Taoyuan, Taiwan
Taoyuan is a special municipality in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City, Hsinchu County, Yilan County. Taoyuan District is the seat of the municipal government and which, along with Zhongli District, forms a large metropolitan area. Taoyuan developed from a satellite city of Taipei metropolitan area to become the fourth-largest metropolitan area, fifth-largest populated city in Taiwan. Since commuting to the Taipei metropolitan area is easy, Taoyuan has seen the fastest population growth of all cities in Taiwan. "Taoyuan" means "peach garden" in Chinese. The city is home to tech company headquarters. Taoyuan International Airport, which serves the capital and the rest of northern Taiwan, is located in this city; the city of Taoyuan has been elevated to special municipality status since 2014 from the original Taoyuan County. At the same time, the former county-administered city of Taoyuan was promoted to Taoyuan District within the new municipality. In ancient times, the Taoyuan plateau was the home of the Taiwanese plains aborigines.
In prehistory, the Ketagalan people settled in Nankan. In the early years of Dutch colonization, Spanish colonization, Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty, there were no large-scale cultivation or industrial activities. During the Qing era, a number of people from Fujian Province and Guangdong province began to immigrate into present-day Taoyuan to develop and farm the land, they planted peach trees, when bloomed in spring, were so beautiful that the people named the land Toahong. In November 1901, under Japanese rule, a local administrative office, Toshien Chō, was established in the area, renamed Tōen Chō in 1905. In 1920, the Tōen area was incorporated into Shinchiku Prefecture. During the Japanese era, the staged migration policy caused Taoyuan to develop into a city with a variety of cultures. For example and worship paths symbolized cultural systems. Butokuden were used to represent military systems, the old Taoyuan City Office signified political systems. In 1950, Taoyuan County was established by the Republic of China government.
On 21 April 1971, Taoyuan City was made the county seat of Taoyuan County. It had 1 urban township and 6 rural townships. Being located at the edge of the Greater Taipei region, this caused some structural and lifestyle changes within Taiwanese society. Trade prosperity in recent years and the proliferation of job opportunities helped Taoyuan develop into a major economic district in northern Taiwan and the population has increased since. On February 16, 1998, China Airlines Flight 676 crashed in Taoyaun City near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, killing all 196 people on board and seven more on the ground. On December 25, 2014, Taoyuan County was reorganized into the special municipality of Taoyuan City. Taoyuan is located 40 km southwest of Taipei, in northern Taiwan, occupies 1,220 km2, it is made up of interconnected mountains and plateaus. Its shape has a long and narrow southeast-to-northwest trend, with the southeast in the Xueshan Range and the far end on the shores of the Taiwan Strait.
There are many irrigation ponds at Taoyuan Plateau, which caused Taoyuan to earn the nickname "Thousand-pond Township". Taoyuan has a humid subtropical climate, with mild to warm winters and hot summers, typical of northern Taiwan; as of the rest of Taiwan, the Hoklo are one of the largest ethnic groups of Taoyuan, most of whom live in northern Taoyuan, which comprises most northern districts of the city, including Bade, Dayuan and Luzhu, the city seat of government, Taoyuan District. The Hakka are the second-largest ethnic group in the city after the Hoklo, most of them residing in southern Taoyuan, which includes Zhongli, Yangmei, Longtan and Xinwu districts. With more than 785,000 Hakka people, Taoyuan hosts the largest Hakka population among all of Taiwan's administrative divisions. After the Chinese Civil War, many people from mainland China settled in the then-Taoyuan County after the retreat of the nationalist government in 1949. Most of them live in military dependents' villages in Zhongli and Guishan.
