Lecture One: The Geography of China By: Xueyan Hu

Location of China in the world

The People's Republic of China is a vast country with rich natural resources. The Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea lap its shores, and great mountains and rivers adorn its territory. Superior natural conditions provide not only a vast room of subsistence for the Chinese nation but also a strong material foundation for China's social progress.

Countries & Regions Tibet Mongolia Southeast Asia Indian Subcontinent Russia N. Korea S> Korea Taiwan Philippines

Natural resources  Natural resources are an important component of natural conditions. They include mainly land resources, water resources, climatic resources, biological resources and mineral resources. China has rich natural resources.

Land Resources  The country's farmland covers 122,400 sq. km, about 10% of its total land area, and is distributed mainly in plain areas in northeast China, north China, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, the Sichuan Basin and the Pearl River Delta. Agriculture is highly developed in these areas, which are major producers of wheat, corn, rice and cash crops. The country has 67,500 sq. km of fresh water lakes -- production bases for fish, shrimps and other aquatic products.

Water Resources China's average total rainfall in a year amounts to 6 trillion cubic meters; the total runoff of its rivers is 2.7 trillion cubic meters; and its total water resources reach 2.8 trillion cubic meters, to rank sixth in the world, after Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States and Indonesia. Theoretical hydropower resources provided by the country's rivers amount to 676 million kw, of Which 378 million kw can be exploited for power generation, ranking first in the world. The distribution of such hydropower resources is uneven: they are concentrated in southwest China.

Bodies of Water Huang-He River Y e l l o w S e a Yangtze River Pacific Ocean Amur River Xi River South China Sea Sea of Japan

Rivers and Lakes China abounds in rivers. More than 1,500 rivers each drain 1,000 sq km or larger areas. Most of the large rivers have their source on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and drop greatly between source and mouth. As a result, China is rich in water-power resources, leading the world in hydropower potential, with reserves of 680 million kw.

The Yangtze, 6,300 km long, is the largest river in China, and the third largest in the world, next only to the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America

The Yellow River is the second largest river in China with a length of 5,464 km. The Yellow River valley was one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. It has lush pasturelands along its banks, flourishing agriculture and abundant mineral deposits.

Mineral Resources China has deposits of every one of the 150 minerals found so far in the natural world. The amount of proven deposits in the country has been made clear for 135 of them. Of these, more than 20 rank in the forefront of the world. Ranking first in the world, in proven deposits, are 12 minerals: tungsten, antimony, titanium, vanadium, zinc, rare earth, magnetite, pyrite, fluorite, barite, plaster stone and graphite. It is one of a few countries where mineral deposits are rich and varieties are fairly complete.

Major Chinese Industries

Fuels, Power, Minerals, & Metals in China

Plant and Animal Resources China is home to 32,800 higher plant varieties and 104,000 animal varieties. Among them are some that are quite rare, including the giant panda, the golden monkey, the Yangtze alligator, white-flag dolphin, the metasequoia and the dove tree – all are "living fossils" that are found nowhere else. To protect wildlife and its ecological environment, China has built a fairly big number of nature reserves, including fourteen that are part of the United Nations' "Man and Biosphere" nature reserve system.

In absolute terms, China indeed abounds in natural resources of various kinds. But, owing to its huge population, its per-capita natural resources, such as land, water and mineral resources, are not rich. Besides, the geographical distribution of its natural resources is not even. The Chinese government has been taking measures to deal with the problem. Researches on the issue have been strengthened and overall planning conducted. Concrete measures include the construction of railways to transport more coal from the north to the south and the building of a giant water diversion project to channel water from the Yangtze to the Yellow River to quench thirst in north China and northwest China.

Climate China is one of the countries that straddle the greatest number of climatic zones. From north to south, the country covers six climatic zones: frigid-temperate, temperate, warm-temperate, subtropical, tropical and equatorial.

China’s Climate Zones

Precipitation  The vastness of the country brings about great regional differences in precipitation. For many years, China's annual precipitation averages 629 mm and a year's total rainfall exceeds six trillion cubic meters. However, owing to different degrees to which different regions of the country are affected by the summer monsoon, precipitation differs sharply in different regions, the general trend being a progressive drop from the southeast to the northwest.

Precipitation in China

Monsoon Precipitation Patterns

Landform China's landform is varied, encompassing mountains, plateaus, basins, plains and hilly areas. Each type of landform presents a particular natural landscape. China is a mountainous country: mountains, plateaus and hilly areas make up about 65% of its total land area. Many tall and long mountain ranges constitute the framework of the country's landform. They crisscross one another to form geographical "networks" which, encompassing plateaus, plains and basins of different shapes and sizes, present different landforms.

Percentages of Different Landforms

Mountains & Peaks Tian Shan Altai Mts. Greater Khingan Kunlun Shan Himalayan Mts.

Deserts & Plateaus Tibetan Plateau Taklamakan Desert Gobi Desert

Valleys / Plains / Basins Manchurian Plain North China Plain Tarim Basin Sichuan Basin

China’s Topography

China's topography was formed around the emergence of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the most important geological event over the past several million years. Taking a bird's- eye view of China, the terrain gradually descends from west to east like a staircase.

The sloping topography allows humid air currents above the sea to penetrate deep into China's interior areas; at the same time, big rivers flow invariably eastward into the sea as transportation arteries between inland and coastal areas, and their big flow drops contain huge hydropower resources. Taking advantage of its topography, China has built numerous hydroelectric stations on the gorges of the Yangtze and the Yellow River, in a "stair- by- stair" way of development.

Agricultural Regions in China

Arable Land

China’s Provinces

CitiesCities BEIJING Harbin Nanjing Guangzhou Xi’an Shanghai Taipei Lhasa Hong Kong Macao

Completed Political Map BEIJING Harbin Nanjing Guangzhou Xi’an Shanghai Taipei Lhasa Hong Kong Macao Tibet Mongolia Southeast Asia Indian Subcontinent N. Korea S> Korea Taiwan Philippines