Geography of China

Abstract: The People’s Republic of China is located in the southeast of the Eurasian landmass,

bordered by Mongolia and the Russian Federation to the north, the Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea and the Pacific Ocean to the east, Viet Nam, the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and India to the south, and Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,

Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to the west. The average altitude in China ranges from over 4 000 m

in the west to less than 100 m in the east. The total area is about 9.6 million km2 and is composed

of mountains (33 percent), plateaux (26 percent), valleys (19 percent), plains (12 percent) and

hills (10 percent). For administrative purposes, China is divided into 23 provinces, 3

municipalities and 5 autonomous regions, in addition to the special administrative regions of

Hong Kong and Macau. In 2009, arable land was an estimated 110.0 million ha. Adding to this

the 14.3 million ha under permanent crops gives a total cultivated area of 124.3 million ha (Table

1). Of the total cultivated land, around 86 percent was cropped for food. Of these food crops, 78

percent were cereals (rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum), 10 percent beans, 8 percent sweet

potatoes and 4 percent other crops. Of the cereals, 36 percent was rice, 33 percent maize, 28

percent wheat, 3 percent barley and 1 percent sorghum.

1
1. Introduction: China is the third-largest country in the world in terms of area but it is the

world's largest based on population. The country is a developing nation with a capitalist

economy that is controlled politically by communist leadership. Chinese civilization began more

than 5,000 years ago and the nation has played a crucial role in world history and is continuing to

do so today. China is a very diverse country with many distinct geographical regions. It has

deserts, high mountains, grasslands, tropical forests and almost every other geographical feature

that you can think of. The general rule is that the terrain falls in steps from the high Tibetan

plateau in the south west to the flat North Coastal plain in the north east. Three great rivers run

vaguely west to east to divide the nation into three east-west zones, the Huang He (Yellow

River); Chang Jiang (Yangzi River) and Yu Jiang (Pearl River). North-eastern China is

dominated by flat plains and coastlines while Southern China is mountainous with a rocky

coastline. The usual line taken to divide Northern from southern China is the course of the Huai

River which runs through Henan and Anhui. The lack of rain in western China is one of the most

important features of China's climate.

Understanding the interaction between a natural environment and various human and cultural

patterns is an essential aspect of geography. To fully appreciate China’s broad geographic and

cultural diversity, one needs to identify general characteristics that act as guidelines. The

technical term used to describe distinctive areas is “homogeneous regions.” Today “fingerprint”

carries the same idea, namely some thing or place that is distinctive. Just as fingers share general

characteristics, each has a unique “print” or pattern. This same principle can be used to facilitate

understanding complex cultures and societies, such as those in China.

2
2. Objectives: To explore China and total geography of China.

3. Methodology: This report is prepared by using all secondary data collected from different

websites, articles, magazine etc.

Study area: Country profile of China (Geographical):

Continent Asia
Region East/Southeast Asia
Coordinates 35°0′N 105°0′E[1]
Area Ranked 3rd/4th
• Total 9,596,960[1] km2 (3,705,410 sq mi)
• Land 97.2[1]%
• Water 2.8[1]%
Coastline 14,500[1] km (9,000 mi)

Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, North Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos,

Borders
Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam

Highest
Mount Everest, 8,848 m (29,029 ft)[2]
point

Lowest
Turpan Pendi, −154 m (−505 ft)[1]
point
(Source: Wikipedia)

3
Figure-1: Geographic map of China, including provinces, cities, rivers, lakes, mountains,

plateaus and deserts (Source: Wikipedia).

4. Result and discussion:

4.1 Provinces of China: China's system of political geography differs somewhat from that in

other countries. Most of it is broken up into provinces (省), but there are several other

geographic units of the same hierarchical rank as provinces:

 Various ethnic groups have autonomous regions (自治区), although their autonomy is far

from complete. For the traveler, these can generally be thought of as provinces, but in

political discussions, the distinction may be important.

4
 Four of the larger municipalities (市) are not part of provinces, but independent entities

whose leaders report directly to Beijing. The smallest of these, Tianjin, has a population well

over 10 million. The largest, Chongqing, has over 30 million residents.