Longgang is well known for its immigrants from Yunnan. Most Taiwanese aborigines in the city live in Fuxing District, with most of them belonging to the Atayal people. Taoyuan is one of the Taiwan's top technological cities. High-tech companies including Quanta, MiTAC, Nanya Technology, HTC, CPT and AU Optronics have all opted to build or expand their factories in Taoyuan. Taoyuan has now become a bastion of electronics and semiconductor manufacturing. Over 200 of Taiwan's top 500 manufacturing companies have factories in Taoyuan. Taoyuan has led Taiwan in terms of industrial output for nine straight years. There are now 29 industrial areas with 3,696 ha of non-urban industrial land and 3,131 ha of urban industrial land. There are over 6,827 ha of land available for factories and industrial use in the city, representing the fact that Taoyuan's development bureau is based on industry and commerce. There are 9 sites for mixed industrial-commercial use, the most of any county and city in Taiwan. On March 26, 2010, China
Republic of China Air Force
The Republic of China Air Force is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The ROCAF's primary mission is the defense of the airspace around Taiwan. Priorities of the ROCAF include the development of long range reconnaissance and surveillance networks, integrating C4ISTAR systems to increase battle effectiveness, procuring counterstrike weapons, next generation fighters, hardening airfields and other facilities to survive a surprise attack. In May 2005, the Ministry of National Defense indicated its intention to transfer command of all defensive missile systems to the ROCAF, while future offensive missiles would be placed under a newly formed missile command; as of 2006, all medium and long range SAM units were transferred from ROC Army's Missile Command to ROCAF, while ROCAF's airbase security units were transferred to ROC Army Military Police. However, it was revealed that in January 2011, five years of problems of integrating those long range ex-ROC Army SAM units into ROCAF has forced ROCAF high command to return those units back to ROC Army's Missile Command.
Missile Command is now directly under Defense Ministry's GHQ control. In July 2010, former United States Air Force deputy under secretary for international affairs, Bruce Lemkin said that Taiwan's ability to defend its airspace had degraded due to its aging fighters and that the sale of new fighter aircraft to Taiwan was an urgent priority. On 21 September 2011, it was announced that the US had agreed to a US$5 billion upgrade to the F-16s. Like most of the other branches of the ROC armed forces, much of the ROCAF's structure and organization is patterned after the United States Air Force. Like the USAF, the ROCAF used to have a wing → group → squadron structure. After November 2004, tactical fighter wing switch to wing → Tactical Fighter Group, with some fighter squadrons stood down, with each tactical fighter group, still pretty much the same size as a squadron, now commanded by a full colonel. Air Force GHQ is subordinate to the Chief of the General Staff, the Minister of National Defense and the President.
Internal Units: Personnel, Combat Readiness and Training, Planning, Electronics & Information, General Affairs, Inspector General, Political Warfare. Air Force Combatant CommandWeather Wing: Tamsui, New Taipei City Communications, Air Traffic Control & Information Wing: Taipei City Air Tactical Control WingGround fixed and mobile long-range air search radar sites, consist of various TPS-117, TPS-75V, FPS-117, GE-592 and HADR radars, plus 1 PAVE PAWS early warning radar site in northern Taiwan, will enter service late 2012. Air Defense Artillery Command4 Air Defense Missile & Artillery brigades, 951st, 952nd, 953rd, 954th 4 Air Defense Missile I-HAWK battalions, 621st, 622nd, 662nd, 664th battalions, with Phase III and 7 Phase I batteries. 1 TK-1/2 Air Defense Missile battalion, 951st Brigade, 611st battalion with 6 companies/batteries. 1 Patriot PAC-2+ GEM/PAC-3 Air Defense/Anti-Ballistic Missile battalion, with 3 mixed companies/batteries that are all upgrading to PAC-3 standard, with 7 more PAC 3 companies/batteries on order.
1 Skyguard Short Range Airbase Air Defense battalion, with 6 companies/batteries and radar sub units with OTO 35mm AAA, s 2 Antelope Short Range Airbase Air Defense battalions, with unknown companies/batteries. At least 2 AAA Air Defense Artillery battalions, with 12.7 mm AAA guns. Air Defense Artillery Training Center: Pingtung Target Service Squadron Education Service Support Company First training company Second training company Third training companyEducation, Training & Doctrine Command Formally established in 1920 as the Aviation Ministry, the ROCAF was active during the tenure of the ROC on Mainland China. In this period, various airplanes were purchased and deployed by warlords in their struggle for power until nominal Chinese reunification in 1928. In February 1932, US Reserve Lt. Robert McCawley Short, transporting armed Chinese aircraft, shot down an IJN aircraft on February 19, 1932, downed another on February 22 before he was killed. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the ROCAF participated in attacks on Japanese warships on the eastern front and along the Yangtze river including support for the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.
