NASA composite satellite photo

The geography of China stretches some 5,026 kilometers across the East Asian landmass bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam in a changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. The eastern half of the country, its seacoast fringed with offshore islands, is a region of fertile lowlands, foothills and mountains, deserts, steppes, and subtropical areas. The western half of China is a region of sunken basins, rolling plateaus, and towering massifs, including a portion of the highest tableland on earth. China stretches some 5,000 kilometers across the East Asian landmass in an eratically changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain. ... // Taiwan is a medium-sized archipelago in East Asia, located at 23°30N, 121°00E and running through the middle of the Tropic of Cancer (23°5N). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x958, 226 KB) NASA World Wind screenshot. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1280x958, 226 KB) NASA World Wind screenshot. ... For other uses, see NASA (disambiguation). ... This article is about the geographical region. ... For other uses, see East Sea (Chinese mythology). ... The Korea Bay, also called the West Korea Bay, is located at the north of the Yellow Sea, between Liaoning Province of China and North Pyŏngan Province of North Korea. ... ... Filipino name Tagalog: Timog Dagat Tsina (Dagat Luzon for the portion within Philippine waters) Malay name Malay: Laut China Selatan Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... This article is about arid terrain. ... For exotic financial options, see Mountain range (options). ... This article is about arid terrain. ... This article is about the ecological zone type. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... For other meanings, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... In geology, a massif is a section of a planets crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. ... In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ...

The vastness of the country and the barrenness of the western hinterland have important implications for defense strategy. In spite of many good harbors along the approximately 18,000-kilometer coastline, the nation has traditionally oriented itself not toward the sea but inland, developing as an imperial power whose center lay in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River on the northern plains. China also has the Tibetan Plateau to the south. The Tibetan Plateau is a very large plateau with high altitudes. To the north of the Tibet Plateau lies the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts, which stretch from the extreme northwest eastward through Mongolia. For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... The Gobi Desert lies in the territory of the Peoples Republic of China and the Country of Mongolia. ... Dust storm in Taklamakan from space, June 25, 2005 The Taklamakan (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

China is one of the world's largest countries in total area, almost the exact same size as the United States yet smaller than both Russia and Canada. Whether China or the United States is the third largest country in the world in total area is related to (a) the validity of claims by the PRC on territories such as Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract (both territories also claimed by India), and (b) how the total size of the United States is calculated: The CIA's The World Factbook gives 9,826,630 km²,^[1] the United Nations Statistics Division gives 9,629,091 km²,^[2] and the Encyclopedia Britannica gives 9,522,055 km².^[3] Figures for the size of China differ slightly depending on where one draws a number of ill-defined boundaries. The official figure by the People's Republic of China is 9.6 million square kilometers. The Republic of China based in Taiwan puts this figure at 11 million square kilometers, but this includes Mongolia, an independent sovereign state. China's contour is reasonably comparable to that of the United States and lies largely at the same latitudes. The total area is estimated to be 9,596,960 km², with land accounting for 9,326,410 km² and water for 270,550 km² (around 3 percent). China - India western border showing Aksai Chin Aksai Chin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: , Hindi: अकसाई चिन) is a region located at the juncture of China, Pakistan, and India. ... Political division of Kashmir The Trans-Karakoram Tract is an area of nearly 5,800 sq. ... CIA redirects here. ... The World Factbook (ISSN 1553-8133; also known as the CIA World Factbook)[2] is an annual publication of the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. ... For the Chinese civilization, see China. ...

Boundaries

China has a total of 22,117 km of land boundaries with 14 other nations. These borders include: Afghanistan (76 km), Bhutan (470 km), Burma (2,185 km), India (3,380 km), Kazakhstan (1,533 km), North Korea (1,416 km), Kyrgyzstan (858 km), Laos (423 km), Mongolia (4,677 km), Nepal (1,236 km), Pakistan (523 km), Russia (4,300 km), Tajikistan (414 km), and Vietnam (1,281 km).

China’s coastline extends 14,500 km from the border with North Korea in the north to Vietnam in the south. China’s coasts are on the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea. A coastal image featured on a United States postal stamp. ... For other uses, see East Sea (Chinese mythology). ... The Korea Bay, also called the West Korea Bay, is located at the north of the Yellow Sea, between Liaoning Province of China and North Pyŏngan Province of North Korea. ... ... Filipino name Tagalog: Timog Dagat Tsina (Dagat Luzon for the portion within Philippine waters) Malay name Malay: Laut China Selatan Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ...

China claims a 12 nautical mile (22 km) territorial sea, a 24 nautical mile (44 km) contiguous zone, a 200 nautical mile (370 km) exclusive economic zone, and a 200 nautical mile (370 km) continental shelf or the distance to the edge of the continental shelf. A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... The territorial waters are sea waters of a littoral state that are regarded as under jurisdiction of the state: commonly, those waters measured from the shoreline of a sovereign state where the laws of that state are applicable. ... Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending 12 twelve nautical miles from the shore of a littoral state that is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, except that foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it. ... Sea areas in international rights Under the law of the sea, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. ...  Sediment  Rock  Mantle  The global continental shelf, highlighted in cyan The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs. ...

