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at high altitudes, and vast forests account for immense swaths of territory where hardly anyone lives. By contrast, the lower-lying landscape in the east and south containsmost of the population and the arable land that sustains it. China also boasts two of the six longest rivers in theworld. One is the Yangtze, which stretches for nearly 4,000miles (6,437 km) and ranks behind only the Nile and the Amazon in terms of length. The other is the Yellow River, which at 3,395 miles (5,463 km) long ranks sixth. Today, the country has theworld’s largest population. It may also be the most diverse. The government officially recognizes 56 eth- nic groups. By far the largest is the Han, who account for about 92 percent of China’s population. Counting the Han populations of Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and other countries, the group accounts for nearly 20 percent of the world’s entire population. China’s Dynasties WhileChinesehistorydatesbackthousandsof

Admiral Zheng He

Starting in the early 1400s, Chinese officials sent seven different fleets of hundreds of ships each throughout the Indi- an Ocean and the South China Sea to establish their control of the area and open up trading relationships. Admiral Zheng He commanded the fleets. His largest ships were nearly 400 feet (121 m) long, 150 feet (45.7 m) wide, and had up to nine masts. They were the largest wooden vessels ever construct- ed. Christopher Columbus’ three ships would easily have fit onto their decks, with plenty of leftover room. Zheng He wasn’t even Chinese. He was born in Central Asia, far from the sea. He was captured and taken to the Chinese emperor’s court, where he established himself as a powerful leader and, even- tually, a world-ranging sailor.

years, most people date its history by the names of the ruling dynasties . The first was the Xia, which began more than 4,000 years ago. In most cases, though, the rulers of the earlier dynasties controlled only part of the country.

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