The Chinese frontline fighter aircraft were the Curtiss Hawk II and III and the Boeing P-26 model 281, engaged Japanese fighters in many major air battles beginning on August 14, 1937, when Imperial Japanese Navy warplanes raided Chienchiao airbase. Chinese Boeing P-26/281 fighters engaged Japanese Mitsubishi A5M fighters in what is among the world's first aerial dogfighting between all-metal monoplane fighter aircraft. A unique mission in May 1938 saw two Chinese B-10 bombers fly a mission over Japan, but dropping only propaganda leaflets over the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Saga, four years before 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japanese home islands, it was a war of attrition for the Chinese pilots, as many of their most experienced ace fighter pilots, such as Lieutenant Liu Tsui-Kang and Colonel Kao Chih-Hang were lost early in the war. Code breaking operations played a role in the conflict. A Japanese radio intercept unit was attached to the landing forces at Shanghai. IJN Lt. Commander Tsunezo Wachi and a Lt. Yamada, an expert in Chinese codes, enabled Japanese to make preemptive strikes against ROCAF airfields.
In the latter half of the Sino-Japanese War, part of World War II, the ROCAF was augmented by a volunteer
Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shaky", was an American heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California. The C-124 was the primary heavy-lift transport for United States Air Force Military Air Transport Service during the 1950s and early 1960s, until the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter entered service, it served in MATS-gained Military Airlift Command -gained, units of the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard until 1974. Douglas Aircraft developed the C-124 from 1947 to 1949, from a prototype they created from a World War II–design Douglas C-74 Globemaster, based on lessons learned during the Berlin Airlift; the aircraft was powered by four large R-4360 piston engines producing 3,800 hp each. The C-124's design featured two large clamshell doors and a hydraulically actuated ramp in the nose as well as a cargo elevator under the aft fuselage; the C-124 was capable of carrying 68,500 lb of cargo, the 77 ft cargo bay featured two overhead hoists, each capable of lifting 8,000 lb.
As a cargo hauler, it could carry tanks, guns and other heavy equipment, while in its passenger-carrying role it could carry 200 equipped troops on its double decks or 127 litter patients and their attendants. It was the only aircraft of its time capable of transporting heavy equipment such as tanks and bulldozers without disassembling said equipment; the C-124 first flew on 27 November 1949, with the C-124A being delivered from May 1950. The C-124C was next, featuring more powerful engines, an APS-42 weather radar fitted in a "thimble"-like structure on the nose. Wingtip-mounted combustion heaters were added to heat the cabin, enable wing and tail surface deicing; the C-124As were equipped with these improvements. One C-124C, 52-1069, c/n 43978, was used as a JC-124C, for testing the 15,000 shp Pratt & Whitney XT57 turboprop, installed in the nose. First deliveries of the 448 production aircraft began in May 1950 and continued until 1955; the C-124 was operational during the Korean War, was used to assist supply operations for Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica.
They performed heavy lift cargo operations for the US military worldwide, including flights to Southeast Asia and elsewhere. From 1959 to 1961 they transported Thor missiles across the Atlantic to England; the C-124 was used extensively during the Vietnam War transporting materiel from the U. S. to Vietnam. Until the C-5A became operational, the C-124, its sister C-133 Cargomaster were the only aircraft available that could transport large loads; the United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command was the initial operator of the C-124 Globemaster, with 50 in service from 1950 through 1962. Four squadrons operated the type, consisting of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Strategic Support Squadrons, their primary duty was to transport nuclear weapons between air bases and to provide airlift of SAC personnel and equipment during exercises and overseas deployments. The Military Air Transport Service was the primary operator until January 1966, when the organization was retitled Military Airlift Command. Within a few years following the formation of MAC, the last remaining examples of the C-124 were transferred to the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard, said transfers being complete by 1970.