Geography

The Geography of China

From the Tibetan Plateau and other less-elevated highlands rise rugged east-west trending mountains, and plateaus interrupted by deep depressions fanning out to the north and east. The Tibetan Plateau is a vast, elevated plateau covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in the People's Republic of China and Ladakh in Kashmir. With an average elevation of over 4,500 meters, the highest and biggest plateau in the world and an area of 2.5 million square kilometers.^[4] A continental scarp marks the eastern margin of this territory, a scarp that extends from the Greater Khingan Range in northeastern China, through the Taihang Mountains (a range of mountains overlooking the North China Plain) to the eastern edge of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the south. All of the low-lying areas of China, which support dense population and intensive cultivation, are to the east of this scarp line. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x733, 1391 KB) The Geography of China The map was drawn by Alan Mak based on a world map in Wikimedia Commons. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1000x733, 1391 KB) The Geography of China The map was drawn by Alan Mak based on a world map in Wikimedia Commons. ... Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Sichuan Province of China lie on the Tibetan Plateau. ... For other meanings, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... This article is about the administrative region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Qinghai (Chinese: 青海; pinyin: Qīnghǎi; Wade-Giles: Ching-hai; Postal System Pinyin: Tsinghai) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, named after the enormous Qinghai Lake (Koko Nor). ... , Ladakh (Tibetan script: ལ་དྭགས་; Wylie: la-dwags, Ladakhi IPA: , Hindi: लद्दाख़, Hindi IPA: , Urdu: لدّاخ; land of high passes) is a region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Northern India sandwiched between the Kuen Lun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people... Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ... For other meanings, see Plateau (disambiguation). ... In geology, an escarpment is a transition zone between different physiogeographic provinces that involves an elevation differential, often involving high cliffs. ... The Greater Khingan Range (Chinese Simplified: 大兴安岭 Traditional: 大興安嶺), also called the Greater Hingan Range or Greater Hinggan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. ... The Taihang Mountains (太行山) are a mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau. ... The North China Plain (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also called the Central Plain(s) (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... Topographical map covering southwestern China Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau covers southwestern China. ...

The east-west ranges include some of Asia's greatest mountains. In addition to the Himalayas and the Kunlun Mountains, there are the Kailash (Gangdise) and the Tian Shan ranges. The latter stands between two great basins, the massive Tarim Basin to the south and the Dzungarian Basin to the north. Rich deposits of coal, oil, and metallic ores lie in the Tian Shan area. The largest inland basin in China, the Tarim Basin measures 1,500 kilometres from east to west and 600 kilometres from north to south at its widest parts. The Himalayas form a natural boundary on the southwest as the Altai Mountains do on the northwest. Lesser ranges branch out, some at sharp angles from the major ranges. The mountains give rise to all the principal rivers. The spine of the Kunlun Mountains separates into several branches as it runs eastward from the Pamir Mountains. The northernmost branches, the Altyn-Tagh and the Qilian Range, form the rim of the Tibetan Plateau in west-central China and overlook the Qaidam Basin, a sandy and swampy region containing many salt lakes. A southern branch of the Kunlun Mountains divides the watersheds of the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). The Gansu Corridor, west of the great bend in the Yellow River, was traditionally an important communications link with Central Asia. For the movie Himalaya, see Himalaya (film). ... Region containing Kunlun Mountains Karakash River in the Western Kunlun Shan, seen from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway Peak in Kunlun range View of Western Kunlun Shan from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway The Kunlun mountain range (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending... Mount Kailash (officially: Kangrinboqê; Tibetan: Gang Rinpoche, གངས་རིན་པོཅཧེ་; Wylie: Gangs Rin-po-che; ZWPY: Kangrinboqê; Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Hindi कैलाश पर्वत, Kailāśā Parvata) is a peak in the Gangdisê mountains, the source of some of the longest rivers in Asia—the Indus River, the Sutlej River, a tributary of the Ganges... The Tian Shan (Chinese: 天山; Pinyin: Tiān Shān; celestial mountains) mountain range is located in Central Asia, in the border region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of western China. ... Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. ... Dzungaria (also Junggar, Jungaria, Sungaria, Zungaria) is a physical region, covering approximately 777,000 km², within the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. ... For the republic in Russia, see Altai Republic. ... Region containing Kunlun Mountains Karakash River in the Western Kunlun Shan, seen from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway Peak in Kunlun range View of Western Kunlun Shan from the Tibet-Xinjiang highway The Kunlun mountain range (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending... A photograph of Ismail Samani Peak (then known as Peak Communism) taken in 1989. ... Altyn-Tagh, or Astyn-Tagh (Chinese: 阿尔金山), also called Altun Shan, is one of the chief constituent ranges of the Kunlun in Central Asia, which separates Tibet from Xinjiang and the Gobi Desert. ... The Qilian mountain range is located in the south of the Gansu area of western China. ... Qaidam, also spelt Tsaidam, is an arid basin in Qinghai, western China. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), or Drichu in Tibetan (Tibetan: འབ; Wylie: bri chu) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa, and the Amazon in South America. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ...

