Asia · Eastern Asia
How to draw China from memory
China is a single continuous landmass, roughly as wide as it is tall. Lock that proportion in before you worry about any individual stretch of border. It ranks among the hardest countries to draw: the border carries far more detail than a freehand stroke can capture, so anything above 50 is a strong result.
- Difficulty
- hard
- Population
- 1.40 bn
- Code
- CHN
- Attempts
- 353
- Avg score
- 68
- Best
- 68
Draw China
Practice · draw from memory
China
A four-step strategy for China
- 01
Start by fixing the overall footprint. China is close to square overall, so a lopsided sketch loses points fast.
- 02
Anchor one unmistakable feature — the straightest border section or the sharpest cape — and draw outward from it in a single continuous stroke.
- 03
Close the loop back to where you started. An open shape gets filled unpredictably and drags your score down.
- 04
Submit, read the nine-sector grid, and redraw immediately. The sector readout names the region you under-drew, and a second attempt typically gains 10–20 points.
CobaltOwlQuick facts
- Continent
- Asia
- Subregion
- Eastern Asia
- Outline pieces
- 1
- Detail score
- 3.97
Three things that go wrong when people sketch China
Each one is measured off the outline the game scores, not copied from a reference atlas: the proportions, the straight sections and the way the shape breaks into pieces are all properties of the coordinates your stroke gets compared against.
Not one straight edge to anchor the shape
The longest unbroken run in the whole outline is under 8% of the perimeter, and the coast folds back 1.54× on the smooth ring that would wrap it. Choose two deep inlets and one sharp promontory as anchors, and let everything between them stay approximate.
It narrows sharply toward the north
The outline is 2.7× wider at the bottom of the shape than at the top, so the broad part belongs in the south. Most failed sketches here put the wide section at the wrong end.
China is wider than it is tall
The finished outline holds a ratio of about 1.42 to 1, a horizontal shape. Most failed attempts come from defaulting to a squarish blob — and unlike position, aspect ratio is never normalised away by the scorer.
Answer key: the real shape of China
- Box on the canvas
- 439 × 309 units
- Width to height
- 1.42 : 1
- Separate landmasses
- 1
- Longest straight run
- Nothing over 8% of the perimeter
- Coast against silhouette
- 1.54× the wrapping outline
Open it after you have drawn China at least once. Seeing the shape first replaces the recall the score is meant to measure with tracing, and tracing always scores higher than remembering.
Why China is scored this way
Country Drawing does not compare your sketch to a picture of China. It scales and centres both your stroke and the real border into the same box, fills them, and measures how much of the two shapes overlap relative to their combined area. That means you are never punished for drawing China small, off to one side, or rotated slightly — only for getting the shape itself wrong. The nine-sector grid then splits the real border into a 3×3 mesh and reports coverage per cell, which is how it can tell you that you lost the whole coastline rather than just handing you a number.
China by the numbers
China covers 9,706,961 km², which makes it the 3rd largest of 190 countries in the game and the 1st largest in Asia. The capital is Beijing at about 35°N, 105°E, and it sits in Eastern Asia. It touches Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, India, Nepal, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam, and 100% of its area sits in one main landmass. The rest of the perimeter is water.
Next to China: its land neighbours
Size is what the outline has to fill, so comparing the countries that share this border side by side is the fastest way to get the proportions into your head before you draw.
| Country | Area | Population | Capital | Pieces | vs China |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinathis page | 9,706,961 km² | 1.40 bn | Beijing | 1 | — |
 Afghanistan | 652,230 km² | 38.0 m | Kabul | 1 | 0.07× |
 Bhutan | 38,394 km² | 763 k | Thimphu | 1 | <0.01× |
 Myanmar | 676,578 km² | 54.0 m | Naypyidaw | 1 | 0.07× |
 India | 3,287,590 km² | 1.37 bn | New Delhi | 1 | 0.34× |
 Nepal | 147,181 km² | 28.6 m | Kathmandu | 1 | 0.02× |
 North Korea | 120,538 km² | 25.7 m | Pyongyang | 1 | 0.01× |
 Kyrgyzstan | 199,951 km² | 6.5 m | Bishkek | 1 | 0.02× |
 Laos | 236,800 km² | 7.2 m | Vientiane | 1 | 0.02× |
Draw these next
Countries near China share border conventions and coastline styles, which makes them the most useful follow-up practice.
Working through one country at a time is slow. Take the blank map of asia and label the whole region from memory — it shows you which neighbours you have never actually seen.
China drawing questions
How big is China?
China covers 9,706,961 km², ranking 3rd of 190 countries here by land area and 1st in Asia. About 57% of the area of Russia.
What is the capital of China?
The capital is Beijing at about 35°N, 105°E. The game scores the shape of the border rather than the position of any city, so the capital and its coordinates are here to help you place China on a blank map.
Is China hard to draw?
It is rated hard, and carries more outline detail than 74% of the 190 borders in this game. The shape has to be placed as 1 landmass, with no straight edge longer than 8% of the perimeter to anchor it.
Which countries border China?
China shares a land border with Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, India, Nepal, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam. The remaining perimeter is coast, which is the part that usually costs points.