China is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,260 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
China was first known as "China Grove", for a water stop for the Texas and New Orleans Railroad that sat amidst a grove of chinaberry trees. In the 1860s a small community grew around the water stop, and another a few miles away named Nashland. A post office with the name "China" was established there in 1893. When fire destroyed the China Grove depot in 1906, the railroad rebuilt in the larger Nashland area, but retained the established name "China" as the name of the depot. The Nashland post office changed its name to China shortly afterward. It was only in 1971 that the (now-merged) community voted to incorporate as the city of China, Texas.
During World War II, a small branch camp was built for German prisoners of war who were detailed to China from the larger Camp Huntsville in Walker County (now a part of Sam Houston State University). These prisoners helped to maintain rice paddies while local farmers were serving in the military.
The chinaberry trees that gave the community its name are rare in the area today. In fact, two trees that were transplanted to the front lawn of the city's civic complex in the mid 1990s are some of the only remaining examples. However, several local China and Meeker natives have taken to cultivating and nurturing new and transplanted chinaberry trees.
In 1999, Walt Disney Home Video celebrated the video release of Mulan in China. They built a miniature version of the Great Wall of China on what used to be Henderson Middle School (now China Elementary School) football field.
thumb|left|"Great Wall" on the football field at the former Henderson Middle School.|alt=Disney's Mulan, Great Wall in China, Texas
For years, China Elementary hosted an annual Chinaberry Festival, to celebrate the city's people and history. The festival featured a parade, local country musicians, and many booths fielded by local vendors and church groups. However the elementary school has not hosted the festival since the destruction of Hurricane Rita in 2005. Instead the City of China has attempted somewhat unsuccessfully to reinstate the festival.
In 2004, former Mayor Hermann Edwards pleaded guilty to tampering with governmental records and was sentenced to a year of probation.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.77% is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, China had a population of 1,260, a median age of 43.2 years, 23.7% of residents under the age of 18, and 21.2% of residents 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.4 males age 18 and over.
0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
As of the 2020 census, there were 519 households in China, of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.2% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
! Race !! Percent
|-
| White || 61.3%
|-
| Black or African American || 28.1%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 0.3%
|-
| Asian || 1.1%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0%
|-
| Some other race || 2.8%
|-
| Two or more races || 6.3%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 8.0%
|}
2000 census
As of the census