North of the 3,300-kilometre-long Great Wall, between Gansu Province on the west and the Greater Khingan Range on the east, lies the Mongolian Plateau, at an average elevation of 1,000 metres above sea level. The Yin Mountains, a system of mountains with average elevations of 1,400 metres, extends east-west through the center of this vast desert steppe. To the south is the largest loess plateau in the world, covering 600,000 square kilometers in Shaanxi Province, parts of Gansu and Shanxi provinces, and some of Ningxia-Hui Autonomous Region. Loess is a yellowish soil blown in from the Inner Mongolian deserts. The loose, loamy material travels easily in the wind, and through the centuries it has veneered the plateau and choked the Yellow River with silt. Because the river level drops precipitously toward the North China Plain where it sluggishly crosses the delta, it carries a heavy load of sediment in the form of sand and mud from the upper reaches, much of which is deposited on the flat plain. The flow is controlled mainly by constantly repaired man-made embankments while floods and course changes have recurred over the centuries. As a result the river flows on a raised ridge fifty metres or more above the plain, Traditionally, rulers were judged by their concern for or indifference to preservation of the embankments. Gansu (Simplified Chinese: 甘肃; Traditional Chinese: 甘肅; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Kan-su, Kansu, or Kan-suh) is a province located in the northwest of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Mongolian Plateau is part of the larger Central Asian Plateau and has an area of approximately 2,600,000 square kilometres. ... The Yin Mountains (Yin Shan or Yinshan) are mountains in the Eastern Gobi Desert steppe of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of China. ... This article is about the ecological zone type. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ShÇŽnxÄ«; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal map spelling: Shensi) is a north-central province of the Peoples Republic of China, and includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River as well as the Qinling Mountains across the... Ningxia (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏; pinyin: N ngxi ; Wade-Giles: Ning-hsia) is an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China, located on the northwest loess highland, the Yellow River flows through a vast area of its land. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Afsluitdijk, a 32 km dike in the Netherlands. ...

Flowing from its source in the Tibetan highlands, the Yellow River courses toward the sea through the North China Plain, the historic centre of Chinese expansion and influence. Ethnic Chinese people have farmed the rich alluvial soils of the plain since ancient times, constructing the Grand Canal of China for north-south transport. The plain itself is actually a continuation of the Manchurian Plain to the northeast but is separated from it by the Bohai Gulf, an extension of the Yellow Sea. Like other densely populated areas of China, the plain is subject not only to floods but to earthquakes. For example, the mining and industrial centre of Tangshan, about 165 kilometres east of Beijing, was levelled by an earthquake in July 1976 that reportedly also killed 242,000 people and injured 164,000. The North China Plain (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also called the Central Plain(s) (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... Language(s) Chinese languages Religion(s) Predominantly Taoism, Mahayana Buddhism, traditional Chinese religions, and atheism. ... Alluvium is soil land deposited by a river or other running water. ... Grand Canal of China The Grand Canal of China (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the longest ancient canal or artificial river in the world. ... Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... Bo Hai (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: B hăi; Wade-Giles: Po-hai lit. ... ... Tangshan (Chinese: 唐山市; Pinyin: Tángshān shì) is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Peking redirects here. ...

The Qinling mountain range, a continuation of the Kunlun Mountains, divides the North China Plain from the Yangtze River Delta and is the major physiographic boundary between the two great parts of China Proper. It is in a sense a cultural boundary as well, influencing the distribution of custom and language. South of the Qinling divide are the densely populated and highly developed areas of the lower and middle plains of the Yangtze and, on its upper reaches, the Sichuan Basin, an area encircled by a high barrier of mountain ranges. The country's longest and most important waterway, the Yangtze River is navigable over much of its length and is now the site of the Three Gorges Dam. Rising on the Tibetan Plateau, the Yangtze River traverses 6,300 kilometers through the heart of the country, draining an area of 1.8 million square kilometers before emptying into the East China Sea. The Sichuan Basin, favoured by a mild, humid climate and a long growing season, produces a rich variety of crops; it is also a leading silk-producing area and an important industrial region with substantial mineral resources. The Qinling Mountains are a major mountain range in central China. ... Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze River Delta (Chinese 长江三角洲/長江三角洲 chángjiāng sānjiǎozhōu) or Yangtze Delta, generally comprises the triangular-shaped territory of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu province and northern Zhejiang province. ... China proper refers to the historical heartlands of China in the context of that paradigm which contrasts these heartlands with frontier regions of Outer China (including sections of Inner Asia and other regions). ... The Sichuan Basin is a basin in middle eastern China. ... The Three Gorges Dam (simplified Chinese: ; traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is a Chinese hydroelectric river dam that spans the Yangtze River in Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei, China. ... For other uses, see East Sea (Chinese mythology). ...

Second only to the Qinling as an internal boundary is the Nanling, the southernmost of the east-west mountain ranges. The Nanling overlooks the part of China where a tropical climate permits two crops of rice to be grown each year. Southeast of the mountains lies a coastal, hilly region of small deltas and narrow valley plains; the drainage area of the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) 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 metres in elevation, respectively, toward the precipitous mountain regions of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The Qinling Mountains are a major mountain range in central China. ... The Nanling (simplified characters: 南岭, traditional characters 南嶺) are a group of mountain ranges of southern China, running through Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong province, and Hunan province. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Pearl River in Guangzhou Pearl River at night, Guangzhou The Zhu Jiang, (Chinese: 珠江 Pinyin: Zhū Jiāng), or Pearl River or less commonly the Canton River, is Chinas third longest river (2,200 km, after the Yangtze River and the Yellow River), and second largest by volume (after the...