The first ANG unit to receive the C-124C, the 165th Tactical Airlift Group of the Georgia Air National Guard, was the last Air Force unit to retire their aircraft in September 1974. YC-124 Prototype rebuilt from a C-74 with a new fuselage and powered by four 3,500 hp R-4360-39 engines, it was re-engined and redesignated YC-124A. YC-124A Prototype YC-124 re-engined with four 3,800 hp R-4360-35A engines. C-124A Douglas Model 1129A, production version with four 3,500 hp R-4360-20WA engines. YC-124B Douglas Model 1182E was a turboprop variant of the C-124A with four Pratt & Whitney YT34-P-6 turboprops. C-124C Douglas Model 1317, same as C-124A but with four 3,800 hp R-4360-63A engines, nose radar, wingtip combustion heaters and increased fuel capacity. United StatesUnited States Air Force Air Force Logistics Command3079th Aviation Depot Wing – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio7th Logistic Support Squadron – Robins Air Force Base, Georgia 1952–62 19th Logistics Support Squadron – Hill Air Force Base, Utah 1953–62 28th Logistic Support Squadron – Kelly Air Force Base, Texas 1952–62Strategic Air Command 1st Strategic Support Squadron – Biggs AFB, Texas 1951–59 2d Strategic Support Squadron – Walker AFB, New Mexico/Castle AFB, California/McCoy AFB, Florida 1950–61 3d Strategic Support Squadron – Hunter AFB, Georgia/Barksdale AFB, Louisiana 1950–61 4th Strategic Support Squadron – Rapid City AFB, South Dakota/Dyess AFB, Texas 1953–61Military Air Transport Service / Military Airlift Command60th Military Airlift Wing – Travis AFB, California28th Military Airlift Squadron 1966–6761st Military Airlift Wing – Hickam AFB, Hawaii6th Military Airlift Squadron 1966–6862d Troop Carrier Wing/Military Airlift Wing – Larson AFB/McChord AFB, Washington4th Troop Carrier Squadron/Military Airlift Squadron 1951–69 7th Troop Carrier Squadron/Military Airlift Squadron 1951–69 8th Troop Carrier Squadron/Military Airlift Squadron 1951–69 15th Troop Carrier Squadron/Military Airlift Squadron 1952–67 28th Military Airlift Squadron 1967–6963d Troop Carrier Wing/Military Airlift Wing – Donaldson AFB, South Carolina/Hunter AFB, Georgia3d Troop Carrier Squadron 1
North American F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights in the skies of the Korean War, fighting some of the earliest jet-to-jet battles in history. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war, the F-86 is rated in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994, its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the United States and Italy. Variants were built in Australia; the Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 airframes, the redesigned CAC Sabre, had a production run of 112.
The Sabre is by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units. North American Aviation had produced the propeller-powered P-51 Mustang in World War II, which saw combat against some of the first operational jet fighters. By late 1944, North American proposed its first jet fighter to the U. S. Navy, which became the FJ-1 Fury, it was an unexceptional transitional jet fighter that had a straight wing derived from the P-51. Initial proposals to meet a United States Army Air Forces requirement for a medium-range, single-seat, high-altitude jet-powered day escort fighter/fighter bomber were drafted in mid-1944. In early 1945, North American Aviation submitted four designs; the USAAF selected one design over the others, granted North American a contract to build three examples of the XP-86. Deleting specific requirements from the FJ-1 Fury, coupled with other modifications, allowed the XP-86 to be lighter and faster than the Fury, with an estimated top speed of 582 mph, versus the Fury's 547 mph.
Despite the gain in speed, early studies revealed the XP-86 would have the same performance as its rivals, the XP-80 and XP-84. It was feared that, because these designs were more advanced in their development stages, the XP-86 would be canceled. Crucially, the XP-86 would not be able to meet the required top speed of 600 mph; the North American F-86 Sabre was the first American aircraft to take advantage of flight research data seized from the German aerodynamicists at the end of World War II. This data showed that a thin swept wing could reduce drag and delay compressibility problems that had bedeviled prop-powered fighters such as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning approaching the speed of sound. By 1944, German engineers and designers had established the benefits of swept wings based on experimental designs dating back to 1940. Study of the data showed that a swept wing would solve their speed problem, while a slat on the wing's leading edge that extended at low speeds would enhance low-speed stability.
Because development of the XP-86 had reached an advanced stage, the idea of changing the sweep of the wing was met with resistance from some senior North American staff. Despite stiff opposition, after good results were obtained in wind tunnel tests, the swept-wing concept was adopted. Performance requirements were met by incorporating a 35° swept-back wing, using NACA 4-digit modified airfoils, using NACA 0009.5–64 at the root and NACA 0008.5–64 at the tip, with an automatic slat design based on that of the Messerschmitt Me 262 and an electrically adjustable stabilizer, another feature of the Me 262A. Many Sabres had the "6 -- 3; this modification changed the wing airfoils to the NACA 0009-64 mod at the root and the NACA 0008.1–64 mod at the tip. The XP-86 prototype, which would lead to the F-86 Sabre, was rolled out on 8 August 1947; the first flight occurred on 1 October 1947 with George Welch at the controls, flying from Muroc Dry Lake, California. The United States Air Force's Strategic Air Command had F-86 Sabres in service from 1949 through 1950.