 Hong Kong, Macau, and Wolong are special administrative regions (SARs，

特别行政区). Both Hong Kong and Macau are former colonies — Hong Kong British and

Macau Portuguese — that rejoined China in the late 90s. Their economies and distinct

political systems are allowed to flourish under separate regulatory regimes from the

Mainland under the slogan "One country, two systems". The SARs have their own

currencies, issue their own visas, and elect their own representative assemblies through a

combination of direct and indirect representation. Wolong was originally a nature reserve,

until in the early 80s, when the Chinese government designated the nature reserve and areas

surrounding it into its own SAR. Wolong's political system is currently limited to nature

preservation.

5
Province-level divisions:
A full list of province-level divisions is-

Province — capital Autonomous region — capital

 Anhui (安徽) — Hefei (合肥)  Guangxi Zhuang (广西壮族) —

 Fujian (福建) — Fuzhou (福州) Nanning (南宁)
 Gansu (甘肃) — Lanzhou (兰州)  Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) —
Hohhot (呼和浩特)
 Guangdong (广东) — Guangzhou (广州)
 Ningxia Hui (宁夏回族) — Yinchuan (银川)
 Guizhou (贵州) — Guiyang (贵阳)
 Hainan (海南) — Haikou (海口)  Xinjiang Uighur (新疆维吾尔族) —
 Hebei (河北) — Shijiazhuang (石家庄)
Urumqi (乌鲁木齐)
 Heilongjiang (黑龙江) —
 Tibet (西藏) — Lhasa (拉萨)
Harbin (哈尔滨)
 Henan (河南) — Zhengzhou (郑州) Municipalities
 Hubei (湖北) — Wuhan (武汉)
 Beijing Municipality (北京)
 Hunan (湖南) — Changsha (长沙)
 Chongqing Municipality (重庆)
 Jiangsu (江苏) — Nanjing (南京)  Shanghai Municipality (上海)
 Jiangxi (江西) — Nanchang (南昌)  Tianjin Municipality (天津)
 Jilin (吉林) — Changchun (长春)
 Liaoning (辽宁) — Shenyang (沈阳) Special Administrative Regions
 Qinghai (青海) — Xining (西宁)  Hong Kong (香港)
 Shaanxi (陕西) — Xi'an (西安)  Macau (澳门)
 Shandong (山东) — Jinan (济南)
 Shanxi (山西) — Taiyuan (太原)
 Sichuan (四川) — Chengdu (成都)
 Yunnan (云南) — Kunming (昆明)
 Zhejiang (浙江) — Hangzhou (杭州)

6
 Figures-2: Provinces of China (Source: chokkicx / Getty Images).

In pairs Guangxi/Guangdong and Shanxi/Shandong, "xi" is West and "dong" is East. "Shan"

means mountain, referring to Mount Tai.

In pairs Henan/Hebei and Hunan/Hubei, "nan" is south and "bei" is north. "He" means river,

referring to the Yellow River. "Hu" means lake, referring to the big lake near Changde.

Taiwan is a special case. At the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, the Communists held most

of China and the defeated Nationalists held only Taiwan, the Pescadores and a few islands in the

South China Sea. The Communists founded "The People's Republic of China" and Nationalists

retained control of Taiwan, small islets of Fujian under the name "The Republic of China". This

situation has continued for over 60 years with Taiwan recognized in the People's Republic of

China as one of their provinces, and Taiwan claiming independence from China. In many ways,

Taiwan acts as a separate country with its own visas, currency and a separate government and

political system.

7
Lower-level divisions: Some of this structure repeats at a lower level. Provinces and regions are

generally broken up into prefectures and prefecture-level cities. Where a given minority or

minorities predominate, the prefecture can be an Autonomous Prefecture (自治州) for the

various ethnic groups. Within prefectures and cities, autonomous or otherwise, there are also

Autonomous Counties (自治县) depending on their ethnic composition.

Within a province or autonomous region, political geography can be broken down into-

Prefectures (州) and Prefecture-level Cities (市) - Although larger, these function similarly to

counties in the American political geographic system. Prefectures are predominantly rural while

prefecture-level cities are distinguished by a major anchoring urban area, which usually lends its

name to the entire area.

