The People's Liberation Army (PLA; simplified Chinese: 中国人民解放军; traditional Chinese: 中國人民解放軍; pinyin: Zhōngguó Rénmín Jiěfàngjūn), is the official name of the Chinese armed forces. Founded in 1921 under the control of Communist Party of China, they participated in the Chinese Civil War, extended over certain periods between 1927 to 1950. As the PLA was victorious over the Republic of China's forces, the Communist Party of China took control officially in 1949 and created the People's Republic of China. From there on out, the PLA became the main military force of the PRC. Presently, it consists of 5 branches: the Ground Force, the Navy, the Air Force, the Second Artillery Corps and the Armed Police. It currently has the largest number of active personnel in the world at 2.3 million soldiers.