The Hai River, like the Pearl and other major waterways, flows from west to east. Its upper course consists of five rivers that converge near Tianjin, then flow seventy kilometers before emptying into the Bohai Gulf. Another major river, the Huai, rises in Henan Province and flows through several lakes before joining the Yangtze near Yangzhou. Inland drainage involving a number of upland basins in the north and northeast accounts for about 40 percent of the country's total drainage area. Many rivers and streams flow into lakes or diminish in the desert. Some are useful for irrigation. The Hai River basin The Hai River (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally sea river), previously called Bai He (Chinese: 白河; pinyin: Bái Hé; literally white river; Pei Ho in Western sources), is a river in China which flows through Beijing and Tianjin into Bohai Gulf of the Yellow Sea. ...   (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Tientsin) is one of the four municipalities of China. ... Bo Hai (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: B hăi; Wade-Giles: Po-hai lit. ... Huai He The Huai River (Chinese: 淮河; pinyin: ) is about mid-way between the Yellow River (Huang He) and the Yangtze River. ... Henan (Chinese: 河南; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ho-nan), is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. ... Yangzhou (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; former spellings: Yang-chou, Yangchow; literally Rising Prefecture) is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, Peoples Republic of China. ...

China's extensive territorial waters are principally marginal seas of the western Pacific Ocean; these waters wash the shores of a long and much-indented coastline and approximately 5,000 islands. The Yellow, East China, and South China seas, too, are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. More than half the coastline (predominantly in the south) is rocky; most of the remainder is sandy. Hangzhou Bay roughly divides the two kinds of shoreline. The Hangzhou Bay is an inlet of the East China Sea, bordered by the province of Zhejiang and the municipality of Shanghai. ...

Areas of China have experienced earthquakes. On 23 August, 1976, a major earthquake in Tangshan killed hundreds of thousands of people. However, most regions of China do not experience earthquakes, as major population centres are a long distance from fault lines. Tangshan is one of the few places in China that is located within an earthquake zone. There are few volcanoes in China. Many buildings were flattened into rubble when the earthquake hit. ... Geologic faults, fault lines or simply faults are planar rock fractures, which show evidence of relative movement. ... Tangshan (Chinese: 唐山市; Pinyin: Tángshān shì) is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...

Climate

The average annual precipitation in different regions of China

The climate of China is extremely diverse; subtropical in the south to subarctic in the north. Monsoon winds, caused by differences in the heat-absorbing capacity of the continent and the ocean, dominate the climate. Alternating seasonal air-mass movements and accompanying winds are moist in summer and dry in winter. The advance and retreat of the monsoons account in large degree for the timing of the rainy season and the amount of rainfall throughout the country. Tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude give rise to sharp variations in precipitation and temperature within China. Although most of the country lies in the temperate belt, its climatic patterns are complex. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x794, 367 KB) Summary The map for the average annual precipitation of China Drawn by Alan Mak in March, 2006. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (900x794, 367 KB) Summary The map for the average annual precipitation of China Drawn by Alan Mak in March, 2006. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... The subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. ... For other uses, see Monsoon (disambiguation). ... In meteorology, precipitation is any kind of water that falls from the sky as part of the weather. ...

China's northernmost province Heilongjiang has a subarctic climate; its southernmost point, Hainan Island (an island away from mainland China), has a tropical climate. Temperature differences in winter are great, but in summer the diversity is considerably less. For example, the northern portions of Heilongjiang Province experience an average January mean temperature of below 0°C, and the reading may drop to minus 30°C; the average July mean in the same area may exceed 20 °C. By contrast, the central and southern parts of Guangdong Province experience an average January temperature of above 10 °C, while the July mean is about 28 °C. Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江省; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江省; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Henan and Hunan Hainan (海南; pinyin: Hǎinán) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. ...

Precipitation varies regionally even more than temperature. China south of the Qinling mountains experiences abundant rainfall, most of it coming with the summer monsoons. To the north and west of the range, however, rainfall is uncertain. The farther north and west one moves, the scantier and more uncertain it becomes. The northwest has the lowest annual rainfall in the country and no precipitation at all in its desert areas. China experiences frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts), damaging floods, monsoons, tsunamis, and droughts. Cyclone Catarina, a rare South Atlantic tropical cyclone viewed from the International Space Station on March 26, 2004. ... For other uses, see Monsoon (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tsunami (disambiguation). ... Fields outside Benambra, Victoria, Australia suffering from drought conditions A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. ...

Natural resources

China has substantial mineral reserves and is the world’s largest producer of antimony, natural graphite, tungsten, and zinc. Other major minerals are bauxite, coal, crude petroleum, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, magnetite, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, phosphate rock, tin, uranium, and vanadium. With its vast mountain ranges, China’s hydropower potential is the largest in the world. This article is about the element. ... For other uses, see Tungsten (disambiguation). ... General Name, symbol, number zinc, Zn, 30 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 12, 4, d Appearance bluish pale gray Standard atomic weight 65. ... This article is about the ore. ... Coal Example chemical structure of coal Coal is a fossil fuel formed in ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petrus – rock and oleum – oil), mineral oil, or crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths... This article is about the gemstone. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... This heap of iron ore pellets will be used in steel production. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lead, Pb, 82 Chemical series Post-transition metals or poor metals Group, Period, Block 14, 6, p Appearance bluish gray Standard atomic weight 207. ... Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. ... General Name, symbol, number manganese, Mn, 25 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 7, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 54. ... This article is about the element. ... General Name, Symbol, Number molybdenum, Mo, 42 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 6, 5, d Appearance gray metallic Standard atomic weight 95. ... For other uses, see Natural gas (disambiguation). ... Phosphate minerals are those minerals that contain the tetrahedrally coordinated phosphate (PO43-) anion along with the freely substituting arsenate (AsO43-) and vanadate (VO43-). Chlorine (Cl-), fluorine (F-), and hydroxide (OH-) anions also fit into the crystal structure. ... This article is about the metallic chemical element. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... General Name, symbol, number vanadium, V, 23 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 5, 4, d Appearance silver-grey metal Standard atomic weight 50. ... Undershot water wheels on the Orontes River in Hama, Syria Saint Anthony Falls Hydropower or hydraulic power is the force or energy of moving water. ...

