The People’s Republic of China is in eastern Asia. It ranks behind Russia and Canada in area and is almost identical in size to the United States. China considers Taiwan as its 23rd province (sheng), making it the world’s third-largest nation. Mainland China covers about 9.6 million square kilometres, and measures 5,250km from west to east and 5,500km north to south. It shares borders with 14 countries; the longest is with Mongolia, at nearly 4,700km, and the shortest is with Afghanistan, at less than 80km. It has a coastline, measuring 14,500km, with the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean. The country is divided into 22 provinces (23 including Taiwan). There are also five autonomous regions, four municipalities (including Shanghai and Beijing) and two special administrative regions – Hong Kong and Macau.