There does not seem to be a known nickname for China.
- In Chinese
- Sleeping dragon
There are some that believe that China's nickname is "Sleeping Dragon." It could be the truth based on the dragons in Chinese culture. Given the current economic moves the country is making it does seem as though China is a waking dragon and thus it was once a sleeping dragon, but again no research states that this is actual fact.
- The middle kingdom
It has also been said that China is referred to as the Middle Kingdom. Perhaps in early history it was considered the Middle Kingdom given its location in the world and how powerful it once was compared to countries around it. Again, there is no exact evidence to support this answer either.
When one considers that Korea is called the "land of the morning calm" and Japan that is called "land of the rising sun" it is possible there is a nickname other than "center of all nations".
It is certain that the Chinese characters for China Zhong Guo does mean "middle country" or "middle kingdom", so some may refer to it as the middle kingdom, especially those that live there.
For a true factual answer you may consider finding a historical book on China that has been translated from Chinese. You may find a concrete answer in the history books. Some have also said that it is "land of the dragon," so as you can see there is no agreement that is 100%.
For a true factual answer you may consider finding a historical book on China that has been translated from Chinese. You may find a concrete answer in the history books. Some have also said that it is "land of the dragon," so as you can see there is no agreement that is 100%.