The lowest point in China. Geography of China

20.09.2019

China is located in East Asia. It borders on 14 states: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Vietnam.

Within China, three large geographical regions are distinguished: in the southwest, the Tibetan Plateau with a height of more than 2000 m above sea level; to the north of it there is a belt of mountains and high plains, located in the altitude range from 200 to 2000 m above sea level, and in the northeast, east and south of the country - low accumulative plains (below 200 m above sea level) and low mountains.

The Tibetan Plateau occupies more than a quarter of China's territory and includes the Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and the western part of Sichuan Province. The western and central parts of the highlands, located above 4000 m, are rightly called the "roof of the world." Numerous ridges crossing Tibet have a latitudinal strike and rise to altitudes of 5500–7600 m. The ridges are separated by wide valleys, cold and mostly uninhabited. The highlands are framed by even higher mountain ranges: from the south - the Himalayas with the highest peak Chomolungma (Everest, 8848 m), in the northwest - the Karakoram and Pamir mountains, in the north - the majestic Kunlun, Altyntag and Qilyanshan mountain ranges, which abruptly break off in the northern direction.

In the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau, between the Kunlun mountains in the south and the Altyntag and Qilianshan ranges in the north, at altitudes of 2700–3000 m above sea level. the Tsaidam depression is located. The western part of the basin is occupied by the desert, and in its central part there are extensive swamps and salt lakes. The mostly nomadic population of this area has been breeding horses for many centuries. Discovery of oil, coal and iron ore in this basin and the development of rich salt deposits contributed to the development of local industry.

The northern and western regions of Tibet and the Tsaidam Basin are basins of internal runoff. There are hundreds of endorheic salt lakes, into which small rivers flow. On the northern slope of the Himalayas, the Brahmaputra River originates (in China it is called Matsang, and then Zangbo) and flows east for 970 km, and then, cutting through mountain ranges, turns south and enters the plains of North India. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries flow in deep sheltered valleys, contributing to the concentration of the settled population in cities such as Lhasa, Gyangtse and Shigatse. Three of the the greatest rivers world - Yangtze, Mekong and Salween. In this area, the huge ridges that cross the Tibet Plateau curve in a southeasterly and then southerly direction and usually exceed 3000 m, with some peaks reaching higher elevations. For example, the peak of Guangshashan (Minyak-Gankar) in the Daxueshan Mountains in the west of Sichuan Province rises to 7556 m.

The belt of highlands and depressions adjoins the Tibetan Plateau in the north, northeast and east and has a range of altitudes from 200 to 2000 m. the nature of the relief.

In Xinjiang, located north of the Kunlun Mountains, there are two large depressions of internal flow - the Tarim and the Dzhungar. The Tarim Basin extends from Kashgar in the west to Khami (Kumul) in the east and has absolute heights from 610 m in the central part to 1525 m along the periphery. The depression is framed by the Kunlun and Altyntag mountains from the south, the Pamirs in the west and the Tien Shan in the north. All these mountains have heights of more than 6100 m. From the east, the Tarim Basin is limited by less impressive mountain ranges with individual peaks exceeding 4300 m. One of the driest and most inaccessible deserts in the world, Takla Makan, is confined to its central part. The Tarim River and its tributaries, which originate in the mountains and are fed by glaciers, are lost in the sands of this desert or flow into salt Lake Lop Nor (in this area, the PRC holds its nuclear tests). North of the lake Lop Nor is the lowest land surface in East Asia - the Turfan depression with a length of approx. 100 km latitudinally and approx. 50 km - in the meridional. Its most subsided part has an absolute elevation of -154 m. The region of the Turfan depression is characterized by huge annual temperature ranges: from 52° C in summer to -18° C in winter. Precipitation is rare.

To the north of the Tien Shan is the Dzungarian depression, bounded from the northwest by a number of ridges, the highest of which is the Dzungarian Alatau, and from the northeast - Altai. The surface of the Dzhungar depression is about 600 m lower than the Tarim one, and the climate is not so arid. Nevertheless, large areas here are occupied by semi-deserts and steppes, where nomads live. In the north-west of Dzungaria, near Karamay, there is a large oil field, and in the south, in the Urumchi region, there is a deposit of coal and iron ore.

The Tarim depression is drainless, and the Dzhungar depression is drained by the Ili and Irtysh rivers, the flow of which is directed to the west, to the plains of Kazakhstan. Along the periphery of the Tarim Basin, on the loess foothill plains in the river valleys flowing down from the mountains, a ring of oases was formed. Through the cities located in these oases, already approx. 2000 years ago, the Great Silk Road ran, linking China with the Roman Empire.

Inner Mongolia occupies the Chinese part of the vast Mongolian depression with the Gobi desert in the center. In China, the depression extends in a large arc east of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the border with Russia. From the south and east, Inner Mongolia is framed by the Qilianshan (Richthofen), Helanshan (Alashan), Yinshan and Greater Khingan ranges, which have relatively low altitudes (900–1800 m). The heights of most of Inner Mongolia are 900–1500 m above sea level. The landscapes are dominated by dry steppes and semi-deserts. In the western part are the Alashan and Gobi deserts. A few short rivers, originating in the southern mountainous frame, flow north and are lost in the Gobi desert in Mongolia.

The highlands, midlands, and lowlands of China proper occupy a significant part of the country's territory south of Inner Mongolia and east of the Tibetan Plateau. In the south, they form a system of ridges and extend to the east coast. This elevated area is divided into several large areas, including the Ordos Plateau, the Shaanxi-Shanxi Plateau, the Qinling Mountains, the Sichuan Basin, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the Nanling Mountains. All of them are located in the altitude range from 200 to 2000 m.

The Qinling Mountains are a system of ranges that cross central China from southern Gansu in the west to Anhui in the east. The mountain ranges are the border of the two main drainage basins of the country - the Yellow River and the Yangtze, and sharply delimit China proper into northern and southern parts, differing in geological structure, climatic and soil features, the nature of the natural vegetation and the set of major crops.

The Shaanxi-Shanxi Plateau, located north of the Qinling Mountains and south of the Ordos Plateau, extends from the Tibetan Plateau in the west to the lowlands of the North China Plain in the east. Distinctive feature The plateau is a loess cover up to 75 m thick, largely masking the original relief. The steep slopes of the hills are artificially terraced in many places, the soils formed on the loess are fertile and easily cultivated. At the same time, loess is subject to water erosion, as a result of which this area is deeply indented by a network of ravines.

To the north of the Loess plateau at altitudes of more than 1500 m above sea level. the Ordos plateau is located, characterized by desert landscapes. Sand dunes are widespread in its northwestern and southeastern parts, and central part abounds in small salt lakes. The Ordos Desert is separated from the cultivated loess lands by the Great Wall of China.

The Sichuan Basin (or "Red Basin") lies south of the Qinling Mountains, immediately east of the ranges of the eastern framing of the Tibetan Plateau - Daxueshan and Qionglaishan, forming a steep high chain, many of whose peaks exceed 5200 m. These ranges, together with the Minshan and Dabashan mountains in the north and the plateau of Guizhou Province in the south frame the basin, the bottom of which drops from 900 m in the north to 450 m in the south. The soils of this region are very fertile. It is one of the most densely populated areas in China. The Sichuan Basin is predominantly composed of ancient red sandstones, which cover large but deep Jurassic coal-bearing deposits. Large surface coal deposits are located along the northern, southern and southeastern edges of the basin. Clays and oil-bearing limestones are also widespread. Surrounded by high mountains, Sichuan has a reputation for being difficult to access.

The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, which is a much lower (average altitude 1800–2100 m above sea level) continuation of the Tibetan Plateau, is located south and southeast of the Sichuan depression. The western part of this region is crossed by narrow (up to 500 m in total), but deeply incised (up to 1500 m in some places) valleys of the Salween and Mekong rivers, which present serious obstacles to movement. This heavily dissected territory has long served as a barrier between China, India and Burma. In the east, in Guizhou province, the nature of the relief is changing. In places, the surface height drops to 900 m or less, the slopes become less steep, and the valleys widen.

Nanling Mountains (" southern ranges”) stretch from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the west to the Wuyi Mountains in the southeastern coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. This wide belt of low mountains, separating the basins of the Yangtze River in the north and the Xijiang ("Western") River in the south, is rich in minerals. Among them are numerous deposits of tungsten, antimony, lead, zinc and copper.

Only ok. 10% of China's territory is located at altitudes less than 200 m above sea level, but it is there that most of the country's population is concentrated. There are five main lowland areas: the North China Plain, the Great Plain of China, the valley of the Huaihe River, the basin of the middle reaches and the delta of the Yangtze River, the Northeast (Manchurian) Plain and the basin of the Xijiang River.

The North China Plain, the valley of the Huaihe River and the Yangtze Delta merge near the sea coast, forming a single strip of plains stretching from Beijing in the north to Shanghai in the south, interrupted only by highlands in Shandong Province. In the depths of the mainland, the depression, to which the middle course of the Yangtze River is confined, is separated from this vast plain by the Dabeshan Mountains (the eastern extension mountain system Qinling). In the north, a narrow coastal strip connects the North China Plain with the Northeast. The Xijiang river basin is located to the south of the Yangtze river basin and is separated from it by the Nanling and Wuyishan mountains. Each large low-lying plain is composed of sediments from one or more rivers.

