China vs Taiwan

Why people mix them up

China and Taiwan share a language, much of their history and culture, and even similar official names: the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, the official name used in Taiwan. They face each other across the Taiwan Strait, and Mandarin is the main language on both sides. Taiwan's international recognition is disputed, so it is shown differently on different maps, and people often search how the two differ in size, flags, capitals and writing.

How to tell them apart

• China is one of the largest countries in the world; Taiwan is one main island plus several smaller ones, about 36,000 km² in all.
• China's flag is red with five yellow stars in the upper corner; Taiwan's is red with a blue upper corner holding a white sun.
• China's capital is Beijing; Taiwan's seat of government is Taipei, at the northern end of the island.
• Mainland China mostly uses simplified Chinese characters; Taiwan uses traditional characters.
• The currencies are the renminbi, or yuan (China), and the New Taiwan dollar (Taiwan).
• China borders fourteen countries; Taiwan has no land borders.

Memory hook

China's flag has stars; Taiwan's flag has the sun. Taiwan is the leaf-shaped island just off the coast, China the vast mainland behind it.

On the map

Find the east coast of mainland China, opposite the city of Xiamen in Fujian province. Across the Taiwan Strait, about 130 km wide at its narrowest, lies the island of Taiwan, shaped like a leaf or a sweet potato, with high mountains down its eastern side. Northeast of Taiwan lie Japan's Ryukyu Islands and south of it the Philippines. China is the huge mainland country stretching west into Central Asia. If what you are tapping is the large island across the strait from Fujian, it is Taiwan.