CHINA: LANDFORMS
The landforms of China are dominated by the Alpine System. The physical environment is mostly mountainous, alternating with hills and depressions. They may be classified into the following distinctive regions:
CHINA: LANDFORMS
Rivers Basins and Highlands of Eastern China. Valleys of the Huang He, Chang Jiang, and Xi Jiang rivers. All three rivers rise on eastern slopes of the Xizang--Yunnan Plateau and flow eastward, the Huang He passes through the most circuitous and longest course, the Xi through the most direct and shortest. The Huang He is known as Chinas Sorrow because of violent flooding. The upper courses of the Huang and Chang lie in close proximity, but are in different provinces; their lower reaches lie in the Eastern Lowlands. The Eastern Lowlands is China's most important region including the North China Plain and the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and the productive lower Chang Valley with Nanjing (Nanking) and China's largest city, Shanghai. The Eastern Lowlands extend into the Northeast, where the lowland of the Liao River and the city of Shenyang, China's Pittsburgh, form part of it.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
North China Plain: This region includes the Mongolian Border upland, the Shandong Peninsula, the Loess Plateau, and the lower valley of the Huang He. The Huang He originates on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and is fed by snow as it follows a tortuous course to Bohai Gulf. In its upper part, the Huang He Jiang makes an immense clockwise bend and in the process almost encircles one of China's driest areas, the Ordos Desert. Downstream from the Ordos, the river enters the Loess Plateau (Yellow Earth in Chinese).
CHINA: LANDFORMS
North China Plain (continued): Loess is a wind-blown deposit whose origin in this area is attributed to nearby deserts (possibly the Ordos) and the Pleistocene glacial epoch, during which the deposits were laid down in a mantle up to 76 m (250 feet) thick, covering the preexisting landscape. The loess is quite fertile and is dominated by intensive cultivation and dense population. Each year 1.6 billion tons of this soil washes into the river, and 3/4 of that amount reaches the Yellow Sea. The balance builds up in the river bed, five to 12 m (15 to 40 feet) through the centuries.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
North China Plain (continued): The Huang He has been marked by violent floods and frequent changes in the course. For this reason, it has been nicknamed "China's Sorrow." Alternately, it has drained north into the Gulf of Chihli or to the south of the Shandong (Shantung) Peninsula with numerous distributaries forming and shifting positions over time. Because of flooding, local inhabitants have constructed dikes and artificial levees in order to stabilize the river's various channels. The Shandong Peninsula is a hilly area that the Chinese have nicknamed Chinas California. The Mongolian Border Upland is a hilly forested area that separates the North China Plain from the steppes surrounding the Mongolian desert.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
Southeast China: This region is dominated by the Chang Jiang (Yangtze Kiang). It is divided into three basins: (1) The Upper Chang - the westernmost, the Sichuan (Red Basin ), contains China's largest population clusters. The hilly country has been transformed by terraces and rice grows in summer and wheat in winter. Other major crops include corn, soybeans, sweet potatoes, sugarcane and a wide range of fruits; on the warmer slopes, tea flourishes. (2) Middle Chang - Begins in the vicinity of Yichang to the area west of Nanjing. An important city on the middle course is the metropolis of Wuhan. It is largely built up of river sediments and is flat and low, and dotted with lakes: (3) Lower Chang (Land of Rice and Fish) forms a delta that merges with that of the Huang He. Yangzi. Large ocean craft ascent to Nanjing at all seasons. This area produces about 1/4 of China's rice. There are three harvests per year, two of rice and one of wheat.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
South China: This region extends from the margins of the valley of the Xi River to the borders with Southeast Asia. The Xi is a shorter stream than either the Huang He or Chang Jiang. The Xi Jiang flows through uplands except for the Guangzhou Delta, which is separated from the Chang Jiang by a wide belt of hills and low mountains (Southeast Uplands). This region has been one of China's most outward-looking regions, with considerable emigration (via Guangzhou) to the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Tea was the leading commercial crop, and the people of Fujian Province developed a significant seafaring tradition.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
The Northeast (formerly Manchuria): The LiaoSonghua Lowland is essentially an erosional plain rather than a depositional basin. The Liao-Songhua Lowland and the Northeast Uplands converge on the silt-plagued Liaodong (Liaotung) Gulf, where Luda (Dalian) is the port city near the tip of the adjacent Liaodong Peninsula. In the Heilongjiang Province the emphasis is on corn and soybeans because of a short growing season of 120 days.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
Plateau-Steppe of Mongolia: This region constitutes the southern rim of the Gobi Desert (North and Northwest of the Great Wall). It is an area of rolling uplands, barren mountains and lifeless basins which stretch into the arid interior of Asia. Summer temperatures are hot and winters are bitterly cold and vicious winds often blow up sand and dust. This area is sparsely populated with an average of 12 persons per sq km (30 persons per sq mi), compared to densities of 300 people per rural square kilometer. Only Xinjiang and Xizang are less populous.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
Desert Basins of Xinjiang: The Desert Basins of Xinjiang (Sinkiang) are a Muslim stronghold. They cover an area of 635,000 sq. mi. and have about 14 million people. Capital is Urumqi. In physical terms, they consist of the Tarim Basin to the south and the basin of Junggar (Dzungarian) to the north. These basins are separated by the lofty Tian Shan mountain range. Both are areas of internal drainage and arid or semiarid. The Tarim Basin is occupied by the Takla Makan Desert, perhaps the driest region in Asia. Along its southern margin lies a string of oases.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
Desert Basins of Xinjiang (continued): Since 1949 canals and qanats (karez) were built, oases enlarged and the acreage of productive farmland quadrupled. Turfan Depression is the second lowest surface point on earth, after the Dead Sea. Major crops include cotton and wheat. Junggar (Dzungarian) has been the site of strategic east-west routes.