Water resources - Yellow River and North China Plain. The Yellow River (translated as "yellow"), 5163 km long, originates in the Tibetan Plateau (Qinghai Province). Rushing eastward in a stormy stream, it makes its way down the plateau through the Liujiaxia Gorge and further through the highlands of Gansu Province. Near Lanzhou begins the "great northern bend" of the Yellow River valley, 2400 km long, which from the north goes around the Mu-Us desert on the outskirts of the Ordos plateau, and then sharply turns south, crossing the central Loess region and forming the border between the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi. In this section, the river carries a huge amount of silt, especially in summer, when it is at its fullest. Due to the large amount of solid runoff on the plains located downstream, floods are frequent, and the Yellow River itself is nicknamed "the grief of China."

Having reached the Qinling Mountains, where the Weihe River flows into it from the west, the Yellow River turns sharply to the east, passes through the Sanmenxia (“Three Gate Gorge”) and enters the North China Plain. At the exit from this gorge, the river is at an absolute mark of only approx. 180 m, while the distance to the place of its confluence with the Bohai Bay is 970 km. Here, on a smoothly lowering section of the valley, the river loses speed. As a result, for millennia, the Huang He regularly overflowed, depositing sediment and gradually expanding and building up the accumulative plain. When ok. 3000 years ago, the Chinese civilization was born in this territory for the first time, people tried to regulate the flow regime with the help of dams. However, at the same time, the probability of destructive floods increased due to the fact that the area of sediment accumulation was limited to the riverbed. As the layer of silt grew, higher and higher dams had to be built until the river and ramparts were above the level of the surrounding plain. When the dam breaks, which often happens at the peak of summer floods, the river overflows the plain, flooding vast areas and destroying crops. Since the waters of the river cannot return to the elevated channel, the Yellow River often changes its course. From 1048 to 1324 it emptied into the Bohai Bay to the north of the Shandong Peninsula. In 1324 it merged with the Huaihe River, and their waters flowed into the Yellow Sea to the south of the peninsula, and in 1851 the Huanghe again began to flow into the Bohaiwan Bay. In 1938, the right-bank dams were destroyed by order of Chiang Kai-shek in order to prevent the advance of the Japanese army. In 1947, as part of a UN project, the river was returned to its former course and now flows back into the Bohai Bay. On its way through the North China Plain, the Yellow River does not receive large tributaries. The Grand Canal connects it with the Yangtze River and the major seaports of Tianjin and Shanghai. The total length of this canal is 1782 km.

In 1955, the Chinese government began to implement the so-called. a "step plan" for regulating the Yellow River, including the construction of four large and 42 auxiliary dams on the main river and its tributaries. After the construction of the most important dam in the Sanmenxia Gorge, a reservoir with an area of 2350 square meters was formed. km, length approx. 300 km and a volume of more than 35 km3. This hydraulic structure counteracts the most powerful floods, and is also designed to generate electricity, irrigate land and improve navigation. Large-scale programs are complemented by numerous local projects involving the construction of thousands of small dams on the tributaries of the Yellow River and small rivers, terracing of the slopes of loess hills to prevent erosion, and afforestation of large areas.

The Huaihe River and its basin. Immediately south of the lower Yellow River lies a smaller but important river system the Huaihe River, separated from the Yellow River basin and the North China Plain by a barely noticeable watershed stretching from Kaifeng to Xuzhou, and a slightly more pronounced upland on the Shandong Peninsula, from Xuzhou to the Yellow Sea. The length of the Huaihe river is only approx. 1090 km, however, unlike the Yellow River, it has many tributaries, mostly left, flowing from the northwest to the southeast. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 174 thousand square meters abounding in lakes. km, covering the southern and eastern parts of Henan Province, the entire Anhui Province and the northern part of Jiangsu Province. The Huaihe River flows into the large Hongzehu Lake, from which its waters are carried out in the form of natural rivers and through recently constructed canals into the Yellow Sea. The alluvial soils in the Huai River basin are very fertile, but the river itself has always been subject to powerful floods, so work on regulating the flow regime in its basin was of paramount importance. In the upper reaches main river and its tributaries, ten dams have been built. As a result, reservoirs were formed (the largest are Meishanshuiku and Fozilingshuiku in Anhui Province). Dams with a total length of hundreds of kilometers were built and reinforced, and complex irrigation activities were carried out.

Yangtze River and adjacent plains. The length of the Yangtze River is more than 5600 km. The river originates from glaciers in the central part of the Tibetan Plateau, flows south, forming deep gorges in the eastern part of the plateau, and, having reached the highlands of Yunnan Province, turns sharply to the east. In this turbulent stretch, the river is called Jinshajiang ("Golden Sand River"). Near the city of Yibin, the river enters the Sichuan basin and flows at the foot of the mountains of its southern frame. Here she takes four major inflows- Minjiang, Tojiang, Fujian and Jialingjiang, which cross the basin from north to south and give it the name Sichuan ("Four Rivers"). In the middle reaches of the Minjiang River, near Chengdu, a complex water flow regulation system, created by the engineer Li Ping in the era of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), still operates.

The Yangtze River makes its way from the Sichuan basin through several picturesque gorges located between Fengjie and Yichang. This section of the river is difficult and dangerous. In summer, the speed of the current in places can reach 16 km / h. Passing Yichang, the river passes through a series of basins (plains), which are often collectively called the middle course of the Yangtze River. The first of these is the territory abounding in lakes within the provinces of Hunan and Hubei. Its northern part is crossed by the Hanshui River, which originates in the Qinling Mountains, flows in a wide valley in a southeasterly direction and flows into the Yangtze near Hankou (“the mouth of the Han River”), one of the cities of the Wuhan agglomeration. In the south, the Hunan basin is drained by the Xiangjiang, which originates in the Nanling Mountains and flows into large lake Dongtinghu, which has a drain in the Yangtze River. Within this basin, the Yangtze is gaining full strength. While in the Chongqing region (Sichuan Province) the width of the river is only 275 m, in the vicinity of Wuhan its channel widens and reaches 1.6 km. The difference between low water and high water is estimated at about 12 m. In winter, vessels with a draft exceeding 2 m must move with caution, while in summer ocean-going vessels with a displacement of 15 thousand tons can reach Wuhan.

Below Wuhan, before entering the next basin, the river channel narrows somewhat. This basin, located almost entirely to the south of the Yangtze, belongs mainly to the drainage basin of the Ganjiang River, which, before flowing into the Yangtze, carries its waters through the large Poyang Lake. Lakes Poyanghu and Dongtinghu serve as large reservoirs on large tributaries of the Yangtze, regulating the flow of water in the summer, when the rivers are at their fullest.

The third basin, to which the middle course of the Yangtze River is confined, occupies the central and southern parts of Anhui Province. Approximately halfway between Wuhu and Nanjing, this plain merges with the vast delta plain of the Yangtze.

Floodplain soils in the basin of the middle reaches of the Yangtze, composed mainly of red-colored alluvium taken out of the Sichuan basin, as well as sediments of the Hanshui, Xiangjiang and Ganjiang rivers, are very fertile. Hunan Province is one of the most important rice growing regions in China. Although the Yangtze carries a lot of silt, high speed the current contributes to the removal of most of them into the sea, as a result of which there are no such destructive floods on the Yangtze as on the Yellow River, and its shores are less embanked. However, floods occur during the summer when Tibet experiences particularly heavy snowmelt or unusually heavy rainfall. So, in 1931, an area of approx. 91 thousand sq. km. In order to prevent the recurrence of such floods, two reservoirs were built, the capacity of which complements the natural lake reservoirs of Poyanghu and Dongtinghu. The reservoir near Shashi (to the north of Dongting Lake) was built in 1954 almost exclusively by hand in 75 days. Its area is 920 sq. km, capacity - 5.4 km3. A slightly smaller reservoir is located near the city of Wuhan.

The Yangtze Delta begins about 50 km from Nanjing, upstream of the river. This completely flat surface, located slightly above sea level, is composed of silty deposits. It is steadily and rapidly advancing towards the sea, as well as in a southerly direction, into the Hangzhou Bay. The groundwater table of the low plain is located very close to the surface. This plain is crossed by countless drainage and irrigation canals, which are also used as communication routes. Trees, mostly mulberries, have been planted along the canals, serving as a base for local sericulture. The delta is replete with lakes, of which the largest is Taihu ("Great Lake"). The delta region is very densely populated. By 1968, three bridges had been erected across the Yangtze in the section from the western border of Sichuan Province to the sea. The largest, 6.7 km long, in Nanjing, has two levels - with a double-track railway and a four-lane road. In 1956, a large bridge was built in Wuhan, and a somewhat smaller one in Chongqing. At the mouth of the river is the large port city of Shanghai. This is not only the main point of concentration and redistribution of all manufactured goods of the vast Yangtze basin, but also the largest center of heavy and light industry in China.