Based on 2005 estimates, 14.86% (about 1.4 million sq km) of China’s total land area is arable. About 1.3% (some 116,580 sq km) 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. In geography, arable land is a form of agricultural land use, meaning land that can be (and is) used for growing crops. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Look up reap in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up Harvest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Irrigating cotton fields Irrigation in the Heart of the Sahara Irrigation (in agriculture) is the replacement or supplementation of rainfall with water from another source in order to grow crops. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ... This article is about a community of trees. ...

China's water resources include 2,711.5 billion cubic meters of runoff in its rivers and 828.8 billion cubic meters which was pumped annually from shallow aquifers circa 2000. As pumping water draws water from nearby rivers, the total available resource is 2,821.4 billion cubic meters. 80.9% of these resources are in the Yangtze River basin. In 1993, 498,720 square kilometers were irrigated. The Water resources of China include 2,711. ... The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), or Drichu in Tibetan (Tibetan: འབ; Wylie: bri chu) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa, and the Amazon in South America. ... Irrigation is the artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops. ...

Environment

Main article: Environment of China

The scale of China's environmental problems is large. To begin with, China's 1.3 billion human population account for around a fifth of the world's population, but the nation encompasses less than one tenth of the world's arable land. Furthermore, almost the entire population lives in the well-watered eastern half of the country, where virtually every centimetre of farmland has been developed. Indeed, China has very little land that has not been altered in some way by man. The sheer size of the population means that forests, and wetlands, grasslands and agricultural fields are stretched beyond the limits of sustainable use. Dramatic growth in the economy and the continuing need to raise living standards for some of Asia's poorest people means that urban areas face a similar crisis: coal dust, untreated factory emissions, vehicle exhaust and wind-blown desert sand make Chinese cities some of the most polluted on Earth; many of the nation's rivers are polluted and virtually all water in urban areas is heavily contaminated. Beijing air on a day after rain (L) and a rainless day (R) One of the serious negative consequences of the Peoples Republic of Chinas rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. ... This article is about a community of trees. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... The Konza tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. ...

Air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, and produces acid rain, 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 as a result 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. The size of the Gobi desert has increased and now reaches the outskirts of Beijing.^{[citation needed]} Air pollution is the modification of the natural characteristics of the atmosphere by a chemical, particulate matter, or biological agent. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... Sulfur dioxide (or Sulphur dioxide) has the chemical formula SO2. ... Coal Example chemical structure of coal Coal is a fossil fuel formed in ecosystems where plant remains were saved by water and mud from oxidization and biodegradation. ... The term acid rain is commonly used to mean the deposition of acidic components in rain, snow, fog, dew, or dry particles. ... Raw sewage and industrial waste flows into the U.S. from Mexico as the New River passes from Mexicali, Baja California to Calexico, California Water pollution is a large set of adverse effects upon water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities. ... A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards; alternatively TMDL is an allocation of that pollutant deemed acceptable to the subject receiving waters. ... This article is about the process of deforestation in the environment. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. ... Ship stranded by the retreat of the Aral Sea Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various climatic variations, but primarily from human activities. ... The Gobi Desert lies in the territory of the Peoples Republic of China and the Country of Mongolia. ...

China is a party to the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Climate Change treaty, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, the Endangered Species treaty, the Hazardous Wastes treaty, the Law of the Sea, the International Tropical Timber Agreements of 1983 and 1994, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and agreements on Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Wetlands protection. 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. The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, also known as the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol is part of the Antarctic Treaty System. ... For the Antarctic Treaty from the Gundam anime, see Antarctic Treaty (Gundam) The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively called the Antarctic Treaty System or ATS, regulate the international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earths only uninhabited continent. ... The Convention on Biological Diversity, known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international treaty that was adopted in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. ... Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ... The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa is an agreement to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... Admiralty law (also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. ... note - abbreviated as Tropical Timber 83 opened for signature - November 18, 1983 entered into force - April 1, 1985; this agreement expired when the International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994, went into force. ... note - abbreviated as Tropical Timber 94 opened for signature - January 26, 1994 entered into force - January 1, 1997 objective - to ensure that by the year 2000 exports of tropical timber originate from sustainably managed sources; to establish a fund to assist tropical timber producers in obtaining the resources necessary to... The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling is an international agreement (see environmental agreement) signed in 1946 designed to make whaling sustainable. ... Ship Pollution is an abbreviated form of the Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973. ... Earth as seen by Apollo 17 The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. ... The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) bans all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes and was opened for signature in New York on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 States, including the five nuclear weapon states at the time (which did not...

Habitats

The world's third largest country, China rises from sea level in the east to peak of Mount Everest on the border with Nepal. The south shares tropical rainforests with Laos, Vietnam and Burma, while the Da Hinggan Mountains in Inner Monglia have tundra vegetation on top of permafrost. China is also home to East Asia's most important wetlands and Asia's longest river (Yangtze), and is the source of two rivers of inestimable importance to hundreds of millions of people in South and Southeast Asia - the Ganges and the Mekong. Deserts make up one-fifth of China's total territory, largely in the northwest. Arid steppes cover additional areas in the Altai, Tian, and Kunlun Mountains in the far west, a region blocked from the southwestern monsoon by the Tibetan plateau and from the southeastern monsoon by its distance from the sea. This massive diversity of geography and habitats has resulted in an extraordinary range of plant and animal life. Everest redirects here. ... The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... For other uses, see Tundra (disambiguation). ... Length 6,380 km Elevation of the source  ? m Average discharge 31,900 m³/s Area watershed 1,800,000 km² Origin Qinghai Province and Tibet Mouth East China Sea Basin countries China The Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: 长江; Traditional Chinese: 長江; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng; Wade-Giles: Chang Chiang... Ganga redirects here. ... The Mekong is one of the world’s major rivers. ... This article is about arid terrain. ... The steppe of Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, steppe (from Slavic step) is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ...

