Geology of China
The Geology of China (,
Zhnggu d zh) (or the geological
structure of the People's Republic of
China) can be divided into several
parts. The historical centre of
Chinese culture is on the loess
plateau, the world's largest
Quaternary loess deposit, and on the
alluvial lands at the east of it. The
alluvial East China plain extends from
just south of Beijing in the north, to
the Yangzi river delta in the south,
punctuated only by the igneous
Shandong highlands and peninsula.
South of the Yangzi river, most of the
landscape is mountainous, dominated by
sedimentary deposits and by the Yangzi
craton. The most famous scenery in
China is found in the karst landscapes
of Guangxi and Yunnan provinces. The
alluvial Sichuan basin is surrounded
by mountains, the Qinling mountains to
the north and the Himalaya to the west
and southwest. Much of Northeast
China, or Manchuria, is dominated by
alluvial plains, but the border
regions with Korea are also highly
mountainous. In the west, most of the
Tibetan plateau is in China, and
averages over 4000 metres in
elevation. The Yunnan-Guizhou plateau
is also an extension of the Tibetan
plateau.
The town
of Hongping,
in Shennongjia Fo
restry District,
is proud of the
Rhino Cave, one
of the
richest fossil si
tes in the
nation.
Geoscience:
It was not until late in the Qing
Dynasty (16441911) that the
government formulated a policy to
introduce foreign science and
technology into China. Modern geologic
ideas were introduced with the
establishment of technical schools and
the translation into Chinese of works
by James D. Dana and Charles Lyell
during the 1870s. Early in the
twentieth century, foreign geology
teachers were brought to China and
Chinese students were sent to foreign
countries to study geology. This
infusion successfully developed the
modern teaching and practice of
geology in China.
During the 1960's, the theory of plate
tectonics gained world-wide acceptance
- except in China. The theory proposed
that large sections of the earth's
crust, called plates, moved relative
to each other, producing major
topographic features such as the Rocky
Mountains and the Andes. Earthquakes
occurred at plate boundaries such as
the San Andreas Fault or on zones of
discontinuity within a plate as it
moved.
While the plate tectonics revolution
was occurring in the West,
universities in China were closed.
Most of the Chinese geoscientists who
could apply the newly developing
theory to the highly active fault
systems of Tibet and western China
were out of work for over a decade.
Furthermore, China had been closed to
foreigners since 1949, so western
geoscientists were forced to evaluate
their ideas about the geology of China
using data from remote instruments
such as satellite photographs and
seismographs.
Prior to the Cultural Revolution,
Chinese geoscientists, in particular
paleontologists and geomorphologists,
had a worldwide reputation for the
high quality of their work. In the
late 1800's, the works of several
European geologists were translated
into Chinese, and European geologists
began to visit China for cooperative
study. The first geology college was
established in China in 1912, and
their National Geological Survey was
founded in 1916. In 1922 the
Geological Society of China was
formed. Unfortunately, from then until
1949, China was at war, both with the
Japanese and with itself, so geology
was a low priority.
With the exception of foreign
publications by geographer, botanist
and anthropologist Joseph Rock and
geologists J.W. and C.J. Gregory in
the 1920's and geologists Peter Misch
and Arnold Heim in the 1940's, not
much about the geology of China was
published outside of China until the
1970's. However, as soon as Mao Zedong
gained control in 1949, he realized
that China badly needed raw materials
for industry. Mao emphasized geology
to the extent that, in spite of the
dark ages during the Cultural
Revolution, today there are over 50
geology colleges, over 80,000
professional geoscientists, and the
Geological Society of China has 40,000
members. In the late 1970's, many of
their studies became available for use
by foreign scientists.
Since the Cultural Revolution ended,
Chinese geoscientists have made
significant progress in understanding
and applying plate tectonic theory.
The Chinese government has encouraged
students to study at major
universities in the US and Europe, and
there are now more Chinese students in
the US than any other foreign
nationality. It has also encouraged
foreign scientists to participate in
cooperative studies with Chinese
scientists.
China Geology Information
Infrastructure:
The China Geological Survey (CGS)
constructed its geological survey
information infrastructure to meet the
needs of international cooperation and
coordination, disseminate public
geoscience knowledge and information,
and to promote the sustainable
development of the national economy
and society. The main line of the
geological survey informationization
is the informationization of whole
procedure of the geological survey
including project application,
designing, implement, data processing
and providing the geoscience
information to the public; The
construction of information
standardization, basic network,
technological development and project
management system make up of its
technological support; The
construction of national basic
geoscience database is the data
support.
Geological Parks:
China has 44 national geological parks
managed since 1999 by the Chinese
Ministry of Land and Resources in
cooperation with UNESCO to find a way
to protect geological sites of
importance while encouraging both
tourism and scientific research.
Zhangjiajie Gritstone-peak Forest,
China's best preserved cluster of
volcanoes and geological features in
Hunan Province, in 2001 became among
the first nationally designated
geological park. In February 2004,
UNESCO announced the World Network of
Geological Parks as well as its first
geology park conference to be held in
Beijing from June 2729, 2004. Of the
28 original UNESCO World Geoparks,
eight are in China. Currently there 26
World Geoparks in China, including the
following:
Shilin Geopark in China's Yunnan
Province, featuring a carbonate
peak forest landform, which
brings about the formation of
various karst landscapes, such
as stone teeth, corroded gullies
and corroded funnels.
Huangshan Geopark in Anhui
Province, famed for its grand
and steep mountains, with 72
peaks of over 1,000 meters high.
The geopark is picturesque with
green and straight pines, jagged
rocks of grotesque shapes, wide
and imposing cloud sea, as well
as many gushing warm springs.
Other world-class Chinese
geology parks include Lushan
Geopark in Jiangxi Province,
Yuntaishan Geopark and Songshan
Geopark in central China's Henan
Province, Danxia Geopark in
Guangdong, Zhangjiajie Geopark
in Hunan, and Wudalianchi
Geopark in northeast China's
Heilongjiang Province.
Danxia Geopark in Guangdong
GENERAL GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE of China
The study of geological structure, or
tectonics, as Prof C, Lapworth has
already pointed out, implies the study
of the present surface feature
(epidography), the succession of
strata (stratigraphy), and the
recognizable or inand the second
ferred deformations (Geoeidography).
The first/have already been dealt with
to some extent. At present it is
intended to gather observed facts
which appear to throw light upon the
principal- features of deformation and
dislocation of Chinese Strata, and as
far as the available information
permits, to * infer the date at which,
or the period during which such def-
, ormation or dislocation took place.
In a broad way we may divide
eidographical features into three
classes: (a) folds, (b) faults, (c)
thrusts. Not only the classes (b) and
(c) merge into each other by all
gradations, but along one and the same
line of disturbance we may find both
folding and faulting. Abundance of
such examples is found in China.