Valley of the Xijiang ("Western") River. The drainage basin of the Xijiang River, separated from the basin of the Yangtze River by the Nanling Mountains, is located mainly in the tropics. The sources of the river are in the Nanling Mountains and the Yunnan-Guizhou Highlands. Then Xijiang crosses an area characterized by a variety of karst landforms, the so-called. remnant tower karst. The Xijiang River with a total length of 2655 km in the upper and middle reaches has a narrow valley sandwiched between the mountains, and only below Wuzhou, where it forms a common delta with the Beijiang and Dongjiang rivers within the alluvial plain, its course becomes calm. Below the city of Xinan (Sanshui), where the Xijiang merges with the Beijiang River, it divides into many branches, mostly man-made. The soils of this delta region are very fertile, there is a high population density. The Leizhou Bandao Peninsula and Hainan Island are located in the extreme south of the country. Hainan Island with an area of 34 thousand square meters. km is divided into two parts: the northern - a wide coastal plain and the southern - mountainous terrain. The plain is densely populated, predominantly by the Chinese. The Miao and Lu peoples live in the mountains, the population density there is low.

The Northeast Plain (Manchuria) includes the basins of the Liaohe River in the south and the Songhua River (Chinese Songhuangjiang) in the north, separated by ridges of low ridges. The Liaohe River originates in the Liaoxi Mountains and flows into the Liaodong Bay of the Yellow Sea. A significant part of its lower course passes within the Songliao Plain, where it is navigable. In the lower reaches there are fertile lands used in agriculture. In the southeast, the Northeast Plain is bounded by the Yalu River (Amnokkan).

The Songhua River with its tributaries Nenjiang and Lalinhe crosses the Northeast Plain in the north and flows into the Amur (Chinese: Heilongjiang), along which the northern border of China with Russia runs. Along the Ussuri River (Chinese Usulijiang) passes eastern border China with Russia. These rivers are important routes of communication in summer months, however, are ice-bound in winter. The Amur opens up later than the Sungari, which is why vast wetlands are formed at the place of their confluence.

Coastline. China's coastline is approx. 8000 km. It is divided into four main sectors.

The northernmost part of the coast within the Bohaiwan and Liaodong bays is slightly indented. A huge amount of silt is brought here from the Shanxi plateau by the Yellow River and other less deep rivers. The sea is shallow here, the coastline is annually pushed towards the sea, and there are few good natural harbors. To prevent silting of the outport of Tianjin - Tanggu in Bohai Bay, dredging is constantly carried out. Yingkou Port in Liaodong Bay freezes in the middle of winter.

The coasts of the Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas, composed of shales and gneisses and separated by an underwater hollow, are characterized by dissected, in some places steep shores. There are numerous natural harbors here. The most important port - Qingdao is located on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula. Due to frequent fog and dust storms navigation off the northern coast of China is difficult.

From the southern part of the Shandong Peninsula to Hangzhou Bay, the coast becomes flattened again as a result of the accumulation of silt deposits carried by the Yellow River and Yangtze. These sediments move to the south by the cold East China Current and fill the Hangzhou Bay and adjacent parts of the water area around the Zhoushanquandao archipelago. There are no natural harbors here. Wusong, an outpost of Shanghai, is kept navigable only by constant dredging.

Throughout the southeastern and southern sections of the coast from Hangzhou Bay to the Vietnamese border in the Gulf of Tonkin, mountains approach the sea directly. Due to tectonic subsidence, the banks are uneven, deeply indented, the so-called. rias type. It has many convenient natural harbors, including ports such as Ningbo, Wenzhou, Xiamen (Amoi), Shantou (Swatow) and Hong Kong.

Huge occupying an advantageous geographical position - China. It is located in East Asia. Its relief is very diverse. China has mountains, hills, plains, highlands, river valleys, deserts. This But the vast areas of China are deserted. After all, most of the population is concentrated on the plains.

Geographical position

China on the world map occupies a position on the west coast Pacific Ocean. Its area is almost equal to the area of the whole of Europe. China covers an area of 9.6 million square kilometers. In terms of area, this country is overtaken only by Russia and Canada.

The territory of China stretches for 5.2 thousand kilometers from east to west and for 5.5 thousand kilometers from south to north. The easternmost point of the country is located at the confluence of the Ussuri and Amur rivers, the westernmost - in the southernmost - among the northernmost - on the Amur River in Mohe County.

China on the world map from the east is washed by several seas that are part of the Pacific Ocean. The coastline of the country stretches for 18,000 km. The sea in China creates a border with five countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Brunei and the Philippines.

The land border runs from the south, north and west. Its length is 22117 km. By land, China has a border with Russia, North Korea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bhutan, India, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar.

The geographical position of China is quite favorable for its economic development.

Relief

The relief of the country is very diverse. China, whose geography is wide, has a stepped landscape. It consists of three levels, decreasing from west to east.

In the southwest of the state are the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. They are the highest rung in the landscape of a country like China. Geography and relief mostly consist of uplands, plateaus and mountains. The lowest level, consisting of plains, is near the coast.

Southwest China

Part of the world's highest mountain system is located in the southwest of the country. In addition to China, the Himalayas are spread over the territories of India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bhutan. On the border of the state in question there are 9 out of 14 highest mountains of the globe - Everest, Chogori, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho-Oyu, Shishabangma, Chogori, several peaks from the Gasherbrum massif.

Located north of the Himalayas. It is the largest in area and the highest plateau in the world. It is surrounded by ridges on all sides. In addition to the Himalayas, the neighbors of the Tibetan Plateau are Kunlun, Qilianshan, Karakorum, and the Sino-Tibetan Mountains. The last of them and the adjacent Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau are a remote area. It is cut by the deep Salween and the Mekong.

Thus, the characteristic of the geographical position of China in the southwest is distinguished by the presence of mountainous regions.

Northwest China

In the north-west of the country, near the Tibetan Plateau, there are the Tarim Basin, the Takla-Makan Desert and the Turfan Depression. The last object is the deepest in East Asia. Further north is the Dzungarian Plain.

To the east of the Tarim Basin, the geographical position contrasts even more. China in these places is changing the landscape to steppes and deserts. This is an autonomous region. It is located on a high plateau. Most of it is occupied by the Gobi and Alashan deserts. The Lessovoye Plateau adjoins them from the south. This area is very fertile and rich in forests.

Northeast China

The northeastern part of the country is quite flat. There are no high mountain ranges here. The Songliao Plain is located in this part of China. It is surrounded by small mountain ranges - Big and Small Khingan, Changbaishan.

Northern China

The main agricultural zones are concentrated in the north of China. This part of the country consists of vast plains. They feed well on the rivers and are very fertile. These are such plains as Liaohe and North China.

Southeast China

The southeastern part of the country stretches from the Huaiyanshan Range to the Qinling Mountains. It also includes the island of Taiwan. The local landscape consists mainly of mountains interspersed with river valleys.

South China

In the south of the country are the regions of Guangxi, Guangdong, and partly Yunnan. This also includes a year-round resort, Hainan Island. The local relief is made up of hills and small mountains.

Climate and weather

The climate of the country is not uniform. It is affected by geographic location. China is in three climatic zones. Therefore, the weather in different parts countries are different.

Northern and western China are in the temperate zone continental climate. The average temperature here in winter time year is -7°C, although it happens, it drops to -20°C. In summer, the temperature is at the level of +22°C. Strong dry winds are typical for winter and autumn.

Central China lies in the subtropical climate zone. In winter, the air temperature ranges from 0 to -5°C. In summer it stays at +20°C.

Southern China and the islands have a tropical monsoonal climate. There, the temperature in winter ranges from +6 to +15°C, and in summer it rises above +25°C. This part of the country is characterized by powerful typhoons. They occur in winter and autumn.

Annual precipitation decreases from south and east to north and west - from about 2000 mm to 50 mm.

Population

According to 2014 data, 1.36 billion people live in the state. The large country of China is home to 20% of the world's inhabitants.

The state is on the verge of a demographic resettlement crisis. Therefore, the government is struggling with a high birth rate. His goal is one child per family. But the demographic policy is conducted flexibly. Thus, it is allowed to give birth to a second child to ethnic minorities, as well as to families living in rural areas, if the first child is a girl or has physical disabilities.

Part of the population opposes such a policy. She is especially dissatisfied in rural areas. After all, there is a higher need for the birth of a large number of boys as a future labor force.

But population growth is projected to rise despite this. It is estimated that 1.5 billion people will live in China by 2030.

Population density

The population is distributed very unevenly throughout the country. This is due to the difference geographical conditions. The average population density is 138 people per square kilometer. This indicator looks quite acceptable. He's not talking about overpopulation. After all, the same figure is typical for some European countries.

But the average figure does not reflect the real situation. There are areas in the country where almost no one lives, and Macau has 21,000 people per square kilometer.

Half of the country is practically uninhabited. The Chinese live in river basins, on fertile plains. And in the highlands of Tibet, in the deserts of the Gobi and Takla Makan, there are almost no settlements.

National composition and language of the population

The country is inhabited by different ethnic groups. Most of The population considers themselves to be Han Chinese. But besides them, 55 nationalities are distinguished in China. The largest nations are the Zhuangs, Manchus, Tibetans, the smallest are the Loba.

Dialects in different parts of the country are also different. The difference between them is so great that the inhabitant of the south of China will not understand the inhabitant of the north. But the country has a national language, Putunha. Residents of China moving from region to region are required to own it in order to avoid problems in communication.

Also in the country is widespread Mandarin, or Beijing, dialect. It can be considered an alternative to putunkhe. After all, 70% of the population speaks Mandarin.

