The territory of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC) has frequently been revised since its formation on 1 October 1949. Until 1986, the total territory (or under control) of the PRC was 10.45 million km², including: * Continental mainland: ~9.60 million km² *

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s and

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

s: ~75,400 km² * Coastal

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

es and shoaly lands: ~12,700 km² * Inner sea (mainly

Bohai Sea The Bohai Sea () is a marginal sea approximately in area on the east coast of Mainland China. It is the northwestern and innermost extension of the Yellow Sea, to which it connects to the east via the Bohai Strait. It has a mean depth of ...

): ~693,000 km² * Territorial (sea only) waters: ~220,000 km² During the 1990s and 2000s, the official size and value of China's territory are rarely officially declared or published. The Republic of China (ROC) government on Taiwan does not recognize the PRC's territorial changes to the 1947 ROC constitution (although amended in 1991 to include the ROC's free area).

Chronological list

1949–1959

* 1 October 1949, the People's Republic of China is proclaimed by

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

(ruled from 1949 until 1976) at

Tiananmen The Tiananmen (also Tian'anmen (天安门), Tienanmen, T’ien-an Men; ), or the Gate of Heaven-Sent Pacification, is a monumental gate in the city center of Beijing, China, the front gate of the Imperial City, Beijing, Imperial City of Beij ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. * 13 October 1949,

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

is annexed by the People's Republic of China. * 1 May 1950, the Island of

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

was taken under full control by the PLA. * 19 May 1950, the largest

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

of China - Zhoushan, was taken under full control of PLA. * 23 May 1951, the area of

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

was claimed by the People's Republic of China. * 3 September 1954, The People's Republic of China annexed the

Yijiangshan Islands The Yijiangshan Islands () are two small islands eight miles from the Dachen Islands, located off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang in the East China Sea. During the First Taiwan Strait crisis the islands were captured in January 1955 by the People's ...

and

Dachen Islands The Dachen Islands, Tachen Islands or Tachens () are a group of islands off the coast of Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, in the East China Sea. They are administered by the Jiaojiang District of Taizhou. Before the First Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1955, ...

from the Republic of China during the First Taiwan Strait Crisis (

Battle of Yijiangshan The Battle of Yijiangshan Islands () was a conflict between forces of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the People's Republic of China, over one of the last strongholds ...

) even as the U.S. Seventh Fleet was patrolling nearby.

1960–1969

* 21 November 1962, China won the military victory of

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

but withdrew to the pre-war boundaries. Since then, India maintains control of North-East Frontier Agency area i.e. Arunachal Pradesh (83,743 km²); China controls areas of

Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of t ...

(~30,000 /33,444/37,555 km²) and

Trans-Karakoram Tract The Trans-Karakoram Tract (), also known as the Shaksgam Tract ( ur, , translit=Shaksgām), is an area of approximately north of the Karakoram watershed, including the Shaksgam valley. The tract is administered by China as part of its Taxkorg ...

(5,181/5,180 km²). See article: ''

''. * 1969, after

Sino-Soviet border conflict The Sino-Soviet border conflict was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought the world's two largest communist states t ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

controlled

Zhenbao Island Zhenbao Island () or Damansky Island (russian: о́стров Дама́нский, ''ostrov Damanskiy'') is an island with an area of only . It is on the Ussuri River on the border between Primorsky Krai, Russia, and Heilongjiang Province, Chi ...

(see article: ''

''). (Extra mark: Control of Zhenbao Island later was granted to China in the 2000s, see article: ''

1991 Sino-Russian border agreement The 1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement was a treaty signed between China and the Soviet Union on May 16, 1991. It set up demarcation work to resolve most of the border disputes between the two states. Initially signed by China and the Soviet Union, ...

'').

1970–1979

* 25 October 1971, The People's Republic of China replaced the Republic of China (in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

) in the UN seat representing China. The PRC claims Taiwan and Penghu as its own Taiwan Province along with fragments of Kinmen and Matsu in Fujian, despite never having gained control over it. See articles: ''

China and the United Nations China is one of the charter members of the United Nations and is one of five permanent members of its Security Council. One of the victorious Allies of the Second World War (the Chinese theatre of which was the Second Sino-Japanese War), the ...

'', '' Political status of Taiwan''. * 19 January 1974, after the

Battle of the Paracel Islands The Battle of the Paracel Islands (Chinese: 西沙海战, Pinyin: Xisha Haizhan；Vietnamese: Hải chiến Hoàng Sa) was a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam in the Paracel Islands on January 19, 1974. The ...

, China controls over the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...

and surrounding waters. See article: ''

''.

1980–1989

* 14 March 1988, after the

Johnson South Reef Skirmish The Johnson South Reef Skirmish was an altercation that took place on 14 March 1988 between Chinese and Vietnamese forces over who would control the Johnson South Reef in the Union Banks region of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. ...

, China started to control many reefs in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

: Fiery Cross Reef, Cuarteron Reef, Hugh Reef/Hughes Reef, Nanxun Jiao/Nanxun Reef, Subi Reef, Chinua Jiao/Chinua Reef, and surrounding waters. See article ''

''.

1990–1999

* 1991, after the

1991 Sino-Russian Border Agreement The 1991 Sino-Soviet Border Agreement was a treaty signed between China and the Soviet Union on May 16, 1991. It set up demarcation work to resolve most of the border disputes between the two states. Initially signed by China and the Soviet Union, ...

, many segments of territories and islands along the border between China and Russia were transferred to China. See article: ''

''. * 1 July 1997, Hong Kong, leased to the British for 99 years, (1,104 km²) returned to Chinese control. See article ''

Transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

''. * 1998–1999, the Sino-Russian-North Korean border was fixed. * 20 December 1999, Macau (29.2 km²) was handed to China. See article: '' Transfer of sovereignty of Macau''.

2000–2009

* 14 October 2004 – 2 June 2005, a treaty establishing the eastern border between China and Russia was signed by China and Russia. It's said China "regained 337 km²" territory. See

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

article: '' Демаркация российско-китайской границы (2005)'';

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

article: '' 中华人民共和国和俄罗斯联邦关于中俄国界东段的补充协定''. * September 2008 – 2009, the border between China and

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

was surveyed. It's said that China "regained more than 1,000 km²". * 31 December 2008, the borderline between China and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

was determined, but detailed information hasn't yet been published. * 2009, the artificial land (mainland China only) built by the nation would be 150 km².

2010–2019

* 12 January 2011, the Tajikistan parliament ratifies a deal ceding approximately 1000 square kilometers to China, while China renounces all further territorial claims in Tajikistan. *2012, after the

Scarborough Shoal standoff The Scarborough Shoal standoff refers to the tensions between the Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China over the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Tensions began on April 8, 2012, after the attempted apprehension by the Philipp ...

, China gained control over some parts of

Scarborough Shoal Scarborough Shoal, also known as Bajo de Masinloc (in Spanish), Panatag Shoal ( fil, Kulumpol ng Panatag, lit=serene cluster), Huangyan Island ( Mandarin zh, c=黄岩岛, p=Huáng Yán Dǎo, l=yellow rock island), and Democracy Reef, are two ...

in the South China Sea but the claims are still going on.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Territorial Changes Of The People'S Republic Of China Territorial changes, China Geography of China