PROVINCES OF CHINA

1 Peoples are classified in two ways that are mutually incompatible

a) The government census figures for the, then, 55 official 'nationalities' by province

b) The 2001 publication, Operation China, a survey of nearly 500 ethno-linguistic groups of China

2 Religions

3 Christians

ANHUI PROVINCE

CHALLENGES FOR PRAYER

1 Utopian Maoism was a disaster for Anhui's people

2 Christian growth has been remarkable

3 Lack of leadership in the churches has resulted in the forming of a number of extreme or heretical groups

4 Persecution of unregistered churches became more severe in 1999 with a major drive against 'cults', harsh 're-education' programmes, closure of meetings, heavy fines and imprisonments

BEIJING MUNICIPALITY

CHALLENGES FOR PRAYER

1 China is ruled from Beijing

2 The Communist authorities keep tight control of the Christians and Christian activity, being particularly severe on unofficial ministry

3 There are 3m migrants without legal residence papers

CHONGQING MUNICIPALITY

CHALLENGES FOR PRAYER

1 Chongqing is the industrial and trade hub for southwest China on the Yangtze River, and reputedly one of the ten most polluted cities in the world through heavy use of coal

2 Many of the 800,000 people being displaced by the nearby Three Gorges Dam will be resettled in Chongqing and Fuling

FUJIAN PROVINCE

CHALLENGES FOR PRAYER

1 The first Protestant missionaries arrived in the early 19th Century

2 Buddhism and Daoism have revived – over 20,000 temples have been illegally built or restored

3 The unreached in two significant groups:

a) The 800,000 She are a Hmong people related to the Miao, but Christians are only around 1,000 (0.12%)

b) The 4,000 Ami, Bunun and Paiwan are related to the mountain peoples of Taiwan where most have become Christian

GANSU PROVINCE

CHALLENGES FOR PRAYER

1 The Christian population is relatively small

2 The least evangelized:

a) The Dongxian, Bonan and Enger Yugur are of mixed Mongolian background and are strongly Muslim

b) The Muslim Hui are numerous in the cities;

c) Tibetans are largely Buddhist and number 400,000

Geography - Anhui Province

Area 139,900 sq.km. One of the poorest provinces. Central China.

Population 63,400,000; 454 people/sq.km.

Capital Hefei 1.5 mill.

Peoples - Anhui Province

Han Chinese 99.5%

Hui 0.5%. Main languages Putonghua, Huizhou.

Religion - Anhui Province

Muslim 0.5%. Christian 11.6%: House churches 7.8%, TSPM 2.5%, all Catholics 1.3%.

Geography - Beijing Municipality

Area 23,000 sq.km. The nation's capital.

Population 13,500,000; 586 people/sq.km.

Peoples - Beijing Municipality

Han Chinese 96.5% speaking Putonghua.

Hui 2%.

Manchu 1.4%.

Mongolian 0.1%.

Religion - Beijing Municipality

Christian 4.4%: House churches 3.7%, all Catholics 0.4%, TSPM 0.3%.

Geography - Chongqing Municipality

Area Approximately 120,000 sq.km. China's newest municipality carved out of the eastern fifth of Sichuan Province.

Population 31,200,000; 260 people/sq.km.

Capital Chongqing 3.9m.

Peoples - Chongqing Municipality

Han Chinese 98.5%.

Other 1.5%.

Chinese. Some Muslims. Christian 2.6%: House churches 1.5%, TSPM 0.7%, all Catholics 0.4%.

Geography - Fujian Province

Area 123,100 sq.km on the coast facing Taiwan.

Population 34,300,000; 279 people/sq.km.

Capital Fuzhou 1,827,000.

Peoples - Fujian Province

Han Chinese 97.5%. Speaking 8 languages,

Minorities 2.5%.

Religion - Fujian Province

Buddhism and Daoism strong. Muslim 0.1%. Christian 10.7%: House churches 6.8%, TSPM 2.7%, all Catholics 1.2%.

Geography - Gansu Province

Area 366,500 sq.km. Large northwestern province on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

Population 25,700,000; 70 people/sq.km.

Capital Lanzhou 2.17m.

Peoples - Gansu Province

Han Chinese and other migrants 91.7%.

Hui 4.8%.

Mongolian 2%.

Tibetan 1.5%.

Religion - Gansu Province

Muslim 6% – mainly Hui, Dongxian. Lama Buddhism 1.7%. Christian 1.9%: House churches 1.1%, TSPM 0.4%, all Catholics 0.4%.

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