Religion and beliefs of the population

Since the middle of the 20th century in China, as in a communist state, adherence to religious beliefs and beliefs was not welcomed. Atheism was the official ideology.

But since 1982 there has been a change in this matter. The right to freedom of religion was included in the constitution. The most common religions here are Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. But Christianity, Islam, Judaism are also popular.

Largest cities

There are not many big cities in China. The population of this country is not urbanized. But where the construction of the city begins, it grows to the size of a huge metropolis, uniting a large number of residential, business, commercial, industrial and agricultural zones. For example, Chongqing. It is the largest representative of such megacities. According to information for 2014, 29 million people live in it. Its area is almost equal to the area of Austria and is 82,400 square kilometers.

Others major cities The countries are Shanghai, Tianjin, Harbin, Guangzhou and of course Beijing, the capital of China.

Beijing

The Chinese call Beijing Beijing. It means Northern Capital. The urban layout is characterized by strict geometry. Streets are oriented to parts of the world.

Beijing is the capital of China and one of the most interesting cities in the country. Its heart is Tiananmen Square. Translated, this word means "gate of heavenly tranquility." The main building on the square is the mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

An important sight of the city is the Forbidden City. They call him Gugong. It is a beautiful and ancient palace ensemble.

No less interesting are Yiheyuan and Yuanminyuan. These are garden and palace complexes. They surprisingly combine miniature rivers, graceful bridges, waterfalls, residential buildings. There is a wonderful harmony and a feeling of unity between man and nature.

There are many temples of such religious directions as Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism in the capital. One of them is the most interesting. This is Tian Tan Temple of Heaven. It is the only round-shaped religious building in the city. It has a unique wall. If you utter a word near it, even in the quietest whisper, it will spread along its entire length.

Yonghegun Temple of Eternal Peace is also notable. This is a lamaist religious building. It houses a Buddha statue carved from a single trunk of sandalwood. Its length is 23 meters.

There are many museums in Beijing. Of particular note is the National Art Gallery. It houses a large collection of Chinese paintings. No less interesting is the Museum of National History, where you can trace the entire path of China's development.

The attraction is Wangfujing Street. it favorite place for walks, both among tourists and the local population. The history of the street began over 700 years ago. Now it has been reconstructed. The street is in the area shopping center. It harmoniously combines ancient and modern cultures.

Not far from Beijing begins the Great Wall of China. Most people associate the country with it. This is a grand building. It stretches for 67,000 km. The construction of the wall lasted over 2000 years.

CHINA, Chinese People's Republic(PRC), a state in Central and East Asia, includes China proper (18 historical provinces of the Chinese Empire), Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Northeast (Manchuria) and Tibet. Taiwan Province, which is controlled by the People's Republic of China, considered separately by the PRC, covers an area of 9561 thousand square meters. km (without Taiwan).

Within China, three major orographic regions are distinguished: in the southwest, the Tibetan Plateau with a height of more than 2000 m above sea level; to the north of it there is a belt of mountains and high plains, located in the altitude range from 200 to 2000 m above sea level, and in the northeast, east and south of the country - low accumulative plains (below 200 m above sea level) and low mountains.

In the northeast of the Tibetan Plateau, between the Kunlun mountains in the south and the Altyntag and Qilianshan ranges in the north, at altitudes of 2700–3000 m above sea level. the Tsaidam depression is located. The western part of the basin is occupied by the desert, and in its central part there are extensive swamps and salt lakes. The mostly nomadic population of this area has been breeding horses for many centuries. The discovery of oil, coal and iron ore deposits in this basin and the development of rich salt deposits contributed to the development of local industry.

The northern and western regions of Tibet and the Tsaidam Basin are basins of internal runoff. There are hundreds of endorheic salt lakes, into which small rivers flow. On the northern slope of the Himalayas, the Brahmaputra River originates (in China it is called Matsang, and then Zangbo) and flows east for 970 km, and then, cutting through mountain ranges, turns south and enters the plains of North India. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries flow in deep sheltered valleys, contributing to the concentration of the settled population in cities such as Lhasa, Gyangtse and Shigatse. Three of the world's greatest rivers, the Yangtze, the Mekong and the Salween, originate on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. In this area, the huge ridges that cross the Tibet Plateau curve in a southeasterly and then southerly direction and usually exceed 3000 m, with some peaks reaching higher elevations. For example, the peak of Guangshashan (Minyak-Gankar) in the Daxueshan Mountains in the west of Sichuan Province rises to 7556 m.

The belt of highlands and depressions adjoins the Tibetan Plateau in the north, northeast and east and has a range of altitudes from 200 to 2000 m. the nature of the relief.

In Xinjiang, located north of the Kunlun Mountains, there are two large depressions of internal flow - the Tarim and the Dzhungar. The Tarim Basin extends from Kashgar in the west to Khami (Kumul) in the east and has absolute heights from 610 m in the central part to 1525 m along the periphery. The depression is framed by the Kunlun and Altyntag mountains from the south, the Pamirs in the west and the Tien Shan in the north. All these mountains have heights of more than 6100 m. From the east, the Tarim Basin is limited by less impressive mountain ranges with individual peaks exceeding 4300 m. One of the driest and most inaccessible deserts in the world, Takla Makan, is confined to its central part. The Tarim River and its tributaries, which originate in the mountains and are fed by glaciers, are lost in the sands of this desert or flow into the Lop Nor salt lake (in this region the PRC conducts its nuclear tests). North of the lake Lop Nor is the lowest land surface in East Asia - the Turfan depression with a length of approx. 100 km latitudinally and approx. 50 km - in the meridional. Its most subsided part has an absolute elevation of -154 m. The region of the Turfan depression is characterized by huge annual temperature ranges: from 52° C in summer to -18° C in winter. Precipitation is rare.

China statistics
(as of 2012)

The highlands, midlands, and lowlands of China proper occupy a significant part of the country's territory south of Inner Mongolia and east of the Tibetan Plateau. In the south, they form a system of ridges and extend to the east coast. This elevated area is subdivided into several large regions, including the Ordos Plateau, the Shaanxi-Shanxi Plateau, the Qinling Mountains, the Sichuan Basin, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the Nanling Mountains. All of them are located in the altitude range from 200 to 2000 m.

The Qinling Mountains are a system of ranges that cross central China from southern Gansu in the west to Anhui in the east. The mountain ranges are the border of the country's two main drainage basins - the Yellow River and the Yangtze River, and sharply delimit China proper into northern and southern parts, differing in geological structure, climatic and soil features, the nature of natural vegetation and a set of main agricultural crops.

The Shaanxi-Shanxi Plateau, located north of the Qinling Mountains and south of the Ordos Plateau, extends from the Tibetan Plateau in the west to the lowlands of the North China Plain in the east. A distinctive feature of the plateau is a loess cover up to 75 m thick, which largely masks the original relief. The steep slopes of the hills are artificially terraced in many places, the soils formed on the loess are fertile and easily cultivated. At the same time, loess is subject to water erosion, as a result of which this area is deeply indented by a network of ravines.

To the north of the Loess plateau at altitudes of more than 1500 m above sea level. the Ordos plateau is located, characterized by desert landscapes. Sand dunes are widespread in its northwestern and southeastern parts, and the central part is replete with small salt lakes. The Ordos Desert is separated from the cultivated loess lands by the Great Wall of China.

The Nanling Mountains ("Southern Ranges") stretch from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the west to the Wuyi Mountains in the southeastern coastal provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. This wide belt of low mountains, separating the basins of the Yangtze River in the north and the Xijiang ("Western") River in the south, is rich in minerals. Among them are numerous deposits of tungsten, antimony, lead, zinc and copper.

Low-lying accumulative plains. Only ok. 10% of China's territory is located at altitudes less than 200 m above sea level, but it is there that most of the country's population is concentrated. There are five main lowland areas: the North China Plain, the Great Plain of China, the valley of the Huaihe River, the basin of the middle reaches and the delta of the Yangtze River, the Northeast (Manchurian) Plain and the basin of the Xijiang River. The North China Plain, the valley of the Huaihe River and the Yangtze Delta merge near the sea coast, forming a single strip of plains stretching from Beijing in the north to Shanghai in the south, interrupted only by highlands in Shandong Province. In the depths of the mainland, the depression, to which the middle course of the Yangtze River is confined, is separated from this vast plain by the Dabeshan Mountains (the eastern continuation of the Qinling mountain system). In the north, a narrow coastal strip connects the North China Plain with the Northeast. The Xijiang river basin is located to the south of the Yangtze river basin and is separated from it by the Nanling and Wuyishan mountains. Each large low-lying plain is composed of sediments from one or more rivers.

Water resources - Yellow River and North China Plain. The Yellow River (translated as "yellow"), 5163 km long, originates in the Tibetan Plateau (Qinghai Province). Rushing eastward in a stormy stream, it makes its way down the plateau through the Liujiaxia Gorge and further through the highlands of Gansu Province. Near Lanzhou begins the "great northern bend" of the Yellow River valley, 2400 km long, which from the north goes around the Mu-Us desert on the outskirts of the Ordos plateau, and then sharply turns south, crossing the central Loess region and forming the border between the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi. In this section, the river carries a huge amount of silt, especially in summer, when it is at its fullest. Due to the large amount of solid runoff on the plains located downstream, floods are frequent, and the Yellow River itself is nicknamed "the grief of China."