Counties (县) and County-level Cities (市) - these are subdivisions within prefectures or

prefecture-level cities. For major urban areas like Beijing, counties are rural and remote from the

city proper. A county-level city will be larger than a township but not major enough to anchor

the entire region.

Districts (区) and Townships (镇) - Within the urban or suburban area of a prefecture-level city

or province-level municipality, the land is further divided into districts. In the countryside, the

county is divided into townships, which are generally small towns that form the economic center

for surrounding villages. In Maoist times, each township formed a commune (人民公社).

Villages (村) or Neighborhoods - These are the smallest units of political organization.

Neighborhoods are the local level of Communist Party organization in an urban area while rural

8
villages are the level for China's experiments with grass-roots democracy since some, under the

supervision of the Carter Center, hold free and contested elections for their leaders. Many

villages have long-since been absorbed by fast-growing cities and townships.

Development zones: There are also Special Economic Zones (SEZ, 经济特区) set up to

encourage development and foreign investment with tax concessions and other government

measures. These began in 1980 as a provincial government initiative supported by Deng

Xiaoping. SEZs tend to be prosperous, have large expatriate communities, and have more

Western restaurants and facilities. They are:

The original four- Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou in Guangdong and Xiamen in Fujian

The entire island province of Hainan, The Pudong district of Shanghai- Development in these

areas has been phenomenal. In 1978, Shenzhen (next to Hong Kong) and Zhuhai (next to Macau)

were groups of fishing villages, with a population of a few hundred thousand each. By 2008,

Shenzhen had a population of 10 million and Zhuhai approached 2 million. The other SEZs have

also undergone enormous changes. Pudong was mostly farmland in 1990, but now has more

skyscrapers than New York.

Treaty ports and concessions: When Europeans came to China by sea, from the late 1500s on,

the Emperor strictly controlled their trade and movements. For several centuries, the only

Western base was the Portuguese colony of Macau, trade was permitted only at Canton

(Guangzhou) under a variety of restrictions.

After the Second Opium War, ending in 1860, other cities were opened to trade, including

several inland cities such as Nanjing and Wuhan.

9
4.2 Physical geography:

Figure-3: Traditional physical and cultural divisions of China (Source: Wikipedia).

Figure-4: Topographic map of China (Source: Wikipedia).

The topography of China has been divided by the Chinese government into five homogeneous

physical macro-regions, namely Eastern China (subdivided into the northeast plain, north plain,

and southern hills), Xinjiang-Mongolia, and the Tibetan highlands. It is diverse with snow-

10
capped mountains, deep river valleys, broad basins, high plateaus, rolling plains, terraced hills,

sandy dunes with many other geographic features and other landforms present in myriad

variations. In general, the land is high in the west and descends to the east coast. Mountains (33

percent), plateaus (26 percent) and hills (10 percent) account for nearly 70 percent of the

country's land surface. Most of the country's arable land and population are based in lowland

plains (12 percent) and basins (19 percent), though some of the greatest basins are filled with

deserts.

Beijing, at the north tip of the North China Plain, is shielded by the intersection of the Taihang

and Yan Mountains. Further north are the drier grasslands of the Inner Mongolian Plateau,

traditionally home to pastoralists. To the south are agricultural regions, traditionally home to

sedentary populations. The Great Wall of China was built in the mountains across the mountains

that mark the southern edge of the Inner Mongolian Plateau. The Ming-era walls run over

2,000 km (1,200 mi) east to west from Shanhaiguan on the Bohai coast to the Hexi Corridor in

Gansu.

South (hills):

Figure-5: Karst landscape around Yangshuo in Guangxi (Left) (Source: Wikipedia).

11
Figure-6: North Slope of Changbaishan in Jilin Province, near the border with North Korea
(Right) (Source: Wikipedia).

Figure-7: Sand dunes of the Gobi Desert near Dunhuang, in Gansu Province (Left) (Source:
Wikipedia).
Figure-8: The Loess Plateau near Hunyuan in Datong, Shanxi Province (Right) (Source:
Wikipedia).