Geological Map of China from the China

Geological Survey.

Erosion of the Himalayas is a very

important source of sediment, which
flows via several great rivers (the
Indus to the Indian Ocean, and the
Ganges and Brahmaputra river system)
to the Bay of Bengal.
The geological structure of China is
divided into several parts.
The center of China is on the loess
plateau - the world's largest
Quaternary loess deposit. The
alluvial East China plain extends from
just south of Beijing in the north, to
the Yangzi river delta in the south,
punctuated only by the igneous
Shandong highlands and
peninsula. South of the Yangzi river,
most of the landscape is mountainous,
dominated by sedimentary deposits and
by the Yangzi craton.
The most famous scenery in China is
found in the karst landscapes
of Guangxi and Yunnan provinces.
The alluvial Sichuan basin is
surrounded by mountains, the Qinling
mountains to the north and the
Himalaya to the west and southwest.
Much of Northeast China, or Manchuria,
is dominated by alluvial plains, but
the border regions with Korea are also
highly mountainous.
In the west, most of the Tibetan
plateau is in China, and averages over
4000 meters in elevation. The Yunnan-
Guizhou plateau is also an extension
of the Tibetan plateau.
There are hundreds of sedimentary
basins in China. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic
sedimentary basins with terrestrial
facies source rocks provide 95% of the
current crude oil production in China.
Paleozoic marine facies source rocks
are proved existing in Tarim basin and
in the southeastern provinces.