Forests

China contains a variety of forest types. Both northeast and northwest reaches contain mountains and cold coniferous forests, supporting animal species which include moose and Asiatic black bear, along with some 120 types of birds. Moist conifer forests can have thickets of bamboo as an understorey, replaced by rhododendrons in higher montane stands of juniper and yew. Subtropical forests, which dominate central and southern China, support an astounding 146,000 species of flora, as well as the famous giant panda, golden monkey and South China tiger. Tropical rainforest and seasonal rainforests, though confined to Yunnan and Hainan Island, actually contain a quarter of all the plant and animal species found in China. This article is about a community of trees. ... For other uses, see Moose (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (G. Cuvier, 1823) Thibetanus bear range Synonyms Selenarctos thibetanus The Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus or Selenarctos thibetanus), also known as the Tibetan black bear, the Himalayan black bear, or the moon bear, is a medium sized, sharp-clawed, black-coloured bear with a distinctive white or cream... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... For other uses, see Bamboo (disambiguation). ... Subgenera Azaleastrum Candidastrum Hymenanthes Mumeazalea Pentanthera Rhododendron Therorhodion Tsutsusi Source: RBG, Edinburgh Rhododendron (from the Greek: rhodos, rose; dendron, tree) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. ... Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... Simplified schematic of an islands flora - all its plant species, highlighted in boxes. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... Yunan redirects here. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Henan and Hunan Hainan (海南; pinyin: Hǎinán) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located at the southern end of the country. ... For other uses, see Species (disambiguation). ...

Comparative size of China with other regions and countries.

Grasslands

Grasslands make up about a third of China's total land area. The immense and productive grasslands are largely concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, parts of Qinghai and Tibet. The natural wildlife they support includes three species on the verge of extinction: Przewalski's horse, the Asiatic wild ass and the Bactrian camel (the ancestor of domesticated camels). There is often direct competition between domestic animals and wild fauna, and herdsmen poison or trap carnivores, and sometimes set fires to increase pasture area. The government has recently stepped up efforts to control the conversion of grasslands to pasture, but lacks the manpower to enforce policy. The Konza tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills of northeastern Kansas. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Ningxia (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏; Pinyin: Níngxià; Wade-Giles: Ning-hsia; Postal Pinyin: Ningsia), full name Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Simplified Chinese: 宁夏回族自治区; Traditional Chinese: 寧夏回族自治區; Pinyin: Níngxià Huízú ZìzhìqÅ«), is a Hui autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China, located on the northwest Loess... Qinghai (Chinese: 青海; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching-hai; Postal System Pinyin: Tsinghai; Tibetan: མཚོ་སྔོན་ mtsho-sngon; Mongolian: Köke Naγur; Manchu: Huhu Noor) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, named after the enormous Qinghai Lake. ... This article is about historical/cultural Tibet. ... Trinomial name Equus ferus przewalskii (Poliakov, 1881) Range map Przewalskis Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii or Equus caballus przewalskii, classification is debated), pronounced in English as //, also known as the Asian Wild Horse or Mongolian Wild Horse, or Takhi, is the closest living wild relative of the domestic Horse. ... Binomial name Equus hemionus Pallas, 1775 The Onager (Equus hemionus) is a large mammal belonging to the horse family and native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, India, and Tibet. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Bactrian Camel range The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus) is a large even-toed ungulate native to the steppes of eastern Asia. ... Pastureland Pasture is land with lush herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of ungulates as part of a farm or ranch. ... Manpower may refer to: Manpower, the number of personnel available for a task or tasks, also used when referring to such personnel as a resource (e. ...

Freshwater ecosystems

Freshwater habitats are of massive importance to China, and a huge percentage of the population is directly dependent on wetlands — marshes, rivers, and lakes — for economic activity, flood control and drinking water. Seven of the most important rivers in the world begin in the highlands of western China. The Yellow River, Yangtze River, Lancang Jiang (Mekong) and the Salween rise in the east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra rise in the south. Downstream these rivers serve as sources of irrigation and drinking water, modes of transportation, and centers of cultural and religious importance for some two billion people in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and throughout Southeast Asia. These rivers rise and gather strength from many of the thousands of freshwater lakes of the region. Fresh water redirects here. ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ... This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ... For other uses, see River (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Lake (disambiguation). ... Location Geography Area Ranked 1st  - Total 30,659 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Inverness ISO 3166-2 GB-HLD ONS code 00QT Demographics Population Ranked 7th  - Total (2005) 213,590  - Density 8 / km² Politics The Highland Council http://www. ... Western China refers to the western part of China. ... For other Yellow Rivers, see Yellow River (disambiguation). ... The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), or Drichu in Tibetan (Tibetan: འབ; Wylie: bri chu) is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa, and the Amazon in South America. ... The Salween River (also spelt Salwin, a. ... The Indus is a river; the Indus River. ... Ganga redirects here. ... The Brahmaputra is one of the major rivers of Asia. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