East of the Tibetan Plateau, deeply folded mountains fan out toward the Sichuan Basin, which is

ringed by mountains with 1,000–3,000 m elevation. The floor of the basin has an average

elevation of 500 metres (1,600 ft) and is home to one of the most densely farmed and populated

regions of China. South of the Yangtze, the landscape is more rugged. Like Shanxi Province to

the north, Hunan and Jiangxi each have a provincial core in a river basin that is surrounded by

mountains. The Wuling range separates Guizhou from Hunan. The Luoxiao and Jinggang divide

Hunan from Jiangxi, which is separated from Fujian by the Wuyi Mountains. The southeast

coastal provinces, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, have rugged coasts, with pockets of lowland

and mountainous interior. The Nanling, an east-west mountain range across northern

Guangdong, seals off Hunan and Jiangxi from Guangdong.

Highlands: The world's tallest mountains, the Karakorum, Pamirs and Tian Shan divide China

from South and Central Asia. Eleven of the seventeen tallest mountain peaks on Earth are located

on China's western borders. They include the world's tallest peak Mt. Everest (8848 m) in the

12
Himalayas on the border with Nepal and the world's second tallest peak, K2 (8611 m) on the

border with Pakistan. From these towering heights in the west, the land descends in steps like a

terrace.

North of the Himalayas and east of the Karakorum/Pamirs is the vast Tibetan Plateau, the largest

and highest plateau in the world, also known as the "Roof of the World." The plateau has an

average elevation of 4,000 meters above sea level and covers an area of 2.5 million square

kilometers, or about one-fifth of China's land mass. In the north, the plateau is hemmed in by the

Kunlun Mountains, which extends eastward from the intersection of the Pamirs, Karakorum and

Tian Shan.

Tallest mountain peaks: Besides Mt. Everest and K2, the other 9 of the world's 17 tallest peaks

on China's western borders are: Lhotse (8516 m, 4th highest), Makalu (8485 m, 5th), Cho Oyu

(8188 m, 6th), Gyachung Kang (7952 m, 15th) of the Himalayas on the border with Nepal and

Gasherbrum I (8080 m, 11th), Broad Peak (8051 m, 12th), Gasherbrum II (8035 m, 13th),

Gasherbrum III (7946 m, 16th) and Gasherbrum IV (7932 m, 17th) of the Karakorum on the

border with Pakistan. The tallest peak entirely within China is Shishapangma (8013 m, 14th) of

the Outside the Himalayas and Karakorum, China's tallest peaks are Kongur Tagh (7649 m,

37th) and Muztagh Ata (7546 m, 43rd) in the Pamirs of western Xinjiang, Gongga Shan (7556

m, 41st) in the Great Snowy Mountains of western Sichuan; and Tömür Shan (7439 m, 60th), the

highest peak of Tian Shan, on the border with Kyrgyzstan.

13
4.3 Rivers:

Figure-9: Rivers of China (Source: Wikipedia).

Main rivers of China: China originally had an estimated number of 50,000 rivers. However, due

to statistical discrepancies, water and soil loss, and climate change, there are currently only an

estimated 22,000 rivers remaining.[5] The rivers in China have a total length of 420,000

kilometers. 1,500 have a catchment area exceeding 1,000 square kilometers. The majority of

rivers flow west to east into the Pacific Ocean. The Yangtze (Chang Jiang) rises in Tibet, flows

through Central China and enters the East China Sea near Shanghai. Other major rivers are the

Liaohe in the northeast, Haihe in the north, Qiantang in the east, and Lancang in the southwest.

China's territorial waters are principally marginal seas of the western Pacific Ocean. These

waters lie on the indented coastline of the mainland and approximately 5,000 islands. The

Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. More

14
than half the coastline, predominantly in the south, is rocky; most of the remainder is sandy. The

Bay of Hangzhou roughly divides the two kinds of shoreline.

Northern plain: There is a steep drop in the river level in the North China Plain, where the river

continues across the delta, it transports a heavy load of sand and mud which is deposited on the

flat plain. The flow is aided by manmade embankments. As a result, the river flows on a raised

ridge fifty meters above the plain. Waterlogging, floods, and course changes have recurred over

the centuries. Traditionally, rulers were judged by their concern for or indifference to

preservation of the embankments.[citation needed] In the modern era, China has undertaken

extensive flood control and conservation measures.