The F-86s were assigned to the 22nd Bomb Wing, the 1st Fighter Wing and the 1st Fighter Interceptor Wing. The F-86 was the primary U. S. air combat fighter during the Korean War, with significant numbers of the first three production models seeing combat. The F-86 Sabre was produced under license by Canadair, Ltd as the Canadair Sabre; the final variant of the Canadian Sabre, the Mark 6, is rated as having the highest capabilities of any Sabre version. The F-86A set its first official world speed record of 671 miles per hour on September 15, 1948 at Muroc Dry Lake flown by Major Richard L. Johnson, USAF. Five years on 18 May 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, flying a "one-off" Canadian-built F-86 Sabre Mk 3, alongside Chuck Yeager. Col. K. K. Compton won the 1951 Bendix air race in an F-86A with an average speed of 553.76 mph. The F-86 was produced as both a fighter-bomber. Several variants were introduced over its production life, with improvements and different armament implemented.
The XP-86 was fitted with a General Electric J35-C-3 jet engine. This engine was built by GM's Chevrolet division until production was turned over to Al
Northrop F-5
The Northrop F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter and the F-5E and F-5F Tiger II are part of a supersonic light fighter family designed in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. Being smaller and simpler than contemporaries such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the F-5 cost less to both procure and operate, making it a popular export aircraft; the F-5 started life as a funded light fighter program by Northrop in the 1950s. The design team wrapped a small aerodynamic fighter around two compact and high-thrust General Electric J85 engines, focusing on performance and low cost of maintenance. Though designed for the day air superiority role, the aircraft is a capable ground-attack platform; the F-5A entered service in the early 1960s. During the Cold War, over 800 were produced through 1972 for U. S. allies. Though the United States Air Force had no need for a light fighter, it did procure 1,200 Northrop T-38 Talon trainer aircraft, which were directly based on the F-5A. After winning the International Fighter Aircraft competition in 1970, a program aimed at providing effective low-cost fighters to American allies, Northrop introduced the second-generation F-5E Tiger II in 1972.
This upgrade included more powerful engines, higher fuel capacity, greater wing area and improved leading edge extensions for a better turn rate, optional air-to-air refueling, improved avionics including air-to-air radar. Used by American allies, it remains in US service to support training exercises, it has served in a wide array of roles, being able to perform both ground attack duties. A total of 1,400 Tiger IIs were built before production ended in 1987. More than 3,800 F-5 and the related T-38 advanced trainer aircraft were produced in Hawthorne, California; the F-5N/F variants are in service with the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps as an adversary trainer. 500 aircraft are in service as of 2014. The F-5 was developed into a dedicated reconnaissance version, the RF-5 Tigereye; the F-5 served as a starting point for a series of design studies which resulted in the Northrop YF-17 and the F/A-18 navalized fighter aircraft. The Northrop F-20 Tigershark was an advanced variant to succeed the F-5E, canceled when export customers did not emerge.
The design effort was led by Northrop vice president of engineering and aircraft designer Edgar Schmued, who at North American Aviation had been the chief designer of the successful North American P-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre fighters. Schmued recruited a strong engineering team to Northrop and assigned them the goal of reversing the trend in fighter development towards greater size and weight in order to deliver an aircraft with high performance, enhanced maneuverability, high reliability, while still delivering a cost advantage over contemporary fighters. Recognizing that expensive jet aircraft could not viably be replaced every few years, he demanded "engineered growth potential" allowing service longevity in excess of 10 years. Schmued recognized that new jet engine and aerodynamic technology were crucial to these goals, such as the compact but high thrust-to-weight ratio General Electric J85 turbojet engine, the discovered transonic area rule to reduce drag; the J85 engine had been developed to power McDonnell's ADM-20 Quail decoy employed upon the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
This engine with thrust-to-weight ratios of 6.25 to 7.5 over various versions had a notable thrust per pound advantage over contemporaries, such as the 4.7 thrust-to-weight ratio of the J79 engine used in the F-4 Phantom. Another influential figure was chief engineer Welko Gasich, who convinced Schmued that the engines must be located within the fuselage for maximum performance. Gasich for the first time introduced the concept of "life cycle cost" into fighter design, which provided the foundation for the F-5's low operating cost and long service life. A Northrop design study stated "The application of advanced technology was used to provide maximum force effectiveness at minimum cost; this became the Northrop philosophy in the development of the T-38 and F-5 lightweight trainer and fighter aircraft." The F-5 development effort was formally started in the mid-1950s by Northrop Corporation for a low-cost, low-maintenance fighter. The company designation for the first design as the N-156, intended to meet a U.