It contains sizable oil fields, notably around Karamay, not far from the Russian border.
The main westward rail line toward Kazakhstan and Russia runs from Xian in China proper via Yumen in Gansu and Urumqi in Junggar, which is its present terminus. The Silk Road is 4, 000 miles long.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
The high plateaus and Mountains of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet): The Xizang (Tibetan Highlands) comprises about 1/4 of China's land area. It is framed by the Kunlun Mtns to the north and the Himalayas to the south. They are made up politically of Xizang Zizhigu (the Tibetan Autonomous Region), Qinghai (Tsinghai) Province and the western portion of Sichuan (Szechwan) and small areas of other adjoining provinces. Tibet is culturally dominated by the Xizang (Tibetans) who practice Lamaism (the Tibetan variant of Buddhism). Most of this region is plateau country averaging nearly 3 miles in elevation. Its borders are: the Himalayas on the south, containing the world's highest peak, Mt. Everest (29,035 feet) on the NepalTibet border; the Karakoram and other ranges to the northwest; the Kunlun, Altyn Tagh, and the Nan Shan range to the north; and the Great Snowy Range of mountains in the east.
CHINA: LANDFORMS
The high plateaus and Mountains of Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet): The Xizang (Tibetan Highlands) is subdivided into two major physical regions: A very high northwestern or inner plateau and a more varied southeastern or outer plateau region. Inner Plateau The inner Qaidam (Tsaidam) basin is characterized by internal drainage and a number of large salt lakes, low annual precipitation, scanty vegetation and a very sparse almost entirely nomadic population. Large areas are uninhabited. Outer Plateau The outer plateau region contains the Yarlung Jiang (Brahmaputra River) and the headwaters and upper courses of several other major rivers-the Salween, Mekong, Chang Jiang (Yangtze) and Hwang He (Yellow). The population, although small and dispersed, is considerably greater than that of the inner plateau and consists of settled agricultural communities as well as nomads. The Qaidam (Tsaidam) Basin It has an elevation of 2,743 to 3,048 m (9,000 to 10,000 feet) and is composed of a barren sand and gravel western half that merges eastward into salt flats,
CHINA: CLIMATE
China's Climatic controls: 1. 2. 3. 4. The continental location The location on eastern margins of continent The wide latitudinal range of the country Wind systems
CHINA: CLIMATE
Climatic types:
1. Desert - (BWk), Western China 2. Steppe - (BSk), North Central China and Mongolia 3. Humid Subtropical - (Cfa), warm summer 4. Humid Continental, (Cwa) 5. Highland, (H)
CHINA: VEGETATION
1. Needleleaf evergreen trees. Mainly in the mountains of northwestern China. 2. Grass and other herbaceous plants. Mostly in all of arid China. 3. Broadleaf deciduous trees. Mostly in coastal eastern China (lower valleys of Huang He, Chang Jiang, and Liao). 4. Broadleaf evergreen trees. Area south of Hangzhou in a coastal belt. 5. Semi-deciduous: broadleaf evergreen and broadleaf deciduous trees. Area west of the broadleaf evergreen zone. 6. Mixed: broadleaf deciduous and needleleaf evergreen trees. An area in the upper valley of the Chang Jiang and in the Northeast.
CHINA: SOILS
1. Ultisols: Soils of warmer soil temperature regimes with an argillic horizon and low base status (also occur in the Southeast U.S.).
They develop under forest vegetation in climates with a slight to pronounced seasonal soil-water deficit alternating with a surplus. Common in humid subtropical, wet-dry tropical, and monsoon and trade wind littoral.
CHINA: SOILS
2. Entisols: Soils consisting of mineral solid lacking soil horizons that would persist after normal plowing.
They are found in any climate and under any vegetation. Lack of distinct horizons is the result of parent material, i.e., quartz sand or deposits of volcanic ash or alluvium. Entisols and inceptisols of flood plains and deltaic plains in warm and moist climates are among the most highly productive agricultural soil because of their favorable texture, ample nutrient content, and large soil water storage. Examples: Central China and the Ganges and Brahmaputra plains in India and Bangladesh.
CHINA: SOILS
3. Aridisols: Soils of dry climates, with or without argillic horizons, and with accumulations of carbonate or soluble salts. 4. Alfisols: Soils of humid and sub-humid climates with high base status and an argillic horizon (B horizon).
