russia → Estonia)
Finland: 2 steps (China → Russia → Finland)
Georgia: 2 steps (China → Russia → Georgia)
Iran: 2 steps (China → Afghanistan → Iran)
Latvia: 2 steps (China → Russia → Latvia)
Lithuania: 2 steps (China → Russia → Lithuania)
Norway: 2 steps (China → Russia → Norway)
Poland: 2 steps (China → Russia → Poland)- South Korea: 2 steps (China → North Korea → South Korea)
Thailand: 2 steps (China → Laos → Thailand)
Turkmenistan: 2 steps (China → Afghanistan → Turkmenistan)
Ukraine: 2 steps (China → Russia → Ukraine)
Uzbekistan: 2 steps (China → Afghanistan → Uzbekistan)
Armenia: 3 steps (China → Afghanistan → Iran → Armenia)
Czechia: 3 steps (China → Russia → Poland → Czechia)
Germany: 3 steps (China → Russia → Poland → Germany)
Hungary: 3 steps (China → Russia → Ukraine → Hungary)
Iraq: 3 steps (China → Afghanistan → Iran → Iraq)
Malaysia: 3 steps (China → Laos → Thailand → Malaysia)
Moldova: 3 steps (China → Russia → Ukraine → Moldova)
Romania: 3 steps (China → Russia → Ukraine → Romania)
Slovakia: 3 steps (China → Russia → Poland → Slovakia)
Sweden: 3 steps (China → Russia → Finland → Sweden)
Turkey: 3 steps (China → Afghanistan → Iran → Turkey)
World Heritage in China
UNESCO lists 61 World Heritage properties in China: 42 cultural, 15 natural and 4 mixed. The first 6 were inscribed in 1987, among them The Great Wall and the Mogao Caves.
- Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang (cultural, inscribed 1987)
- Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (cultural, inscribed 1987)
- Mogao Caves (cultural, inscribed 1987)
- Mount Taishan (mixed, inscribed 1987)
- Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (cultural, inscribed 1987)
- The Great Wall (cultural, inscribed 1987)
- Mount Huangshan (mixed, inscribed 1990)
- Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area (natural, inscribed 1992)
- Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area (natural, inscribed 1992)
- Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area (natural, inscribed 1992)
- Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (cultural, inscribed 1994)
- Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa (cultural, inscribed 1994)
Showing the 12 earliest of 61. The full list is on the UNESCO website.
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.
China — frequently asked questions
What is the capital of China?
Beijing.
How many countries border China?
15, according to Natural Earth's boundary data: Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Siachen Glacier, Tajikistan and Vietnam.
What time zones does China use?
The IANA database lists 2 zones for China. 2 zones in the IANA database; offsets range from UTC+06:00 to UTC+08:00 in 2026.
How many people live in China?
The World Bank counts 1,406,585,000 people for 2025.
How big is China?
9,562,910 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.
What is the dialling code and internet domain of China?
The international dialling code is +86 and the country-code domain is .cn.
Keep exploring
- Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
- Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
- Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.