Both maps below show China highlighted. The old Mercator map (1569) inflates China about 1.6× at 37°, and the new Equal Earth map shows it at its true 9,596,960 km². Pan or zoom either map and the other follows, so the difference is visible at every scale.
That 1.6× inflation is why China dominated old schoolbook maps and maps of the world's great powers. Hover China on either map to highlight it on both at once, then compare it with Greenland.
China: key figures
| True area | On the old Mercator map | Distortion vs truth |
|---|
| China | 9,596,960 km² | 14,925,192 km² | 1.6× |
| Greenland | 2,166,086 km² | 25,576,494 km² | 11.8× |
| Africa | 30,370,000 km² | n/a | n/a |
Old maps drew China at about 14,925,192 km². The truth is 9,596,960 km², a difference of 56% that school atlases carried for centuries.