S. Navy requirement for a jet fighter to operate from its escort carriers, which were too small to operate the Navy's existing jet fighters; that requirement disappeared. The N-156T was selected by the United States Air Force as a replacement for the T-33 in July 1956. On 12 June 1959, the first prototype aircraft, subsequently designated as YT-38 Talon, performed its first flight. By the time production had ended in January 1972, a total of 1,158 Talons were produced. Development of the N-156F continued at a lower priority as a private venture by Northrop; the first N-156F flew at Edwards Air Force Base on 30 July 1959, exceeding the speed of sound on its first flight. Although testing of the N-156F was successful, demonstrating unprecedented reliability and proving superior in the ground-attack role to the USAF's existing North American F-100 Super Sabres, official interest in the Northrop type waned, by 1960
China
China the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion. Covering 9,600,000 square kilometers, it is the third- or fourth-largest country by total area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities, the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. China emerged as one of the world's earliest civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, beginning with the semi-legendary Xia dynasty in 21st century BCE. Since China has expanded, re-unified numerous times. In the 3rd century BCE, the Qin established the first Chinese empire; the succeeding Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BC until 220 AD, saw some of the most advanced technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass, along with agricultural and medical improvements.
The invention of gunpowder and movable type in the Tang dynasty and Northern Song completed the Four Great Inventions. Tang culture spread in Asia, as the new Silk Route brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and Horn of Africa. Dynastic rule ended in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution; the Chinese Civil War resulted in a division of territory in 1949, when the Communist Party of China established the People's Republic of China, a unitary one-party sovereign state on Mainland China, while the Kuomintang-led government retreated to the island of Taiwan. The political status of Taiwan remains disputed. Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China's economy has been one of the world's fastest-growing with annual growth rates above 6 percent. According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $12.24 trillion by 2017. Since 2010, China has been the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and since 2014, the largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity.
China is the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world's largest standing army and second-largest defense budget; the PRC is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council as it replaced the ROC in 1971, as well as an active global partner of ASEAN Plus mechanism. China is a leading member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, WTO, APEC, BRICS, the BCIM, the G20. In recent times, scholars have argued that it will soon be a world superpower, rivaling the United States; the word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century. It is not a word used by the Chinese themselves, it has been traced through Portuguese and Persian back to the Sanskrit word Cīna, used in ancient India."China" appears in Richard Eden's 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. Barbosa's usage was derived from Persian Chīn, in turn derived from Sanskrit Cīna.
Cīna was first used including the Mahābhārata and the Laws of Manu. In 1655, Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived from the name of the Qin dynasty. Although this derivation is still given in various sources, it is complicated by the fact that the Sanskrit word appears in pre-Qin literature; the word may have referred to a state such as Yelang. The meaning transferred to China as a whole; the origin of the Sanskrit word is still a matter of debate, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China"; the shorter form is "China" Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó, a term which developed under the Western Zhou dynasty in reference to its royal demesne. It was applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and to China's Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing, it was used as a cultural concept to distinguish the Huaxia people from perceived "barbarians". The name Zhongguo is translated as "Middle Kingdom" in English.
Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China between 2.24 million and 250,000 years ago. The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire, were discovered in a cave at Zhoukoudian near Beijing; the fossilized teeth of Homo sapiens have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Hunan. Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 7000 BCE, Damaidi around 6000 BCE, Dadiwan from 5800–5400 BCE, Banpo dating from the 5th millennium BCE; some scholars have suggested. According to Chinese tradition, the first dynasty was the Xia, which emerged around 2100 BCE; the dynasty was considered mythical by historians until scientific excavations found early Bronze Age sites at Erlitou, Henan in 1959. It remains unclear whether these sites are the remains of the Xia dynasty or of another culture from the same period; the succeeding Shang dynasty is the earliest to be confirmed by contemporary records. The Shang ruled the plain of the Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century BCE.
Their oracle bone script
