The Disease Surveillance Points (DSP) 1996 contains mortality and morbidity data for China. The data are broken down by age, sex, and cause of death (with ICD-9 codes), and tabulations are also divided into urban and rural categories. Surveillance occured at 145 voluntary sites in urban and rural areas. In 1996, the DSP covered a population of 9,741,301 people and 52,929 deaths were reported. Cerebrovascular disease and COPD were the most common causes of death, with adjusted death rates (per 100,000) of 193.77 and 125.74, respectively.