China's Big Numbers

Understanding China is no small feat. Governing China is no small feat, either--as Mongols, Mings, Manchus, and other rulers from China's 4,000-year history could tell you. Why? Because China is big, big, big. How big is it? Consider the millions of square miles China spans, the 1.3 billion people it holds, the $10 trillion worth of goods and services it produces, and these other sizeable Sino-statistics.

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Mongols, Mings, Manchus, Mao

When Chairman Mao argued for a "permanent revolution," he probably didn't have in mind the sort of revolution under way in the capital of communist China. Today, brand-new BMWs share crowded streets with donkey carts and bicyclists; Stalinist slogans sit side by side with Starbucks.

How long will the Communist Party continue the capitalist party? No one knows for sure. But we do know how Beijing got to this point. It all started 40 centuries ago. . . .

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Why China Claims Taiwan

"Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country outside of the People's Republic of China," says Taiwan's president. "Don't listen to local leaders," says China's foreign minister. So, is Taiwan really part of China? It depends whom you ask. Those who say "yes" have political reality and a billion Chinese on their side. Those who say "no" have economic reality and a different view of history on theirs.

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How Drugs Made Hong Kong

Hong Kong is an odd bird. It rose to prominence as a British imperial outpost in the Far East, and now it's struggling to maintain that prominence as a capitalist outpost in communist China. Makes you wonder who in the world hatched such a place, doesn't it? Answer: drug dealers.

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Who's Hu in China?

Do you know Hu's president of China? And do you know how he, Hu Jintao, keeps control of China's enormous web of official ruling congresses, string-pulling party committees, and tank-deploying military commissions?

Behind the curtain of power, there are basically three key governing institutions: the Central People's Government, the People's Liberation Army, and the Chinese Communist Party--the unelected institution that decides what's best for "the people." Here's how the system works.

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Interview
Confucius Says

The great Confucius is by far the Far East's most famous man. No one, not even Mao, has exceeded his influence on China. Luckily, he agreed to an interview with us. Yes, we know he's dead. But he still lives in a slim volume that westerners call the Analects of Confucius.

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--Michael Himick and Steve Sampson