China's northeast is the focus for much of the country's freshwater marshes. Two million hectares on the Sanjiang Plain of Heilongjiang are essentially a collection of shallow freshwater lakes and reed-beds where the Heilongjiang, Sungari, and Wusuli rivers come together. Jilin, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia all share these ecosystems. One of the most well-known wildlife areas in this ecosystem is Zhalong Nature Reserve, a 2,000-square-kilometer area which was created in 1979 to protect breeding areas for the red-crowned crane, and other wintering migrants. These marshes are also of great value for reed production, the bulk of which is turned into pulp for paper. Waterfowl and reed production can usually co-exist, at least at present levels, so this is a useful confluence of conservation and economic uses. In western Sichuan, marshland provides breeding grounds for the black-necked crane and bar-headed goose. Approximate extent Northeast China (Simplified Chinese: 东北; Traditional Chinese: 東北; pinyin: Dōngběi; literally east-north), historically known as Manchuria, is the name of a region (ca. ... This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ... Heilongjiang (Simplified Chinese: 黑龙江省; Traditional Chinese: 黑龍江省; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Postal System Pinyin: Heilungkiang) is a province of the Peoples Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. ... The Songhua River (松花江 song4 hua1 jiang1) is the largest tributary of the Amur River, flowing about 1,800 km from Changbai Mountains. ... For the city, see Jilin City. ...   (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Inner Mongolia (Mongolian: ᠥᠪᠦᠷ ᠮᠣᠨᠺᠤᠯᠤᠨ ᠥᠪᠡᠷᠲᠡᠺᠡᠨ ᠵᠠᠰᠠᠬᠤ ᠣᠷᠤᠨ r Mongghul-un bertegen Jasaqu Orun; Chinese: 内蒙古自治区; Hanyu Pinyin: N i Měnggǔ Z qū) is an Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... For other uses, see Ecological Systems Theory. ... Red-crowned cranes at the Zhalong Wetland Zhalong Nature Reserve ( Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) is the largest wetland reserve in China, located in the Songhua Nen river plain of Heilongjiang province. ... Binomial name Grus japonensis (Statius Muller, 1776) The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), also called the Japanese Crane and Manchurian Crane, is a large crane and is the second rarest crane in the world. ... species Pragmites australis Reed is a generic term used to describe numerous plants including: Common Reed (Phragmites australis Cav. ... Pulping refers to the system of destroying unsold books (usually but not always mass market paperbacks). ... For other uses, see Paper (disambiguation). ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... This article is about marsh, a type of wetland. ... Binomial name Grus nigricollis Przhevalsky, 1876 The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is a large, whitish-gray crane. ... Binomial name Anser indicus (Latham, 1790) Synonyms Eulabeia indica The Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus) is a goose which breeds in Central Asia in colonies of thousands near mountain lakes. ...

China's freshwater lakes include the country's best-known wetlands: Jiangxi's Poyang Hu and Hunan's Dongting Hu. Dongting Hu, China's second largest freshwater lake, is vitally important for wildlife, including the highly endangered Yangtze river dolphin and Chinese sturgeon, as well as more wintering wildfowl. Poyang Hu is a similar complex of small lakes and marsh areas which fluctuates seasonally; summer floods give way in autumn to fertile agricultural land, attractive both to farmers and visiting birds. The importance of the area is hard to overstate, as the lakes provide a wintering habitat for almost the entire world population of two hundred Siberian Cranes, and as many as five hundred thousand birds may be on Poyang Hu at any one time during the winter months. In recent years, however, some of Poyang's larger lakes have been drained at the end of autumn, leaving waterfowl with inadequate shallow land on which to feed. For other uses, see Lake (disambiguation). ... A subtropical wetland in Florida, USA, with an endangered American Crocodile. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chiang-hsi; Postal map spelling: Kiangsi) is a southern province of the Peoples Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south. ... Not to be confused with the unrelated provinces of Hainan, Henan, and Yunnan. ... Binomial name Lipotes vexillifer Miller, 1918 Natural range of Lipotes vexillifer The Baiji (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (Lipotes vexillifer, Lipotes meaning left behind, vexillifer flag bearer) was a freshwater dolphin found only in the Yangtze River in China. ... The Chinese Sturgeon is a member of the Acipenseridae family of Acipenseriformes order, with the scientific name of acipenser sinensis. ... Binomial name Grus leucogeranus Pallas, 1773 The Siberian Crane, Grus leucogeranus, also known as the Siberian White Crane or the Snow Crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. ...