Having reached the Qinling Mountains, where the Weihe River flows into it from the west, the Yellow River turns sharply to the east, passes through the Sanmenxia (“Three Gate Gorge”) and enters the North China Plain. At the exit from this gorge, the river is at an absolute mark of only approx. 180 m, while the distance to the place of its confluence with the Bohai Bay is 970 km. Here, on a smoothly lowering section of the valley, the river loses speed. As a result, for millennia, the Huang He regularly overflowed, depositing sediment and gradually expanding and building up the accumulative plain. When ok. 3000 years ago, the Chinese civilization was born in this territory for the first time, people tried to regulate the flow regime with the help of dams. However, at the same time, the probability of destructive floods increased due to the fact that the area of sediment accumulation was limited to the riverbed. As the layer of silt grew, higher and higher dams had to be built until the river and ramparts were above the level of the surrounding plain. When the dam breaks, which often happens at the peak of summer floods, the river overflows the plain, flooding vast areas and destroying crops. Since the waters of the river cannot return to the elevated channel, the Yellow River often changes its course. From 1048 to 1324, it flowed into the Bohaiwan Bay north of the Shandong Peninsula. In 1324, it connected with the Huaihe River, and their waters flowed into the Yellow Sea south of the peninsula, and in 1851, the Huang He again began to flow into the Bohaiwan Bay. In 1938, the right-bank dams were destroyed by order of Chiang Kai-shek in order to prevent the advance of the Japanese army. In 1947, as part of a UN project, the river was returned to its former course and now flows back into the Bohai Bay. On its way through the North China Plain, the Yellow River does not receive large tributaries. The Grand Canal connects it with the Yangtze River and the major seaports of Tianjin and Shanghai. The total length of this canal is 1782 km.

The Huaihe River and its basin. Immediately south of the lower reaches of the Yellow River is the smaller but important river system of the Huai River, separated from the Yellow River basin and the North China Plain by a barely visible divide that stretches from Kaifeng to Xuzhou, and by a slightly more pronounced upland on the Shandong Peninsula, from Xuzhou to the Yellow Sea. The length of the Huaihe river is only approx. 1090 km, however, unlike the Yellow River, it has many tributaries, mostly left, flowing from the northwest to the southeast. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 174 thousand square meters abounding in lakes. km, covering the southern and eastern parts of Henan Province, the entire Anhui Province and the northern part of Jiangsu Province. The Huaihe River flows into the large Hongzehu Lake, from which its waters are carried out in the form of natural rivers and through recently constructed canals into the Yellow Sea. The alluvial soils in the Huai River basin are very fertile, but the river itself has always been subject to powerful floods, so work on regulating the flow regime in its basin was of paramount importance. Ten dams have been built in the upper reaches of the main river and its tributaries. As a result, reservoirs were formed (the largest are Meishanshuiku and Fozilingshuiku in Anhui Province). Dams with a total length of hundreds of kilometers were built and reinforced, and complex irrigation activities were carried out.

Yangtze River and adjacent plains. The length of the Yangtze River is more than 5600 km. The river originates from glaciers in the central part of the Tibetan Plateau, flows south, forming deep gorges in the eastern part of the plateau, and, having reached the highlands of Yunnan Province, turns sharply to the east. In this turbulent stretch, the river is called Jinshajiang ("Golden Sand River"). Near the city of Yibin, the river enters the Sichuan basin and flows at the foot of the mountains of its southern frame. Here it receives four large tributaries - Minjiang, Tojiang, Fujian and Jialingjiang, which cross the basin from north to south and give it the name Sichuan ("Four Rivers"). In the middle reaches of the Minjiang River, near Chengdu, a complex water flow regulation system, created by the engineer Li Ping in the era of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC), still operates.

The Yangtze River makes its way from the Sichuan basin through several picturesque gorges located between Fengjie and Yichang. This section of the river is difficult and dangerous. In summer, the speed of the current in places can reach 16 km / h. Passing Yichang, the river passes through a series of basins (plains), which are often collectively called the middle course of the Yangtze River. The first of these is the territory abounding in lakes within the provinces of Hunan and Hubei. Its northern part is crossed by the Hanshui River, which originates in the Qinling Mountains, flows in a wide valley in a southeasterly direction and flows into the Yangtze near Hankou (“the mouth of the Han River”), one of the cities of the Wuhan agglomeration. In the south, the basin of the Hunan province is drained by the Xiangjiang, which originates in the Nanling Mountains and flows into the large Dongting Lake, which has a drain in the Yangtze River. Within this basin, the Yangtze is gaining full strength. While in the Chongqing region (Sichuan Province) the width of the river is only 275 m, in the vicinity of Wuhan its channel widens and reaches 1.6 km. The difference between low water and high water is estimated at about 12 m. In winter, vessels with a draft exceeding 2 m must move with caution, while in summer ocean-going vessels with a displacement of 15 thousand tons can reach Wuhan.

Floodplain soils in the basin of the middle reaches of the Yangtze, composed mainly of red-colored alluvium taken out of the Sichuan basin, as well as sediments of the Hanshui, Xiangjiang and Ganjiang rivers, are very fertile. Hunan Province is one of the most important rice growing regions in China. Although the Yangtze carries a lot of silt sediments, the high speed of the current contributes to the removal of most of them to the sea, as a result of which the Yangtze does not experience such destructive floods as the Yellow River, and its banks are less embanked. However, floods occur during the summer when Tibet experiences particularly heavy snowmelt or unusually heavy rainfall. So, in 1931, an area of approx. 91 thousand sq. km. In order to prevent the recurrence of such floods, two reservoirs were built, the capacity of which complements the natural lake reservoirs of Poyanghu and Dongtinghu. The reservoir near Shashi (to the north of Dongting Lake) was built in 1954 almost exclusively by hand in 75 days. Its area is 920 sq. km, capacity - 5.4 km3. A slightly smaller reservoir is located near the city of Wuhan.

The Leizhou Bandao Peninsula and Hainan Island are located in the extreme south of the country. Hainan Island with an area of 34 thousand square meters. km is divided into two parts: the northern - a wide coastal plain and the southern - mountainous terrain. The plain is densely populated, predominantly by the Chinese. The Miao and Lu peoples live in the mountains, the population density there is low.

The Songhua River with its tributaries Nenjiang and Lalinhe crosses the Northeast Plain in the north and flows into the Amur (Chinese: Heilongjiang), along which the northern border of China with Russia runs. The Ussuri River (Chinese Usulijiang) is the eastern border of China with Russia. These rivers are important routes of communication during the summer months, but are ice-bound in winter. The Amur opens up later than the Sungari, which is why vast wetlands are formed at the place of their confluence.

Coastline. China's coastline is approx. 8000 km. It is divided into four main sectors. The northernmost part of the coast within the Bohaiwan and Liaodong bays is slightly indented. A huge amount of silt is brought here from the Shanxi plateau by the Yellow River and other less full-flowing rivers. The sea is shallow here, the coastline is annually pushed towards the sea, and there are few good natural harbors. To prevent silting of the outport of Tianjin - Tanggu in Bohai Bay, dredging is constantly carried out. Yingkou Port in Liaodong Bay freezes in the middle of winter.

The coasts of the Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas, composed of shales and gneisses and separated by an underwater hollow, are characterized by dissected, in some places steep shores. There are numerous natural harbors here. The most important port - Qingdao is located on the southern coast of the Shandong Peninsula. Due to frequent fogs and dust storms, navigation off the northern coast of China is difficult.

Population of China

China ranks first in the world in terms of population. The first census was conducted on July 30, 1935 and determined the number of inhabitants at 601 million 938 thousand, of which 574 million 505.9 thousand were the population directly subjected to the census, this included emigrants, students abroad, as well as residents islands of Taiwan. The absence in the country of not only regular censuses, but even current records does not make it possible to get a true idea of the magnitude of natural population growth, which was hardly significant, since along with a high birth rate, there was also a high death rate. But at the same time, by 1957, about 656 million people lived in China, which amounted to 1/4 of the entire population of the globe. And in 1986 the number of inhabitants reached 1060 million people, and according to the 1990 census - already 1 billion 134 million. human. It is no coincidence that for two millennia China has been the most numerous country in the world, which leaves its mark on all aspects of society, and, above all, is reflected in the specifics of the ongoing demographic policy. According to the Chinese constitution, planned childbearing must be carried out in the country. It is forbidden to marry students, one family must have no more than one child, and the birth of a second or third child already requires permission from a special committee on planned childbearing. Despite the implementation of such a tough demographic policy, the population of China, according to experts, by the year 2000 will exceed 1.3 billion people.

In the PRC, as in any socialist country, the land, its subsoil and industrial enterprises belong to the people, and only a small part in relation to state property is in the hands of private owners, therefore in China there are no large owners, and the main classes are peasants, workers, merchants and intellectuals.

The ethnic composition of China has about 50 nationalities. The overwhelming majority of the population of China are Chinese (Han). In addition, representatives of the following national and ethnic groups live in the country: Zhuang, Uighurs, Huizu, Tibetans, Miao, Manchus, Mongols, Bui, Koreans, Tutszya, Dong, Yao, Bai, Hani, Tai, Li, Lisu, She , lahu, wa, shui, dongxiang, na - si, tu, kyrgyz, jingno, mulao, clogs, salars, bulans, gelao, maoan, pumi, well, aian, benlurs, yugurs, baoan, orogons, gaoshan, hechje, menba , Loba, Tatars, Uzbeks, Kazakhs and Russians. The entire multinational population of China belongs to three language families and inhabits more than 1/2 of the entire territory of the country.

