Mainland China (中国大陆),
Chinese mainland or simply
the mainland, is a
geographical and
political term to describe the
geopolitical area under the direct jurisdiction of the
People's Republic of China (PRC). It generally excludes the
Special Administrative Regions of
Hong Kong and
Macau; however, it usually includes
Hainan. The term "mainland China", which avoids calling the area simply "China" and thereby recognizing the founding of the PRC as
the "China", was coined by the
Kuomintang (KMT) after it took control of
Taiwan, particularly after 1949, when the KMT-led
Republic of China (ROC) government was defeated in the
Chinese Civil War on the mainland and fled to Taiwan, and pledged to "retake the Mainland". The KMT considers both sides of the
Taiwan Strait (including Taiwan), as
(one) "China" and one country, whereas Taiwan's
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) considers only mainland China as "China" and Taiwan (ROC) as "Taiwan" and maintains that they are different countries.