Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is the geopolitical area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It generally excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau.

There are two terms in Chinese for "mainland". Namely, Dalu (simplified Chinese: 大陆; traditional Chinese: 大陸), which means "continent", and Neidi (内地 / 內地), literally "inner land". In the PRC, the usage of the two terms are generally interchangeable and there is no prescribed method of reference in any jurisdiction. To emphasize "equal footing" in cross-strait relations, the term is used in official contexts with reference to Taiwan, with the PRC referring to itself as "the mainland side" (as opposed to "the Taiwan side"). But in its relations with Hong Kong and Macau, the PRC government refers to itself as "the Central People's Government".