Of railways there were less than three hundred and fifty miles at the close of the century, the most important being the line from Tientsin to Peking. About five thousand miles are projected and under construction by American and European companies. A branch of the Transsiberian railway is under construction to Port Arthur. Telegraph and telephone lines have become popular and have been extended to the interior a considerable distance. There are upward of twenty thousand miles of wire communication, the most important, in many respects, being a direct overland line between Peking and European cities. Inasmuch as there are no letters in the Chinese language, the difficulties in using the Morse code of telegraphy are very great. In some cases the messages are translated into a foreign language before they are transmitted; in others, a thousand or more words in colloquial and commercial use are numbered, and the number is telegraphed instead of the word.
Most of the business between the natives and foreigners is carried on by means of middlemen, or "compradors," and these include both the commission merchants and the native bankers. They are intelligent, thrifty, and trustworthy. They are the most capable merchants in Asia, and have few if any superiors among the merchants of western nations. A very large part of the retail trade of the Philippine Islands is carried on by Chinese merchants.
The Chinese Empire consists of China and the five dependencies, as shown in the following table:
| State | Population | Capital or Chief Town |
| China proper | 380,000,000 | Peking |
| Manchuria | 7,500,000 | Kirin |
| Tibet | 6,000,000 | Lassa |
| Mongolia | 2,000,000 | Urga |
| Jungaria | 600,000 | Kur-kara-usu |
| Eastern Turkestan | 600,000 | Yarkand |
The five dependencies are mainly arid, unproductive, and sparsely peopled. Their chief importance consists in the fact that they are "buffer states" between China proper and European states. They produce little except meat, wool, and live-stock.
China proper is divided into provinces, each governed by a viceroy appointed by the throne. All business with foreign powers is transacted through a Foreign Office, the Wai-wu-pu (formerly the Tsung-li-Yamen). The government business is managed by a Grand Council whose members are advisers to the throne. The government is controlled mainly by Manchu officials.
HONGKONG
Until within a few years China nominally allowed no foreign traders within her borders; recently, however, about forty cities, commonly known as "treaty ports," have been opened to the trade of foreign countries. Goods going inland any distance are required to pay a "liken" or internal tariff at the border of each province.