Introduction
 Situated in the southeastern part of the Asian Continent, on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has a coastline of 18,000 kilometers, a international land borders of more than 20,000 kilometers, and a total land area of 9.6 million square kilometers, third only in size to Russia and Canada.
From north to south, the territory of China extends over 50 of latitude from north to south, measures some 5,500 km, stretching from the center of the Heilongjiang River north of the town of Mohe (latitude 53° 30’ N) to the Zengmu Reef at the southernmost tip of the Nansha Islands (latitude 4° N), embracing the equatorial belt, the tropics, the subtropics, the moderate temperate zone and the cold temperate zone. When north China is still covered with snow, people in south China are busy with spring plowing. From west to east, the nation extends over 62 of longitude about 5,200 km from the Pamirs (longitude 73° 40’E) to the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Wusuli rivers (longitude 135° 05’ E), with land covered by forests, grasslands, deserts, plains, hills and mountains, and with a time difference of over four hours. When the Pamirs are cloaked in night, the morning sun is shining brightly over east China. China has land borders 22,800 km long, with 15 contiguous countries: Korea to the east; the People’s Republic of Mongolia to the north; Russia to the northeast; Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan and Tajikistan to the northwest; Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan to the west and southwest; and Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar to the south. Across the seas to the east and southeast are the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Chinese mainland is flanked to the east and south by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas, with a total maritime area of 4.73 million sq km. The Bohai Sea is China’s continental sea, while the Yellow, East China and South China seas are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. A total of 5,400 islands dot China’s vast territorial waters. The largest of these, with an area of about 36,000 sq km, is Taiwan, followed by Hainan with an area of 34,000 sq km. Diaoyu and Chiwei islands, located to the northeast of Taiwan Island, are China’s easternmost islands. The many islands, islets, reefs and shoals on the South China Sea, known collectively as the South China Sea Islands, are subdivided into the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups.
 The land of China can be divided into 8 regions:
The plateau of Tibet and Qinghai in the southwest. The Tibetan Highlands average 4500m above sea level, and are often referred to as the 'Roof of the World'. At the southern rim of the plateau is the Himalayan mountain range, with peaks averaging 6000m, among which Mount Everest, known to the Chinese as Qomolangma Peak (Mount Everest), reaches more than 8000m.
The Xinjiang-Inner Mongolian Uplands include the eastern Ordos Desert, the southern part of the Gobi Desert and the Turpan depression - 150 metres below sea level. This region also boasts the largest inland basin in the world, the Tarim Basin, where the Taklamakan Desert (the largest in China) and China's largest shifting salt lake are situated.
The Inner Mongolian Border Uplands include the Gobi and eastern lowlands and are distinguished by a rugged terrain with little agriculture, though the southern area has fertile loess soil which has been deposited by the wind.
The Eastern Highlands includes the Shandong Peninsula and the northeast coastal region. The region is hilly and with rich deposits of coal.
The Eastern Lowlands provide the best farming land in the country. There are three main plains in this region: the Manchurian Plain, which also has large coal and iron deposits; the North China plain which produces wheat, although the area is subject to flooding; and the Yangtze River valley which has flat land with good rainfall and a fertile delta where the cities of Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou are to be found.
The Central Uplands, located between the eastern lowlands and the Tibetan plateau, are less than 1000m above sea level.
The Sichuan Basin, with a mild climate and long growing season, is a good area for agriculture.
The Southern Uplands cover Southeast China and Hainan Island. The only level area here is the Pearl River delta where the city of Guangzhou is located.
China has 14 of the world's highest peaks, each of these mountains is more than 8,000 meters above sea level.
Most of China's rivers flow from west to east into the Pacific Ocean except for a few in southwest China that flow to the south. Melting snow and ice from the mountains of western China and the Qinghai -Tibet Plateau are the main sources of the headwaters for the country's largest rivers: Chang Jiang (the Yangtze), Huang He (Yellow), Lancang Jiang (Mekong) and Nu Jiang (Salween) rivers.
The Yangtze River, the nation's largest river and the third longest in the world, after the Nile and the Amazon, originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has a length of 6,300 kilometers, and runs through spectacular gorges.
The Yellow River, about 5460km long and the second longest river in China, is described as the birthplace of Chinese civilization.
The Nu Jiang (Salween River) runs from eastern Tibet into Yunnan province and then into Myanmar.
The Grand Canal is another great waterway of China and is the longest artificial canal in the world. Originally it stretched for 1800km from Hangzhou in the south to Beijing in the north. Now most of it is no longer in use.
Rivers
 China abounds in rivers. More than 1,500 rivers each drain 1,000 sq km or larger areas. More than 2,700 billion cu m of water flow along these rivers, 5.8 percent of the world’s total. Most of the large rivers find their source in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and as a result China is rich in waterpower resources, leading the world in hydropower potential, with reserves of 680 million kW.
China’s rivers can be categorized as exterior and interior systems. The catchment’s area for the exterior rivers that empty into the oceans accounts for 64 percent of the country’s total land area. The Yangtze, Yellow, Heilongjiang, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe, Huaihe and Lancang rivers flow east, and empty into the Pacific Ocean. The Yarlungzangbo River in Tibet, which flows first east and then south into the Indian Ocean, boasts the Grand Yarlungzangbo Canyon, the largest canyon in the world, 504.6 km long and 6,009 m deep. The Ertix River flows from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the Arctic Ocean. The catchment area for the interior rivers that flow into inland lakes or disappear into deserts or salt marshes makes up 36 percent of China’s total land area. Its 2,179 km make the Tarim River in southern Xinjiang China’s longest interior river.
 The Yangtze is the largest river in China, and the third- longest in the world, next only to the Nile in northeast Africa and the Amazon in South America. It is 6,300 km long, and has a catchment area of 1.809 million sq km. The middle and lower Yangtze River’s warm and humid climate, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil make the area an important agricultural region. Known as the “golden waterway,” the Yangtze is a transportation artery linking west and east. The Yellow River is the second-largest river in China, 5,464 km in length, with a catchment area of 752,000 sq km. The Yellow River valley was one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. It has lush pastureland and abundant mineral deposits. The Heilongjiang River is north China’s largest. It has a total length of 4,350 km, of which 3,101 km are within China. The Pearl River is the largest river in south China, with a total length of 2,214 km. In addition to those endowed by nature, China has a famous man-made river—he Grand Canal, running from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south. Work first began on the Grand Canal as early as in the fifth century B.C. It links five major rivers—the Haihe, Yellow, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantang. With a total length of 1,801 km, the Grand Canal is the longest as well as the oldest man-made waterway in the world.
Topography
 China’s topography is varied and complicated, with towering mountains, basins of different sizes, undulating plateaus and hills, and flat and fertile plains.
A bird’s-eye view of China would indicate that China’s terrain descends in four steps from west to east.
The top of this four-step “staircase” is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Averaging more than 4,000 m above sea level, it is often called the “roof of the world.” Rising 8,848 m above sea level is Mt. Qomolangma, the world’s highest peak and the main peak of the Himalayas.
The second step includes the Inner Mongolia, Loess and Yunnan-Guizhou plateaus, and the Tarim, Junggar and Sichuan basins, with an average elevation of between 1,000 m and 2,000 m.
The third step, about 500-1,000 m in elevation, begins at a line drawn around the Greater Hinggan, Taihang, Wushan and Xuefeng mountain ranges and extends eastward to the coast. Here, from north to south, are the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain and the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain. Interspersed amongst the plains are hills and foothills.
To the east, the land extends out into the ocean, in a continental shelf, the fourth step of the staircase. The water here is less than 200 m deep.
|
Bilateral Visits