S. A. GOROKHOV Candidate of Geographical Sciences Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: China, Christianity, revivel, number of adherents, growth components, geographical distribution The history of China's Christianization dates back more than a century, but it was only in the twenty-first century that the work of Christian missionaries began to produce impressive results. Today, China is the world's leading country in terms of population and is home to one of the largest Christian communities, second only to the Philippines in Asia. More than half a century ago, after the rise to power of the Communists and the formation of the PRC, few religious researchers could have predicted that Christianity in the Middle Kingdom would have a future, and the number of Christians in the country would grow. Beijing's official policy towards Christianity has undergone significant changes over the years of the PRC's existence: from the initial "suppression" (1949-1966) and even "eradication" (1966-1979) in the era of the "cultural revolution" to "control with the aim of weakening" (1979-1995) during the beginning of the World War II. a country of economic reforms and, finally, "governance for containment" - from 1995 to the present1. Thus, over time, the Chinese Communist authorities have come to terms with the existence of a Christian community in their country, and Protestantism and Catholicism, along with Buddhism, Islam, and Taoism, now constitute the country's five officially recognized religious traditions.2 Now the Association of Chinese Catholic Patriots (ACCP) and the Protestant Patriotic Movement of the Triple Independence of Christians (PDTNH), officially recognized by the state, are actively operating in the country3. Both religious associations have their own spiritual educational institutions, thousands of priests distribute more than 18 million copies of the Chinese Bible printed in local printing houses every year, and in all major Ch ... Read more