To date, there are more than 800 million working-age people in China, of which 2/5 are young people. 51.182% - men and 48.18% - women. Like many national countries, China is characterized by significant contrasts in settlement. The population is unevenly distributed throughout the country: to the east of the conditional line passing from the city of Heiheng to the city of Tengchong on Yunnan, about 90% of the total population is concentrated on an area of slightly more than 1/3 of the country's territory, and the average density here exceeds 170 people / km2. The rest of the larger western part of the country accounts for only a few people per square kilometer. Particularly densely populated are the plains along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the low-lying strip of the Southeast coast, where in some places the population density reaches 600-800 people / km2. In addition, there are more than 30 cities in China with a population of more than 1 million, including: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, Tianjin, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Harbin, Cang-shin, Tatuan, Luida, Slan, Chengdu, Qingdao.

Source - Internet sites

Area and territory

China is located in East Asia, in the west it is washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The area of its territory is 9.6 million square meters. km, according to this indicator, China is second only to Russia and Canada. In the meridian direction, the territory of China extends for 5.5 thousand km, from the fairway of the Heilongjiang River north of the city of Mohe to the coral reefs of Cape Zengmuansha at the southernmost tip of the Nanshaquundao archipelago. In the latitudinal direction, the territory of China stretches for 5.2 thousand km, from the confluence of the Heilongjiang and Ussuri rivers to the western edge of the Pamir Highlands. From the extreme south to the northernmost point and, accordingly, from east to west, the length of China's territory is more than 5000 km.

The length of the land border is 22.8 thousand km. China borders in the east with the DPRK, in the north with Mongolia, in the northeast with Russia, in the northwest with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, in the west and southwest with Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, etc., in the south it is adjacent to Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. In the east and southeast of China, maritime boundaries with the Republic of Korea, Japan, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The length of the coastline of the mainland of China is more than 18 thousand km. The sea coast of China has a flat terrain and many convenient harbors, most of which are ice-free. China in the east and south is washed by the waters of the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. The total area of territorial waters is 4.73 million square meters. km. The Bohai Sea is inland sea China, the Yellow, East China and South China Seas are the marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean.

There are 5,400 islands scattered in the seas surrounding China. The largest of them is Taiwan, its area is 36 thousand square meters. km, the second largest is Hainan Island, its area is 34 thousand square meters. km. Diaoyu and Chiweiyu, located northeast of Taiwan, are China's easternmost islands. place names groups of islands, reefs and shoals in the South China Sea - the southernmost border of China - Dongshatsyundao, Xishatsyundao, Zhongshatsyundao and Nanshatsyundao.

Relief

The relief in China was formed under the influence of the convex surface of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, formed on the globe several million years ago. From a height, the territory of China resembles a four-step staircase descending from west to east. As a result of the collision of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, the young Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is continuously rising, its average height exceeds 4000 m above sea level, the plateau is called the "roof of the world", it forms the highest rung of this ladder. The Great Himalayas are located on the highlands, the main peak of Chomolungma has a height of 8848 m above sea level and is the highest peak in the world. The second step of the ladder is made up of the highlands of Inner Mongolia, the Loess plateau, the Yunnan-Guizhou highlands, the Tarim depression, the Dzhungar and Sichuan basins. Here the average height is 1000 - 2000 m above sea level. From the eastern edge of the second step, that is, from the eastern foothills of the Greater Khingan (Daxing'anling), Taihangshan, Wushan and Xuefengshan mountains, the third step of the stairs extends to the east, its height decreases to 500 - 1000 m above sea level. Here, from north to south, the Northeast, North China Plains and the plain of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze are located, framed by small mountains and hills. The fourth step of the ladder consists of vast areas of the continental shelf, formed by shoals and islands in the body of water adjacent to the mainland. The shelf is located at a depth of up to 200 m below sea level.

Rivers and lakes

Xilingxia Gorge on the Yangtze River

China has a large number of rivers; basins of more than one and a half thousand rivers exceed 1000 sq. km. km. The sources of the main rivers are in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from where their waters rush to the plains. Large elevation differences create favorable conditions for the use of hydropower resources, the reserves of which amount to 680 million kW and occupy the first place in the world.

The rivers of China form external and internal systems. The total catchment area of external rivers with access to the sea or ocean covers 64% of the country's territory. These include the Yangtze, Huang He, Heilongjiang, Zhujiang, Liaohe, Haihe, Huaihe and other rivers flowing from west to east and flowing into the seas of the Pacific Ocean; the Yalutsangpo River, originates from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and flows into the Indian Ocean, in its channel is the world's largest canyon 504.6 km long and a unique depth of 6009 m; The Ertsis (Irtysh) River flows through Xinjiang to the north and flows into the Arctic Ocean. Inland rivers empty into lakes in the hinterland or get lost in salt marshes and deserts. Their catchment area covers 36% of the country's territory. The Tarim in Xinjiang is the longest of China's inland rivers, with a length of 2,179 km. The largest river in China - the Yangtze, in length - 6300 km - is second only to the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. The upper course of the Yangtze runs through high mountains and deep valleys. It harbors rich water resources. The Yangtze is the country's main and most convenient shipping route, running from west to east. Its fairway is adapted by nature for navigation, it is not for nothing that the Yangtze is called the "golden transport artery" in China. The regions of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze are characterized by a warm and humid climate, an abundance of rainfall and soil fertility, which creates ideal conditions for the development of agriculture. It is here that the main granary of the country is located. The second largest river in China is the Yellow River, with a total length of 5464 km. The Huang He basin is rich in fertile fields, rich pastures, and the subsoil conceals huge deposits of minerals. The banks of the Yellow River are considered the cradle of the Chinese nation, from here the origins of ancient Chinese culture can be traced. Heilongjiang is a major river in northern China. The total length is 4350 km, of which 3101 km are in China. The Pearl River is the deepest in South China, with a total length of 2214 km. In addition to natural water arteries, China has a well-known man-made Grand Canal connecting the water systems of the Haihe, Huanghe, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantangjiang rivers. It was built in the 5th century BC. e., stretches from north to south from Beijing to the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province for 1801 km, this is the oldest and longest artificial canal in the world. China is rich in lakes. Most of the lakes compared with other areas are on the plain of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Lakes in the plains are usually freshwater. The largest of them - Poyanghu, Dongtinghu, Taihu, Hongzehu, the largest freshwater lake in China - Poyanghu is located in the north of Jiangxi province, its area is 3583 square meters. km. The lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are mostly salty, these are Qinghaihu, Namtso, Selling, etc. The largest salt lake in China is Qinghaihu in the northeast of Qinghai Province, its area is 4583 square meters. km.

Climate

Most of China's territory is located in the northern temperate zone, which is characterized primarily by a pronounced change of seasons and monsoon rains. From September to April, severe winter monsoon winds from Siberia and the highlands of Mongolia determine a dry and cold climate and a large temperature difference between north and south. From April to September, warm and humid summer monsoons come from the east and south seas, at which time it is hot and rainy, with little difference in temperature between north and south. China has 6 climatic zones: equatorial, tropical, subtropical, warm-temperate, temperate and cold-temperate. Precipitation gradually decreases from southeast to northwest, there is big difference the average amount of precipitation in all regions of the country, in the southeast 1500 mm, in the northwest - only 200 mm.

Land resources and minerals

Wet forest land in the Greater Khingan

China is extremely rich in land resources and minerals. China has vast areas of diverse soil types, arable land, forests and steppes, deserts and shoals. Arable land is concentrated in the east of China, steppes are located mainly in the west and north, and forests are located in the remote northeast and southwest regions.

At present, the area of cultivated land in China is 130.04 million hectares. The main agricultural regions are the Northeast, North China Plains, the plain of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze, the Pearl River Delta and the Sichuan Basin. The North-Eastern Plain with an area of 350 thousand square meters. km is the largest in China; wheat, corn, soybeans, kaoliang, sugar beet and bast crops are cultivated on its fertile black soil. The North China Plain is formed from thick deposits, burozems predominate. Rich crops of wheat, corn, millet, cotton and other crops are harvested here. The plain of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze is low and flat, with many lakes scattered in an intricate interweaving of rivers and streams. It is an ideal place to grow many crops, including tea; freshwater fish species are successfully bred in reservoirs. This region is rightfully famous as the “land of rice and fish”. Violet soils predominate in the Sichuan depression. Under conditions of warm and humid climate agricultural work is carried out here all year round and good harvests of flooded rice, rapeseed and sugar cane are gathered. The Pearl River Delta has two to three bountiful rice crops a year.

The forest area in China is small - 158.94 million hectares. The largest forest areas are located in the regions of the Greater and Lesser Khingan, in the Changbaishan mountains in the northeast, where the main tree species are cedar, larch, birch, oak, Manchurian ash, elm and poplar. Southwest China occupies the second place in terms of forest reserves. It is rich in valuable wood species, including spruce, fir, Yunnan pine, pompelmus, sandalwood, camphor wood, nanmu phebe and mahogany. Xishuangbanna is a unique place in the south of Yunnan province. Impenetrable tropical jungle broadleaf plants, numbering more than 5 thousand species, is rightly called the "kingdom of plants".

