The Chinese health care system is presented in this thesis. In the past ten years, the Chinese health care system has drawn the attention of interested people. However, most studies explored the system in limited aspects. They do not take into account the Chinese health care system as a whole. This thesis aims at describing the health care system as a whole through examining its external and internal environments. The external environment includes the factors of history, culture, politics, economy and demography, which has influenced and shaped the development of the health care system in China. The internal environment is considered as the aspects which are directly related to the purposes of public health. Six selected aspects with regard to the internal environment of the health care system are discussed and analyzed. They are health care administration, medical education, health care delivery, health insurance, health costs and public health. Through exploring and examining the system, this thesis seeks to answer the three main questions: how did the health care system work?, what were the effects of health care on the public?, and how did the health system use limited money to provide effective health care?. Many information data published by the Chinese government and other literatures are also presented to help answer these questions. / Master of Science