Like other densely populated areas of China, the plain is subject to floods and earthquakes. The

mining and industrial center of Tangshan, 165 km (103 mi) east of Beijing, was leveled by an

earthquake in July 1976; it was believed to be the largest earthquake of the 20th century by death

toll.

The Hai River, like the Pearl River, flows from west to east. Its upper course consists of five

rivers that converge near Tianjin, and then flow seventy kilometers before emptying into the

Bohai Gulf. The Huai River, rises in Henan Province and flows through several lakes before

joining the Pearl River near Yangzhou.

The country's longest and most important waterway, the Yangtze River, is navigable for the

majority of its length and has a vast hydroelectric potential. Rising on the Qingzang Plateau, the

Yangtze River traverses 6,300 km (3,900 mi) through the heart of the country, draining an area

of 1,800,000 km2 (690,000 sq mi) before emptying into the East China Sea. Roughly 300 million

people live along its middle and lower reaches. The area is a large producer of rice and wheat.

15
The Sichuan Basin, due to its mild, humid climate and long growing season, produces a variety

of crops. It is a leading silk-producing area and an important industrial region with substantial

mineral resources.

The Nanling Mountains, the southernmost of the east-west mountain ranges, overlook areas in

China with a tropical climate. The climate allows two crops of rice to be grown per year.

Southeast of the mountains lies a coastal, hilly region of small deltas and narrow valley plains.

The drainage area of the Pearl River and its associated network of rivers occupies much of the

region to the south. West of the Nanling, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau rises in two steps,

averaging 1,200 and 1,800 m in elevation, respectively, toward the precipitous mountain regions

of the eastern Qingzang Plateau.

4.4 Geology and natural resources:

Energy and mineral resources: China has substantial mineral reserves and is the world's largest

producer of antimony, natural graphite, tungsten, and zinc. Other major minerals are aluminum,

bauxite, coal, crude petroleum, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, magnetite, manganese, mercury,

molybdenum, natural gas, phosphate rock, tin, uranium, and vanadium. China's hydropower

potential is the largest in the world.

Land use: Based on 2005 estimates, 14.86% (about 1,400,000 km2 (540,000 sq mi)) of China's

total land area is arable. About 1.3% (some 116,580 km²) is planted to permanent crops and the

rest planted to temporary crops. With comparatively little land planted to permanent crops,

intensive agricultural techniques are used to reap harvests that are sufficient to feed the world's

largest population and still have surplus for export. An estimated 544,784 km² of land were

irrigated in 2004. 42.9% of total land area was used as pasture, and 17.5% was forest.

16
Wildlife: China lies in two of the world's major ecozones, the Palearctic and the Indomalaya. In

the Palearctic zone mammals such as the horse, camel, and jerboa are found. Among the species

found in the Indomalaya region are the leopard cat, bamboo rat, treeshrew, and various other

species of monkeys and apes. Some overlap exists between the two regions because of natural

dispersal and migration, and deer or antelope, bears, wolves, pigs, and rodents are found in all of

the diverse climatic and geological environments. The famous giant panda is found only in a

limited area along the Yangtze. There is a continuing problem with trade in endangered species,

although there are now laws to prohibit such activities.

4.5 Human geography:

Figure-10: The Central plain, visible in dark orange (Source: Wikipedia).

Chinese history is often explained in terms of several strategic areas, defined by particular

topographic limits. Starting from the Chinese central plain, the former heart of the Han

populations, the Han people expanded militarily and then demographically toward the Loess

Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the Southern Hills (as defined by the map on the left), not

without resistance from local populations. Pushed by its comparatively higher demographic

growth, the Han continued their expansion by military and demographic waves. The far-south of

17
present-day China, the northern parts of today's Vietnam, and the Tarim Basin were first reached

and durably subdued by the Han dynasty's armies. The Northern steppes were always the source

of invasions into China, which culminated in the 13th century by Mongolian conquest of the

whole China and creation of Mongolian Yuan dynasty. Manchuria, much of today's Northeast

China, and Korean Peninsula were usually not under Chinese control, with the exception of some

limited periods of occupation. Manchuria became strongly integrated into the Chinese empire

during the late Qing dynasty, while the west side of the Changbai Mountains, formerly the home

of Korean tribes, thus also entered China.

