Mainland China

"Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addition to the geographical mainland, the geopolitical sense of the term includes islands such as Hainan, Chongming, and Zhoushan.^[1] By convention, territories outside of mainland China include:

• Special administrative regions of China, which are regarded as subdivisions of the country, but retain distinct administrative, judicial and economic systems from those on the mainland:^[2]
  • Hong Kong, formerly a British colony
  • Macau, formerly a Portuguese colony
• Taiwan, along with Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor islands, are collectively known as the Taiwan Area, where has been the major territorial base of the government of the Republic of China (ROC) since 1950. Though the ROC still claims the “Mainland Area” as its constitutionally defined territory.

In Taiwan it is also often used to refer to all territories administered by the PRC.^[3][4][5] The term is widely used in all of the above territories as well as internationally, including by many Overseas Chinese communities especially Malaysian Chinese and Chinese Singaporeans, use this term to describe people from the "ancestral land".

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