evidence: The People’s Republic of China is located in the eastern part of the Asian continent, on the western Pacific rim. It is a vast land, covering 9.6 million square kilometers. China is approximately seventeen times the size of France, 1 million square kilometers smaller than all of Europe, and 600,000 square kilometers smaller than Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of the south and central Pacific). Additional offshore territory, including territorial waters, special economic areas, and the continental shelf, totals over 3 million square kilometers, bringing China’s overall territory to almost 13 million square kilometers. Western China’s Himalayan Mountains are often referred to as the roof of the world. Mount Qomolangma (known to the West as Mount Everest), at over 8800 meters in height, is the roof’s highest peak. China stretches from its westernmost point on the Pamir Plateau to the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli Rivers, 5200 kilometers to the east.