ional consortium which, in December
2006, signed an agreement with Verizon Business to build the first
next-generation optical cable system directly linking the US
mainland and China
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular
telephone systems have been installed; mobile cellular
subscribership is increasing rapidly; a domestic satellite system
with 55 earth stations is in place
international: country code - 86; satellite earth stations - 5
Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik
(Indian Ocean region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean
regions); several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South
Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)

Radios:
417 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31
are provincial TV stations, and nearly 3,000 are local city
stations) (1997)

Televisions:
400 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.cn

Internet hosts:
232,780 (2006)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2000)

Internet users:
123 million (2006)

Transportation China

Airports:
486 (2006)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 403
over 3,047 m: 56
2,438 to 3,047 m: 127
1,524 to 2,437 m: 138
914 to 1,523 m: 22
under 914 m: 60 (2006)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 83
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 25
under 914 m: 39 (2006)

Heliports:
32 (2006)

Pipelines:
gas 22,664 km; oil 15,256 km; refined products 6,106 km (2006)

Railways:
total: 74,408 km
standard gauge: 74,408 km 1.435-m gauge (19,303 km electrified)
(2004)

Roadways:
total: 1,870,661 km
paved: 1,515,797 km (with at least 34,288 km of expressways)
unpaved: 354,864 km (2004)

Waterways:
123,964 km (2003)

Merchant marine:
total: 1,723 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,405,633 GRT/32,411,260 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 387, cargo 695, chemical
tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container 152, liquefied gas 31,
passenger 8, passenger/cargo 83, petroleum tanker 261, refrigerated
cargo 30, roll on/roll off 8, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier
14
foreign-owned: 13 (Hong Kong 7, Japan 3, South Korea 2, Norway 1)
registered in other countries: 1,191 (Bahamas 3, Bangladesh 1,