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Updated: March 2009

China

Overview | World Vision's history in China | World Vision in China today

Overview

The People’s Republic of China is the world’s most populous nation with nearly one-fifth of the planet’s inhabitants. Occupying more than 3.6 million square miles in East Asia, China follows only Russia and Canada in terms of total land area. It borders 14 countries: North Korea, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. The Yellow and South China Seas line the east coast of the country. China’s terrain is comprised mostly of mountains, high plateaus, deserts in the west, and plains, deltas, and hills in the east. The climate is extremely diverse, ranging from tropical in the south to subarctic in the north. Natural resources include coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, aluminum, zinc, and uranium. China has the world’s largest potential for hydropower.

The country’s name likely derives from the Qin (Ch’in) dynasty of 221-206 B.C., the empire that first unified the nation. China’s population is 92 percent Han Chinese. The remaining 8 percent are comprised of 55 other ethnic groups—the largest include the Hui, Mongol, Uighur, Zhuang, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, and Manchu peoples. The official spoken language in China is the Putonghua, a dialect of the Mandarin language. Other languages include Yue (also known as Cantonese), Wu (spoken in Shanghai), Minbei, Minnan, Xiang, Gan, and Hakka, along with several minority languages.

The area’s earliest recorded settlements, dating to around 5000 B.C., were discovered in the Yellow River basin. Feudal states—often at war with one another—did not unite until late 200 B.C. when Emperor Qin Shi Huang began construction of the Great Wall to avert an invasion from the north. China remained largely isolated from other civilizations until the Anglo-Chinese War (1839-1842) when Western influences assumed trading power and the Port of Hong Kong was ceded to British rule. Ongoing internal battles for control kept China in a state of civil war until the 1940s, when Soviet-supported Communist Mao Zedong drove Nationalist forces, led by General Chiang Kai-shek, into Taiwan. The Mao regime proclaimed the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.



 
Country statistics 
Population1.32 billion
Land mass3.6 million square miles
People per square mile367
Life expectancy73.2 years
Under age 5 mortality rate24/1,000
Literacy rate91%
Access to safe water77%
Average annual incomeUS$2,010
Religion
Though China is officially classified as an atheist country, multiple religions are practiced: Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, and Christianity.
 
 
Following Mao’s death in the early 1970s, Deng Xiaoping rose to power and began instituting economic reforms that increased consumer prices and improved the standard of living. In the 1980s, a growing disagreement with country leadership led to the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The 1990s saw Hong Kong returned to the country, and China’s admittance to the World Trade Organization. The last 10 years have been marked by several natural disasters: the Yangtze River flood in 1998, the severe snowstorm in January 2008, and the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in May 2008. In August 2008, China hosted the 29th Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Beijing has seen a fiscal resurgence since winning the bid to host the Olympic Games. Beginning in 2000, the city’s economic growth has risen nearly 150 percent, with new apartment high-rises and office towers being built at breakneck speed. Nearly 2 billion square feet of new construction has begun since 2002. The increased urbanization is infusing the economy, but the process is energy-intensive and polluting. In the last several years, city officials have instituted a program to clean up Beijing’s air and water contamination. Factories have been shut down or moved to the suburbs, and coal-burning furnaces have been replaced with cleaner natural gas units. However, auto emissions are rising along with fine particle pollutants as the city’s construction projects continue.

Chinese rulers have set out to improve the health care system across the country. Since 1990, mortality rates for children under age 5 have declined by 47 percent, but high rates persist in rural areas that lack quality medical care. New cases of HIV and AIDS have risen from nearly 10,000 in 2002 to more than 40,000 in 2007. A total of 650,000 Chinese are currently living with HIV and AIDS.

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World Vision's history in China

In 1947, Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision, traveled to China to make a movie about Christian missions. After filming in the town of Xiamen, he stayed and spoke to 400 children at a mission school about the good news of Jesus Christ. White Jade, a young girl who visited the school that day, committed her life to Christ and went home to tell her parents about her new faith. The girl’s father—furious that she had dishonored her ancestors—beat her and kicked her out of the house. The girl returned to the school the following day, but there was no money to take her in. When Dr. Pierce saw the battered girl, he gave the school headmistress his last five dollars, and promised to send more each month to help support her. This experience would lead to the birth of World Vision.

In 1962, World Vision went to Hong Kong to help people affected by Typhoon Wanda. The Hong Kong office was set up afterwards to continue its work. Dr. Stan Mooneyham, then-president of World Vision International, published an 80-page booklet in 1971 providing a brief history and overview of China, its people, the Chinese church, and the Communist revolution. To stimulate prayer and general interest in China, a 20-minute film titled Target China was produced.

In March 1981, a massive flood killed 3,000 people, injured 50,000, and left 400,000 homeless. Approximately 1 million acres of cropland sat under 16 feet of water. World Vision partnered with a Chinese foundation to distribute relief supplies to the flood survivors.

From 1985 to 1998, World Vision sponsored many projects in the coastal areas of China. The 1988 Yunnan Earthquake Relief Project responded to the needs of affected people through the provision of food, medicine, temporary shelter, clothing, blankets, and the rehabilitation of houses and public buildings. World Vision was also one of the first agencies to respond to flooding in eastern China in 1991. In 1993, the China Ministry Department of World Vision Hong Kong was renamed World Vision China to further its mission of alleviating the poverty. Projects during the 1990s and into the early 21st century focused on health education, training opportunities, orphan care, and the construction of water systems.

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World Vision in China today

World Vision is committed to partnering with the people of China to enhance their lives today and to help enact sustainable solutions for the future of their communities, families, and children. Currently, more than 72,000 children are registered in the World Vision sponsorship program. Several times this number of children and other family members benefit from World Vision activities. Of these registered children, many have World Vision sponsors in other countries. U.S. donors sponsor 8,825 girls and boys. In addition, World Vision operates 35 development programs, four of which are supported by U.S. donors. World Vision responded to three natural disasters in 2008:
  • In mid-January and early February, a massive snowstorm struck central, eastern, and southern regions of China, affecting 21 provinces and more than 47 million people. At least 129 people were killed, and 2 million homes were destroyed or damaged from the storm. More than 4.2 million acres of winter crops were lost, transportation was delayed, and power lines failed, leaving villagers without power in temperatures that were often below zero. World Vision’s China office distributed 45,500 quilts, 260 generators, nearly 5 million pounds of rice, and hundreds of child-friendly kits. More than 300,000 people benefited from these efforts.
  • On March 21, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake rocked the sparsely-populated Xinjiang Autonomous Region in northwestern China, affecting 97,000 people. More than 2,000 houses were destroyed and another 21,000 were damaged. World Vision supplied food, medical supplies, and clean-up support to the survivors.
  • China’s largest earthquake in 32 years struck the Sichuan Province on May 12, leaving 69,227 dead, and a further 17,923 missing. An estimated 46.24 million people have been affected. World Vision has distributed 53,300 quilts, 23,400 tarpaulins, 2,400 tents, 170 prefabricated classrooms, and nearly 3,300 toys to men, women, and children in several communities in three provinces. Staff members have worked with local government officials to install 60 solar shower facilities for 21 schools, helping to improve personal hygiene and health. In addition, more than 500 tons of food has been distributed to families across the region.
For more information on World Vision’s programs in China, please contact the United States office.

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