4.6 Demographic geography:

Legend: (in people per square kilometers) >

900 800–900 700– 800 600–700 500–

600 400–500 300– 400 200–300 100–

200 50–100 0–50).

Figure-11: A population density map of the territories governed by the PRC and the ROC. The

eastern, coastal provinces are much more densely populated than the western interior because of

the historical access to water (SVG Map of China's population densities by province without

labels (Source: Wikipedia).

18
A population density map of the territories governed by the PRC and the ROC. The eastern,

coastal provinces are much more densely populated than the western interior because of the

historical access to water. The demographic occupation follows the topography and availability

of former arable lands. The Heihe–Tengchong Line, running from Heihe, Heilongjiang to

Tengchong County, Yunnan divides China into two roughly equal sections–in terms of

geographic area, with areas west of the line being sparsely settled and areas east densely

populated, in general. Today there are 5 major religions that have been recognized by the state;

Buddhism, Taoism, Protestantism, Catholicism, and Islam. Buddhism and folk religions account

for roughly 21% of the population while Protestants make up 5% and Islam 1.6% of the

population.[6] A substantial number of Buddhists live in the southwestern Tibetan region of the

country which borders Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan and most notably India, the birthplace of

Buddhism. The Islamic population, consisting mostly of Hui and Uighur Muslims, is

concentrated in the northwestern Xinjiang region of the country which shares borders with

Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Russia.

4.7 Administrative geography: Chinese administrative geography was drawn mainly during the

1949 and 1954 administrative reorganizations. These reorganizations have been the source of

much debate within China. In addition, a parcel of land was ceded from Guangdong to Guangxi

to grant the latter immediate access to the Gulf of Tonkin, while Hainan was split from

Guangdong in 1988 and Chongqing from Sichuan in 1997.

Agriculture: As the country continues to industrialize, the share of agriculture as a part of China's

GDP has lowered to 11% in recent years. Of the enormous labor force in China, 27.7% work in

agriculture. China's primary agricultural import is wheat from Argentina, Australia, Canada, and

France. They import about four to five million metric tons of wheat per year and they are able to

19
buy the wheat for about $70 per ton, making wheat China's most important agricultural import.

On the other hand, China's most important agricultural export is rice. China exports about

750,000 metric tons of rice per year for about $120 per ton. Other significant agricultural exports

from China are potatoes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, apples, cotton, pork, mutton, eggs, fish, and

shrimp.

Figure-12: Administrative Divisional map of china (Source: Wikipedia).

According to the World Bank, as of 2015, China's total arable land was estimated at 119,000,000

hectares. Since 2005, arable land in China has been on the decline and the total arable land per

citizen has reached .2 acres.[11] As a percentage, agricultural land makes up about 54.7% of

land. The climate of the country is difficult to describe because it varies so much depending on

the region of China. The southernmost parts of the country are almost tropical, while the

northernmost part is subarctic.

20
Boundary disputes:

Figure-13: Map of the People's Republic of China (click to enlarge), source: CIA

Territory: The territory of China has been defined as a homeland for many different ethnic and

racial groups in the country. However, the way that the territory has been defined varies between

ethnic groups. In relation to the Han Chinese, the homeland has been defined by national borders

which are more or less accepted internationally. This is because the Han Chinese are the largest

population and have most influence politically than any other ethnic population in China. To the

Han Chinese population, the territory of the country is defined by the regions of Tibet, inner

Mongolia, Manchuria, and the Xinjiang Province which is the most western land of China. The

Chinese territory is the second largest in land area and also has the longest combined land border

21
in the world. However, there are many other ethnic groups in China that have their own

definitions of what concerns the territory of China.

One group of people in China are the Tibetans. Tibetans and the land of Tibet are considered by

the Han Chinese government to be part of China and that the territory of Tibet is also part of the

country. However, a few of Tibetans disagree and are protesting as well as rallying for freedom

in present day. To this ethnic population, the territory of Tibet is not considered part of China

and so is not defined as a Chinese territory. However, the Chinese government still consider

Tibet as a territory of China which reflects the dispute in definition of Chinese territory between

two ethnic groups.