Bainbuluke pasture near Tianshan Mountain

Natural pastures extend over about 400 million hectares. In the steppe zone for more than 3 thousand km from the northeast to the southwest, many bases have been created for the development of cattle breeding and animal husbandry. The leader in the expanses of natural pastures is Inner Mongolia, it is famous for its elite livestock breeds. The visiting card of animal husbandry is the Sanhe bull, the Sanhe horse and the Mongolian sheep. Xinjiang is an important breeding base for the famous Ili horse and Xinjiang fine fleece sheep.

China occupies one of the first places in the world in terms of the total area of arable land, pastures and forests, but due to the huge population, these indicators natural resources per capita are kept to a minimum. This primarily applies to the arable wedge, which is only a third of the world average per capita.

China is rich in various minerals. Almost all known elements of the periodic system are represented here. Modern geological exploration has confirmed the presence of industrial reserves of 158 minerals known in the world. In terms of their total reserves, China ranks third in the world. China is among the world leaders in reserves of a number of major minerals - coal, iron, copper, aluminum, antimony, molybdenum, manganese, tin, lead, zinc and mercury. Basic coal reserves are estimated at 331.76 billion tons. The richest coal deposits are located in Xinjiang, Shanxi Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Basic reserves of iron ore amount to 21.36 billion tons, the most significant deposits are located in the North, North-East and South-West of the country. China is rich in oil natural gas, oil shale, phosphorus and sulfur. The main oil fields have been explored in the northwestern, northeastern and northern regions, as well as on the continental shelf of the Eastern Primorye. In terms of reserves of rare earth metals, China surpasses all other countries in the world combined.

Fauna and flora

Zhenlai - homeland of white cranes.

In terms of the diversity of species of wild animals, China occupies one of the first places in the world. More than 6266 species of vertebrates, 2404 species of terrestrial vertebrates, 3862 species of fish live here, which is about 10% of all vertebrate species existing on Earth. The giant panda, golden monkey, South China tiger, brown chicken, Manchurian crane, red-footed ibis, white dolphin, Yangtze alligator and other rare representatives of the earth's fauna are endemic to China. A giant panda with fluffy black and white hair is a large mammal, it feeds on young bamboo shoots, its weight reaches 135 kg. Currently, only more than 1,000 giant pandas have survived in the world, they have become an international symbol of wildlife conservation. The Manchurian crane is a symbol of longevity in East Asia. Its height reaches 1.2 m, white and black colors of plumage are originally combined, on the head there is bare skin of bright red color. The white dolphin is one of two freshwater cetacean species. It was first discovered in the Yangtze in 1980 and attracted great interest from ichthyologists from different countries.

China has an exceptionally rich flora, with 32,000 species of higher plants alone. Among them there are almost all plants characteristic of cold, temperate and tropical zones northern hemisphere. There are more than 7 thousand tree species in the country, including 2.8 thousand tree species. The unique species, characteristic exclusively for China, include glyptostroboid metasequoia, Chinese glyptostrobus, Chinese argyrophylla, cunningamia, false larch, Taiwan flusiana, Fujian cypress, davidia, eucommia, "xishu". Metasequoia glyptostrobovidny as a relict plant is listed as the rarest plant in the world. False larch grows in the mountainous regions of the Yangtze basin, on its short branches - bunches of leaves that resemble coppers, they are green in summer and yellow in autumn. False Larch with others 4 rare species trees is widely used in gardening art. In China, there are more than 2 thousand species of edible plants, more than 3 thousand species medicinal plants, the most valuable of them are Changbaishan ginseng, Tibetan safflower, Ningxia lycium and pinnatifid ginura growing in Yunnan and Guizhou. China is extremely rich in flowers and ornamental plants, the most beautiful is considered to be the peony, which originally grows here and is called the "king of flowers" by the Chinese. The tree-like peony has especially large, bright and multi-petalled flowers; it is recognized as one of the national symbols of China.

China is located in East Asia and occupies a huge area (9.6 million km²), as a result of which the country's geography is very diverse. Mainly China - Mountain country, mountains, highlands and hills occupy more than 67% of the country's territory. The population is concentrated mainly on the plains and in the river valleys, while vast areas remain almost deserted.

Geographical position

Geography of China

The People's Republic of China is located in East Asia, on the western coast of the Pacific Ocean. The area of the territory is 9.6 million square kilometers, which is not much less area throughout Europe. In terms of area, China ranks third in the world after Russia and Canada, ahead of the United States. The PRC extends 5,200 kilometers from west to east and 5,500 kilometers from north to south. The easternmost point of China（135°2′30''E）- the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, the westernmost point（73°40′E）- Pamir Mountains, the southernmost point（3°51′N）- Lidi Shoal among the Spratly Islands, the northernmost one is the fairway of the Amur River in Mohe County, where the border with Russia passes. From east to west, China stretches for 60 degrees, crossing five time zones (However, all of China lives on a single, Beijing, time).

From the east, China is washed by the seas of the Pacific Ocean: South China, East China, Yellow and Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea, which is considered by Chinese geographers to be a separate sea. The total length of China's coastline is 18,000 km. On the other three sides, China has a land border with a total length of 22,117 km with 14 states: in the northeast with North Korea and Russia, in the north with Mongolia, in the northwest with Russia and Kazakhstan, in the west with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, in the southwest with Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan, and in the south with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam. China also has maritime borders with Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Geology

The geology of China is quite diverse. China is located entirely on the Eurasian tectonic plate, on the Chinese platform. Three blocks are distinguished in its composition: the Sino-Korean, South China and Tarim platforms, which in some places come to the surface in the form of crystalline Precambrian rocks. The crystalline basement is covered by a thick sedimentary cover consisting of Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks. On the southwestern border of China, the Hindustan plate collides with the Eurasian plate, forming the Himalayan mountains and the Tibetan plateau at the point of collision. The northwest and northeast of China are occupied by alluvial plains covered with sedimentary rocks. In the center is the Great Plain of China, the world's largest deposit of Quaternary loess. The thickness of the sedimentary cover reaches 10 kilometers. In southern China, there are limestone mountains composed of Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks. Many fossils of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals have been discovered in China.

Part of China is seismically active. The greatest danger of earthquakes is noted in the western mountains: Tien Shan, Kunlun, Altai, in the Trans-Himalayas and southeast of Tibet, in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan. On the plains of the east of the country, the seismic regime is irregular; multi-year periods calm. Often earthquakes occur in areas that, according to geological data, should not be seismic. Because of this, disasters claim more victims in the east. For example, the Shaanxi earthquake in 1556 killed more than 830,000 people.

Relief

Relief of China

The relief of China is very diverse. The main feature is that the landscape descends from west to east, as if in three steps. The highest part is the Tibetan Plateau with the Himalaya mountain range in the South-West of the country. Most of China is occupied by a belt of mountains, plateaus and highlands. The third part is the accumulative plains located in the East, near the coast.

Tibetan Plateau

But Southwest China is home to the Himalayas, the world's highest mountain range that separates China from South Asia. On the Chinese border there are 9 of the 14 "eight-thousanders" - the highest mountains of the Earth, exceeding 8000 meters. On the border of China and Nepal, there is Chomolungma (Everest) - the highest mountain on Earth (8,848 meters), and on the border of China with Pakistan - Chogori (K2) - the second highest mountain on the planet (8,611 meters). Other "eight-thousanders" of China are Lhotse (8,516 meters, 4th in the world), Makalu (8,481, 5th in the world), Cho Oyu (8,201 meters, 6th in the world), Gasherbrum I (Hidden -peak), Gasherbrum II (Broad Peak), Gasherbrum II (8080, 8051 and 8035 meters, 11th, 12th and 13th mountains in the world) and Shishabangma (8027 meters, 14th in the world). Shishabangma is the highest mountain entirely within China, while Mount Chogori and the three peaks of Gasherbrum are located in the Karakorum mountain range, adjacent to the Himalayas from the Northwest.

To the north of the Himalayas is the Tibetan Plateau - the largest and highest plateau in the world. Its area is more than 2 million square kilometers, and the average height exceeds 4500 meters. On all sides, the Tibetan Plateau is bordered by mountain ranges, in addition to the Himalayas, from the northwest by the Kunlun ridge it is separated from the Tarim Basin, and from the northeast by the Qilianshan mountains from the Gansu corridor and the Inner Mongolian plateau. From the east, the highlands pass into the Sino-Tibetan mountains, and from the west it is bounded by the Karakorum mountains.

Northwest China

To the north of the Tibetan Plateau is the endorheic Tarim Basin, in the center of which is the Takla Makan Desert. In addition to the desert, the Turfan depression is located in the Tarim Basin - the deepest in East Asia (154 meters below sea level). Further north, behind the highest Tien Shan mountain range, is the Dzungarian Plain. To the east are high plateaus covered with steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. Inner Mongolia is located on the Mongolian plateau with an average height of 1,000 m. Most of the plateau is occupied by the Alashan and Gobi deserts. To the south of the Mongolian Plateau are the Ordos Plateau and the Loess Plateau. This plateau is rich in loess, the deposition of river sediments, is very fertile and subject to erosion, as a result of which it is heavily indented by ravines and river valleys.