They are highly productive soils when moderate amounts of lime and fertilizer are applied.
5. Highland
CHINA: RESCOURCES
Coal is the dominant industrial resource and China is the world's leading producer of coal, with 29.2% of the global production. China ranks third in proven coal reserves with 11.1% (after the U.S. 23.7% and Russia 19.3%). More than 60% of Chinas coal is located in the northern and northeastern portions of China, in the great bend of the Huang He and Dongbei. Major production centers are located at Shenyang and Baotou. Outside the northeast, coal is important at Wuhan, Yichang and Chengdu. Oil production is important in Dongbei and on the lower Huang He. China ranks third in the exploitation of iron ore deposits (13.8%), which are scattered all over the country. China produces 12.9 % of the worlds steel.
CHINA: RESOURCES
China has a wide array of minerals.
The country leads the world in the production of tungsten (74.8 %), pyrites (71.2 %), tin (32%), lead (18.7%), pig iron (18.6%), and smelted zinc (14.6%). China ranks second in the production of manganese(16.6%), phosphate rock (16.4%), zinc (14.3%), and crude steel (12.9%). China ranks third in the production of vanadium (24.9%), iron ore (13.8%), and smelted lead (10.7%).
CHINA: POPULATION GEOGRAPHY Migration: An estimated 55,000,000 Chinese form one of the world's largest ethnic groups in a diaspora. They are found mainly in Southeast Asian countries and constitute one of the world's great economic engines. The overseas Chinese have experienced a long period of exile from the mother country to which a deep feeling of ethnic attachment persists. The Chinese have demonstrated a strong bent for commerce and trade.
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
CHINA: CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY Languages: The main languages of China are the following:
Mandarin Chinese (official), Shanghai, Guangzhou (Canton), Fukien, Hakka dialects, Tibetan, Bigus (Turkic).
CHINA: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY China is divided into the following administrative units: four Central-GovernmentControlled Municipalities (Shis); five Autonomous Regions; 22 provinces, and 2 Special Administrative Regions (SAR).
TAIWAN
Taiwan (formerly Formosa) is a pear-shaped island that is less than 200 km (125 mi) from mainland China. A mountainous spine exceeds 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in places and is forested. The majority of the country's 22,600,000 people are found on the western coastal plain. The capital city of Taipei (4,500,000 people) is located near the northern edge of this plain. In 1895, Taiwan became part of Japan as a result of the war of 1894-1895. Japanese rule ended in 1945 following the collapse of Japan at the end of WWII. Japan laid the foundations for Taiwan's development that involved roads, railroads, irrigation projects, mines and factories.
TAIWAN
From 1945-1949, Taiwan was officially part of China. Rice is the leading staple, about two thirds of which is from double-cropped land. Wheat and sweet potatoes are also important staples. Sugarcane grows in the lower areas and tea in the uplands. Taiwan has a high proportion of its population (77%) that is classified as urban. This degree of urbanization is comparable with similar figures in other industrial countries of the world. The rate of natural increase stands at 0.8% which is below the world average of 1.3%. Recently, the Taiwanese economy is moving away from laborintensive manufacturing to high-technology industries particularly personal computers, telecommunications, and precision electronic instruments
MONGOLIA
A vast, landlocked, buffer state wedged between Russia and China. Larger than Alaska in area has only 2,500,000 people. From the 1600s until 1911, Mongolia was part of the Chinese Empire. With Soviet help, the Mongols resisted Chinese efforts to regain control of the country and Mongolia became a Peoples Republic in the Soviet model. The economy is based on animal products (cashmere wool). The country has 800,000 herders with millions of sheep. During the severe winters of 2000 and 2001, human and animal losses were most severe. Ulaanbaatar, the capital city, adjoins Russias Eastern Frontier.
KOREA
Korea is a divided country, a communist North Korea and a capitalist South Korea. Korea has been a dependency of China and a colony of Japan. Following its freedom from Japan in 1945, Korea acquired two masters, the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviets acquired the territory north of the 38th parallel and the U.S. the area to the south. In 1950, North Korea sought to reunite the country by the use of force and invaded South Korea across the 38th parallel. A devastating conflict lasted from 1950-1953 and resulted in the cease-fire that was arranged in 1953. The dividing line remains unchanged to this day. It is still actively patrolled on both sides and is considered a potential flashpoint for world conflict.
KOREA
South Korea is moister than North Korea and the soils are more productive. South Korea possesses a zone of broadleaf evergreen trees like that of southern Japan. Most of the rest of the Korean Peninsula has a deciduous forest. The North is continental, the South peninsular. The North is more mountainous than the South. The North can grow only one crop annually and depend on wheat and millet, whereas the South has multiple cropping and the staple is rice.
KOREA
The North, with a population of 22,700,000, has significantly fewer people than the South, population 47,900,000. The North has severe food deficits and the South comes close to feeding itself. North Korea produces vastly more coal and iron ore than the South. North Korea has maintained a lead in hydroelectric production. The two Koreas are potentially interdependent.
Loess
Manchuria
Degradation
Aggradation Hydraulic Oasis Karez (qanat)