China

 China (中国,Chuugoku)is a main character in the series Axis Powers Hetalia/Hetalia: Axis Powers. He is the representation of, and is part of the Allied Forces. During the naming process he was given the name Wang Yao (王耀, Wanyao or Ouyou, 王尧, Wáng Yáo)

Appearance
He has dark hair tied back into a ponytail, and is often shown wearing a deep green Chinese military uniform with a red armband (though it was colored tan in one colorspread). In other instances, he wears a green mandarin jacket with yellow pants, or a red one with white pants as shown in the Hetalia trading card game.

He has a scar on his back, a reminder of when Kiku attacked him when they were younger, and a panda-shaped tattoo above his buttocks.

Personality And Interests
One of the apparent oldest nations, he happens to be an extremely superstitious and religious type. He tries to act as an older brother to the other Asian nations, but fails to be treated as one. He tends to end his sentences with the suffix "-aru" (a Japanese stereotype of Chinese people), though sometimes he ends them with "-ahen" (opium) when conversing with Arthur. He has a companion named "Shinatty-chan", an old man in a Hello Kitty knockoff costume.

He is shown to be a lover of cuisine, and is said to nag if food has a certain pattern of tastes. On one occasion in the WWII-set strips, he winds up arriving late to a meeting and explains that he always puts his food as his first priority.

Yao appears to have a love of cute things, particularly cartoon characters and pandas, and he is frequently seen carrying one. He is also very artistic, as he is skilled at not only painting beautiful human beings full-scale, but also on something as small as a strand of hair (as seen in a strip in the web-comic); his artistic abilities don't, however, apply across the board, as his anime drawings are quite poor compared to Japan's and Korea's.

Overall he appears to be a cheerful character, though he can occassionally slip into moments of melancholy when reflecting on how much the world has changed in all the years he's been around. He's also been shown to be easily annoyed and prone to snapping, particularly when it comes to Korea.

Honda Kiku (Japan)
Main Article: Honda Kiku

After discovering the new nation (who appeared to be a child all on his own), Yao took him in and raised him as a younger brother, though Kiku denied being related to him when asked about it. Kiku eventually wound up betraying Yao when he decided to initiate a war, and attacked him with a katana (leaving a scar on his back). Since that war, the two remained on opposing sides as enemies, and Yao became distressed as to how war changed his "brother".

Hong Kong
Main Article: Hong Kong

Little has been revealed about their relationship, other than Hong Kong having been raised by him before he became British territory. The two were eventually reunited when Arthur's control ceased.

Im Yong Soo (South Korea)
Main Article: Im Yong Soo

Yao is constantly annoyed by Yong Soo's claims that he invented others' work, and his claim that both him and Kiku should consider him to be their older brother. Yong Soo also happens to have an obsession with Yao, wanting to be acknowledged by him. He also once showed the belief that Yao's "breasts" belonged to him like Kiku's.

Ivan Braginski (Russia)
Main Article: Ivan Braginski

Despite the close relationship the two have had throughout their history, Yao is very suspicious and fearful of his northern neighbor, especially after the Sino-Soviet Split. In return, Ivan has been shown to stalk Yao, especially when disguised in a panda suit, and takes a special interest in him.

In The Anime
Yao first appears briefly in Episode 01, at the world meeting. As the others argue, he attempts to break up the fight by offering them snacks (that they refuse).

In Episode 06, he is shown on the beach with the other Allies, roasting marshmallows. He next appears in Episode 09 when he attempts to decide how the Axis lands they conquer should be split, taking the most for himself.

Yao is finally spotlighted in Episode 16, which details his past history with Kiku, though the betrayal aspect was left out of the anime adaptation. In the Supersize You! segment in Episode 17, he gives Alfred some diet advice, though Alfred doesn't find it useful. In Episode 18, he fights with Ludwig and Kiku and the two of them lose to him twice. Footage from this segment is repeated in Episode 26, as well as in Episode 28: :) In The World.

Though his hair tends to be colored black in most artwork for the manga, Yao's character design in the anime gives him ash brown hair, as well as adding two haircurls to his ponytail.

The fourth volume of the anime DVDs included a version of Marukaite Chikyuu sung by him, as well as a "Russia" version.

China's character CD was released on the 24th of March 2010.

Trivia

 * In his earliest webcomic profile, Yao was represented by the Guomindang flag of China. In his profiles from 2007 and on, Hidekaz Himaruya quickly switched the flag out for the People's Republic Of China one. However, the historically accurate flag for the WWII-set strips would be the flag for the Republic Of China (later used for Taiwan).


 * Another common rendering of his name in fandom is Wong Yao. An early alternate spelling of his name (that quickly fell out of use) was Wong Hwei. According to an old blog post by Himaruya, his name can be rendered in Japanese and in English as either Wang Yao or Wang Yue.


 * Wang is a common Chinese surname that means "king", while Yao is a common given name that means "brightly shining".


 * His original birthday (October 10th) corresponded with the date of formation of the Republic Of China. However, in later profiles, his birthday was stated as "Unknown". In a Chinese printing of volume 2, his birthday is given as October 1st (the formation of the People's Republic Of China), though the same printing is controversial for changing Taiwan's profile to state that she is a "part of China" (the stance that both Republics of China take).
 * He is immortal, which explains his great age of 4000 years. Some Chinese fans will modify his age to 5000, as it is considered to be a more accurate age for "China".
 * A rejected design for Yao showed that Himaruya originally considered having him wear glasses. One version of this early design appears in a scan of a notebook page featuring it along with an early male Korea and a Thailand. In the design, Yao also wears his hair down. A second doodle of the rejected concept would later appear in the special edition booklet for volume 3, where Yao was depicted with short hair and the glasses. In notes, Himaruya wrote that the character was originally supposed to be colder and calculating, as well as appearing to be older.