how big is china

China is about 9.6 million square kilometers (about 3.7 million square miles) in size. It is one of the largest countries in the world, ranking as the third or fourth largest by total area, depending on the measurement source. In terms of land area alone, China has approximately 9.3 million square kilometers, which is slightly larger than the United States' land area. Its size is almost as large as the whole of Europe, which is about 10.18 million square kilometers. Geographically, China spans about 5,500 kilometers from north to south and 5,200 kilometers from east to west. This vast area includes diverse terrain such as fertile lowlands, mountainous regions, high plateaus, and desert basins. China covers about one-fifteenth of the Earth's total land area and borders fourteen countries. The country is so large that it takes over six hours to fly from its northernmost to southernmost points.