Another group of people which have a dispute in definition of territory are the Taiwanese. The

Taiwanese people inhabit the island of Taiwan and are markedly politically different as the

people of Taiwan have a free market capitalist based economy while the mainland Chinese

government employ a communistic state run economy. There are disputes in the definition of

territory between Taiwan and China as the Chinese government claims ownership over Taiwan

while some Taiwanese people maintain that they are a sovereign state completely independent

from the mainland Chinese government. These disputes have led to international controversy as

many countries such as the United States of America have not officially recognized the

sovereignty of Taiwan.

Government Structure: The structure of government in China is in the framework of a socialist

republic, which is run by a single party: the Communist Party of China. The party wishes to

control and manage the ideology of their subjects to maintain their political dominance in China.

For example, Document Number Nine, or the Communiqué on the Current State of the

Ideological Sphere, was a document circulated in China in 2013 to warn the citizens of China

22
against some western values such as media freedom. General Secretary of the Communist Party

of China is leader of the Chinese Communist Party. Currently Xi Jinping is the Party general

secretary, making him the Paramount leader of China. The National People's Congress is the

national legislature and the highest organ of state power.

The government is divided into three primary groups of state power: the National People's

Congress (NPC), the President, and the State Council. Members of the State Council include the

Premier, 4 vice-premiers, 5 state councilors and 29 heads of State Council commissions. Under

the Chinese constitution, the National People’s congress holds the most power and meets

annually for two weeks to discuss and review legislative policies.

As China has only one dominant party, the spatial patterns of voting and election results are

favoring the dominant communist party. However, the country still has some other variables and

variations in the divisions of administration. Local government is divided into four levels of

hierarchy. Local government includes township, county, prefecture or municipality, and the

province as the scope of government increases. China also has a system of autonomous regions

intended to give more control to ethnic minorities who preside in those regions. In practice

however, the power remains with the party secretary while the local chair is the nominal head.

23
4.8 Climate type and environment of China:

Figure-14: Köppen climate types of China (Source: Wikipedia).

Climate: Owing to tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude, the climate of

China is extremely diverse, ranging from tropical in the far south to subarctic in the far north and

alpine in the higher elevations of the Tibetan Plateau.

Vast areas of east China and most of south China are affected by the East Asia monsoon climate.

In some regions of the southwest and in the coastal areas of the southeast, the mean annual

precipitation exceeds 2 000 mm. It exceeds 1 000 mm to the south of the middle and lower

reaches of the Yangtze River, flowing into the sea just north of Shanghai. It is between 400 and

900 mm in the Huai river basin, in the northern plains, northeast and central China It is less than

400 mm in parts of northeast China and most of the hinterland in the northwest. And it is less

than 25 mm in the Tarim river basin in the northwest (the longest inland river) and the Qaidam

river basin in the west, of which one-third is desert. Precipitation is greater in the summer

months, from April-May to July-August in the south and from June to September in the north.

24
China is conventionally divided into four main agro-climatic zones (Wang et al., 1999): ¾ The

arid zone is located mainly in the inland river basins in the west and northwest. This zone is

suitable for irrigated cotton, grains, vegetables and fruits. Livestock is the predominant land use.

¾. The semi-arid zone is located largely in the upper and middle reaches of the Huang

(Yellow) river basin in central China. The main irrigated crops are wheat, maize and cotton. A

longer growing season than the NE permits double cropping where irrigation is provided. Wheat

is the main crop followed by maize, rice and other crops. The mid-lower Yangtze subzone has a

subtropical climate allowing double cropping. The Zhu-Min subzone comprises the Zhu (Pearl)

and southeast river basins. It has a tropical monsoon climate that allows year-round cropping.

The mountainous South West subzone has a mixed tropical/subtropical climate, with rice

dominant in the lowlands, and wheat and other grains in the highlands.