Northeast China

Northeast China (or Dongbei, Manchuria) is a fairly flat region. The Chinese Northeast Plain, or Songliao Plain, located here, is one of the largest in China. On three sides, the plain is surrounded by low mountain ranges - the Greater Khingan from the northwest, the Lesser Khingan from the northeast, and Changbaishan from the southeast.

Northern China

Northern China is occupied by vast plains: the Liaohe Plain in Manchuria, the North China Plain in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and the plain of the lower Yangtze to the south of it. The vast plains are composed of a huge amount of river sediment, and are extremely fertile. It is the cradle of Chinese civilization and one of the main agricultural regions of the country.

Southeast China

Southeast China occupies the space from the Qinling Mountains to the Huaiyanshan Range, including the island of Taiwan. The terrain here is mostly mountainous, interspersed with river valleys, sometimes wide. The Sichuan Basin stands apart, surrounded on all sides by mountains.

South China

Karst relief in southern China

The south of China occupies the extreme south of Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong, as well as the island of Hainan. The landscape here is hilly, with low, but very beautiful mountains of karst origin. Southern China is located in the tropical climate zone.

Southwest China

Southwestern China includes the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the Sino-Tibetan Mountains adjoining it from the west. This is a remote mountainous area, densely cut by numerous deep river valleys. The valleys of the Salween, Mekong and Yangtze rivers reach three kilometers in depth.

Minerals

China is very rich in minerals. China ranks third in the world in terms of coal reserves. Coal deposits are found in abundance in central and northern China. Basically, these are deposits of coal.

Oil fields are located in the coastal shelf: in the Bohai Gulf and the South China Sea. The country's largest oil field, Daqing, is located in Northeast China.

Numerous iron ore deposits are located in Northern and Northeastern China. There are also deposits of manganese, titanium, chromium, tungsten, aluminum, copper, nickel, tin, mercury, zinc, lead, antimony, tantalum, niobium, sulfur, phosphates, asbestos, magnesite and many other minerals. In 2007, China came out on top in the world in gold mining.

Soils

The soils of China are varied following the general geography. Fertile dark meadow soils are common in Northeast China, and chernozems are found along the Songhua River. The north-west of the country is covered with gray-brown desert, mountain-steppe and mountain-meadow soils, gray soils. Often the soils are saline due to the arid climate and require irrigation.

On the coast of the Yellow Sea, salinization is associated with the activity of the sea. Farming in the Yellow River Delta becomes possible after the salts are washed out. The plains are characterized by fertile alluvial soils or red soils. The loess plateaus are also fertile but highly prone to erosion.

Soil properties in China change greatly with intensive human use. Deforestation and grazing in the north lead to desertification of the land.

Inland waters

There are about 50,000 rivers in China with a basin of more than 100 square kilometers. Their total length is more than 420 thousand kilometers. Of these, 1,500 rivers have basins over a thousand square kilometers. Most of the rivers in China flow from west to east, and flow into one of the seas of the Pacific Ocean. Frequent floods from ancient times forced the Chinese to build irrigation facilities: dams, diversion channels and reservoirs.

Yangtze

The Yangtze River, with a length of more than 6,300 km and a basin area of 1.8 million square meters. km is the most long river China, and the third in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. The Yangtze originates in the mountains of the Tibetan Plateau. In the upper reaches, the river is meandering, narrow and fast, making its way through narrow mountain gorges. Between the cities of Fengzi and Yichang Yangtze there is a section called Sanxia - "Three Gorges". The largest hydroelectric power plant "Sanxia" was built here. After the Three Gorges, the Yangtze slows down, leaving the plain, and becomes wide and deep.

The Yangtze receives over 700 tributaries, the largest of which are the Hanshui, Yalongjiang, Minjiang and Jialingjiang. In addition, the Yangjia is connected with the Dongting, Poyang and Taihu lakes, and about 500 large reservoirs have been built on it.

Huanghe

Yellow River in Lanzhou

The second longest river in China is the Yellow River, which is 5,464 km long and has a basin area of 752,000 square meters. km. The Yellow River also begins in the Tibetan Plateau, makes a loop around the Ordos Plateau, passes through the North China Plain and flows into the Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea. The Yellow River is one of the most sediment-bearing rivers in the world, carrying many loess particles that settle downstream, raising the riverbed above the surrounding plain. In ancient times, this led to river floods, colossal floods and a change in the course of the river. Now it is surrounded by numerous dams and canals.

Other rivers

Other major rivers are the Amur (Heilongjiang), Zhujiang (Pearl River), Huaihe, Liaohe, Haihe, Qiantang and Lancangjiang. Of great importance is the Great Chinese Canal, dug in the 7th-13th centuries. along the ocean coast between the Haihe, Huanghe and Yangtze rivers.

Approximately 40% of the territory in the west of the country is endorheic. The rivers here do not flow into the ocean, but end in inland lakes or evaporate in the desert.

China also owns vast territorial waters located in the waters of the Yellow, East and South China Seas of the Pacific Ocean. China owns more than 5 thousand islands. The coastline is different, and is divided into two types. To the north of Hangzhou Bay, the coast is mostly flat and sandy, to the south it is steep and rocky.

Climate

Distribution of average annual precipitation

The climate of individual regions of China is determined by the great length of the country in latitude, as well as the distance from the sea. In the south, on the island of Hainan, tropical climate, in the northeast - moderate. Most of the country is in the temperate zone. The coast is located in the monsoon climate zone. In southern China, the average temperature ranges from 10°C in January to 28°C in July. In the north, the annual temperature difference is higher. Winters in Heilongjiang Province can get as cold as -30°C. The difference in precipitation is even higher than in temperature, but depends not on latitude, but on distance from the sea. The wettest regions are the southeastern ones, suffering from monsoon showers and hurricanes in summer, the driest regions are the northwestern ones, in the Takla Makan, Gobi and Ordos deserts located here, there is practically no precipitation. The north of China is covered every spring sandstorms from the Gobi Desert, often reaching Korea and Japan.

Flora

Bamboo in the Huangshan Mountains

China's vegetation is greatly affected by human land use. There are practically no forests left on the plains; primary forests have been preserved only in mountainous regions. In the northeast of China, in the Amur basin, coniferous taiga grows, mainly from larch and Korean cedar. When moving south, hardwoods are increasingly common: oak, linden, maple and walnut. In central China, sub-pyropic forests of laurels, camellias and magnolias begin. Southern China is occupied by tropical forests, and western Yunnan is covered with savannah.

Bamboo

Bamboo is the country's most famous plant, symbolizing China. There are 35 species of it in the country. Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world, which contributes to a good renewability of its stocks. Young bamboo shoots and roots are used as food, wood is used as construction material, for the production of pulp, the production of furniture, water pipes, chopsticks, household items. The fibers are used to make ropes and mats.

Flora of the west of the country

The western part of the country is covered mainly with shrubs and herbs. In the river valleys and on the slopes of the mountains there are small groves. A few extremely hardy plant species grow in the Tibetan Plateau, sometimes there are alpine meadows and small coniferous forests.

Fauna

China is inhabited by many species of animals, but deforestation and hunting of wild animals causes great damage to the fauna. Large animals survived only in remote mountainous areas.

aquatic fauna

The seas surrounding China are rich in plankton, abundant food and warm water are the basis of biodiversity. Among invertebrates, trepangs, shrimps and cuttlefish are numerous. There are more than a thousand species of fish in the coastal waters of the country, as well as in rivers and lakes, 50 of which have commercial value. The most common are croakers (perches) and cyprinids.

Birds

There are more than a thousand species of birds in China. Some of them, such as the Manchurian crane, are endemic.

mammals

Deer, wild boars, hares, foxes and sables are found in the northeast. Eastern China is home to wolves, foxes, bears, raccoons, tigers, and lynxes. The northwest is inhabited by animals of deserts and steppes: gazelles, gazelles, wild camels, Przewalski's horses, kulans, wolves, corsacs, jerboas, hamsters, ground squirrels, marmots. Alpine animals live in Tibet: orongo antelope, kukuyaman sheep, kiang, wild yaks, mountain goats, hares, Tibetan bobak, Tibetan bear, lynx, wolf and red wolf from predators. In the south you can meet tropical animals: tigers, leopards, snow leopards, golden monkeys, lorises, gibbons, giant squirrels, flying dogs, Malayan palm citens.

Giant panda

China's national treasure is Giant panda, which lives in the mountains of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, and feeds on bamboo shoots. The Giant Panda is a relic species from the Ice Age. In the past, pandas were exterminated in large numbers, so they are currently endangered. The panda is under the protection of the law, for its murder the death penalty is threatened.

Geographical position

Relief

Southwest China

Northwest China

Northeast China

Northern China

Southeast China

South China

Climate and weather

Population

Population density

National composition and language of the population

Religion and beliefs of the population

Largest cities

Beijing

China statistics (as of 2012)

Population of China

Geographical position

Geology

Relief

Tibetan Plateau

Northwest China

Northeast China

Northern China

Southeast China

South China

Southwest China

Minerals

Soils

Inland waters

Yangtze

Huanghe

Other rivers

Climate

Flora

Bamboo

Flora of the west of the country

Fauna

aquatic fauna

Birds

mammals

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China statistics
(as of 2012)