Saltwater lakes

About half of China's lakes are saline and, once again, are important breeding grounds for waterfowl. Most are concentrated in northwest China on the inland drainage systems of the North Tibetan Plain and in the Zaidan basin. The largest is Qinghai Lake, a 4,426-square-kilometer reserve which attracts thousands of birds each summer, including cormorants, great black-headed gulls, bar-headed geese and pied avocets. Similarly, the Tarim River basin in Xinjiang supports one of the largest breeding populations of black stork in China. The Ordos plateau area of Inner Mongolia as well as the Xinjiang's Taolimiao-Alashan Nur (lake) support breeding sites for the endangered relict gull. Most of these lakes and marshes fluctuate seasonally and are threatened by increased diversion of water for human use. Saline may refer to: Salinity Saline (medicine) Saline, Michigan Saline, Scotland - a village in the burgh of Fife, Scotland. ... Falcated Duck at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands centre, Gloucestershire, England Wildfowl or waterfowl, also waterbirds, is the collective term for the approximately 147 species of swans, geese and ducks, classified in the order Anseriformes, family Anatidae. ... Manchu name Manchu: Huhu Noor Mongolian name Mongolian: Хөхнуур [Höhnuur] Tibetan name Tibetan: མཚོ་སྔོན་ or མཚོ་ཁྲི ་ཤོར་རྒྱལ་མོ་ (Wylie transliterations: Mtsho-sngon-po or Mtsho-khri-shor Rgyal-mo) Classical Mongolian name Classical Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠬᠡ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ [] A bird island. Qinghai Lake or Lake Koko Nor is the largest lake in China. ... For other uses, see Cormorant (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Larus ichthyaetus Pallas, 1773 The Great Black-headed Gull or Pallass Gull, Larus ichthyaetus, is a large gull. ... Binomial name Recurvirostra avosetta (Linnaeus, 1758) The Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae. ... // Diversifolious Poplar trees along the Tarim River in Yuli County, Xinjiang, China. ... For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County. ... Binomial name Ciconia nigra Linnaeus, 1758 Black Stork range (in color) The Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. ... Binomial name Larus relictus Lönnberg, 1931 The Relict Gull, Larus relictus, is a medium-sized gull which breeds in two locations in Kazakhstan, one in Russia, several in Mongolia, and one in China. ...

Coastal wetlands

China's coastline is approximately 18,000 km long, extending from the Bohai Gulf, which freezes in the winter, to the tropical waters of the South China Sea. Coastal wetlands are important as fuel stops for waterfowl on the migratory route between Siberia and Australia. Chongming Island in the Yangtze River delta near Shanghai - China's largest city and one of its fastest growing regions - is vital for these migrants. Bo Hai (Chinese: 渤海; pinyin: B hăi; Wade-Giles: Po-hai lit. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Timog Dagat Tsina (Dagat Luzon for the portion within Philippine waters) Malay name Malay: Laut China Selatan Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... This article is about Siberia as a whole. ... For other uses, see Shanghai (disambiguation). ...

Wildlife

Main article: Wildlife of China

China lies in two of the world's major ecozones, the Palearctic and the Indomalaya. In the Palearctic zone are found such important mammals as the horse, camel, tapir, and jerboa. 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 Chang Jiang. There is a continuing problem with trade in endangered species, although there are now laws to prohibit such activities. Chinese Mountain Cat Wildlife of China includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. ... An ecozone or biogeographic realm is the largest scale biogeographic division of the earths surface based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals. ... The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth surface (see map). ... The Indomalaya Ecozone was previously called the Oriental region. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Species Tapirus bairdii Tapirus indicus Tapirus pinchaque Tapirus terrestris Tapirs (IPA:ˈteɪpÉ™r, pronounced as in taper, or IPA:təˈpɪər, pronounced as in tap-ear) are large browsing mammals, roughly pig-like in shape, with short, prehensile snouts. ... Genera 10 genera in 5 subfamilies Jerboas are the members of the family Dipodidae; they are small jumping desert rodents of Asia and northern Africa that resemble mice with a long tufted tail and very long hind legs. ... Binomial name Felis bengalensis (Kerr, 1792) The Leopard Cat (Felis bengalensis) is a small wild cat of Southeast Asia. ... Genera Rhizomys Cannomys Species  Rhizomys sinensis  Rhizomys pruinosus  Rhizomys sumatrensis  Cannomys badius The bamboo rats are four species of rodents of the subfamily Rhizomyinae. ... Families Tupaiidae Ptilocercidae The treeshrews are small mammals native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. ... Panda Bear redirects here. ... Chinese Pinyin The word Chang Jiang can refer to: The Yangtze River. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ...

See also

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Geography of China

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Maps of China

• Chinese geography
• Environment of China
• List of rivers in China
• List of cities in China
• Lakes in China
• North China Plain
• Geography of Hong Kong
• Geography of Macau

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Zheng He map, produced in 1763. ... Beijing air on a day after rain (L) and a rainless day (R) One of the serious negative consequences of the Peoples Republic of Chinas rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. ... This is a list of rivers which are at least partially located in China and their termini: Amur (Heilongjiang) (黑龙江)- Sea of Japan Songhua River (松花江) Brahmaputra - Bay of Bengal (joins the Ganges) Yangtze (Chang Jiang) (长江) - East China Sea Jialing (嘉陵江) Bailong (白龙江) Baishui (白水) Qujiang (渠江) Fujiang (涪 江) Min (Sichuan) (岷江) Wu (乌江） Gan (赣江) Zhang (章江) Gongshui (貢水) Mian Xiang... This article is about any city in China. ... Lakes in China include: Dagze Co Lake Dian Dongting Lake Erhai Lake Gaoyou Lake Hongze Lake Lugu lake Luoma Lake Lake Poyang Qinghai Hu (Koko Nor) Taihu Lake Tianchi Yangcheng Lake See also: Lake Tianchi Monster External link http://www. ... The North China Plain (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also called the Central Plain(s) (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), is based on the deposits of the Huang He (Yellow River) and is the largest alluvial plain of eastern Asia. ... Other Hong Kong topics Culture - Economy Education - History - Politics Hong Kong Portal The Geography of Hong Kong primarily consists of three main territories: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, and the New Territories. ... The administrative division within Macao (Click here for Satellite Image) Macau is a city on the southern coast of China. ...

References

Coordinates: 35°00′N, 105°00′E This is a list of countries spanning more than one continent. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...