Environment: Air pollution (sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal is a major issue,

along with water pollution from untreated wastes and use of debated standards of pollutant

concentration rather than Total Maximum Daily Load. There are water shortages, particularly in

the north. The eastern part of China often experiences smoke and dense fog in the atmosphere

because of industrial pollution. Heavy deforestation with an estimated loss of one-fifth of

agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development is occurring with

resulting desertification. China has signed, but not ratified, the Kyoto Protocol (but is not yet

required to reduce its carbon emission under the agreement, as is India) and the Nuclear Test Ban

treaty.

25
5. Conclusion: China is the home of one of the world's oldest civilizations, but it has only

recently become a "modern" nation. In the last 20 years, China has changed faster than any other

country in the world. Ancient China was a land of invention. For centuries, China was way ahead

of most other countries in science and technology, astronomy, and math. The Chinese invented

paper, the magnetic compass, printing, porcelain, silk, and gunpowder, among other things.

China is now, and for forty centuries has been, an agricultural nation. Much of her mountainous

surface, naturally ill-adapted to cultivation, has been transformed by a stupendous amount of

human labor into food-producing, fertile fields. To the minerals hoarded in these mountains she

has paid little attention, never dreaming of the vast potential wealth locked far beneath her soils,

awaiting but the magic touch of modern industry to release it. To her present agricultural

industries these resources of coal and metals, once developed, will supply new raw materials and

mechanical power, which ultimately will make possible, in the hands of her enormous

population, the development of a manufacturing industry of almost inconceivable magnitude,

and will lay the foundation of a world- wide commerce.

26
References:

Briney, Amanda. "The Geography and Modern History of China." ThoughtCo.

https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-and-modern-history-of-china-1434414

ACCA21 (Administrative Agenda for China’s Agenda 21). Undated. Priority Programme for
China’s Agenda 21. (Available at: http://www.acca21.org.cn/pp6-1.html. Accessed on 2009-
09-04).

Burke, M. 2000. Managing China’s water resources. Environmental Science & Technology –
News. May 1, 2000.

Chao, L. 2009. Massive water diversion project put on fast track. (Available at:
http://cjw.gov.cn/
detail/20091230/121407.asp).

China Daily. 2007. Yellow river pours out support for Olympics. (Available at: http://www.
chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-11/21/content_6268646.htm).

COA (Council of Agriculture). Undated. History of Irrigation in Taiwan. (Available at: http://
doie.coa.gov.tw/english/doc/about-history-all.pdf. Taiwan Provincial Government).

FAO. 1999. Irrigation in Asia in Figures. FAO Water Report No. 18. Rome.

Ji, H., Lin, G. & Juan, G. 2006. Seawater desalination to relieve water shortage in China. China
Economic Net. 28/02/2006.

Kiprop, Victor. (2019, May 9). Chinese Provinces By Population. Retrieved from

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/chinese-provinces-by-population.html

Li, Daixin. 2007. Personal communication, September 2007. Chair of CNCID and Director
General of the Department of Irrigation, Drainage and Rural Water Supply of the Ministry of
Water Resources.

Li, Yuanhua. 2006. Strategies for coping with water scarcity in China.

Mashali, A. 2005. Integrated management of sustainable use of salt-affected soil. FAO, Rome.

MWR (Ministry of Water Resources). 2005. China statistics on water resources 2004.

27
MWR. 2006. China statistics on water resources 2005.

MWR. 2007a. China statistics on water resources 2006.

MWR. 2007b. 2006 Statistic bulletin on China water activities.

Sun, Yunlong. 2009. China faced with combined challenges from water scarcity, mounting
demand.

Wang, J., Huang, J., Blanke, A., Huang, Q. &Rozelle, S. 2005. The development, challenges and
management of groundwater in rural China.

Wang, R., Ouyang, Z., Ren, H. & Min, Q. 1999. China water vision. The eco-sphere of water,
environment, life, economy & society. Research center for eco-environmental sciences, Chinese
Academy of Sciences.

Water-technology.net. 2009. Shanxi Wanjiazhai Yellow river diversion project, China.

World Bank. 2006. China water quality management. Washington, DC.

World Bank. 2009a. Addressing China’s water scarcity. Washington, DC.

World Bank. 2009b. Addressing water scarcity in China. Window of China. February 2009.
Washington, DC.

Yao. 2009. China to strengthen water control in light of shortage. Window of China. February
2009

28