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China Overview

Geography:

China lake Erhai

Vast in every sense, China is the largest country in Asia and the third largest in the world. The land covers an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, which is 6.5% of the global land-areas. There is a time difference of over 4 hours across the country.

China’s enormous territorial waters contain more than 5,000 islands of which Taiwan Island is the largest and Hainan Island comes a close second. Both islands are provinces of China. With a continental coastline stretching 18,000 kilometers and a land border which spans 22,000 kilometers the territory crosses more than 60 degrees in longitude and 50 degrees latitude.

The topography of the country’s land area consists of about 65% mountains, hills and highlands and the country can be seen as 4 areas, gradually decreasing in elevation from West to East.

The first of these areas – The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau which is known as “Roof of the World” is located in South-West China. It stands at over 4,000 meters above sea level and is frequented by mountain explorers and tourists who marvel at it’s beauty. The highest peak, Mount Qomolangma (Everest) is to be found here reaching a magnificent 8,846.27 meters above sea level.

The second area averages about 1,000-2,000 meters above sea level and encompasses the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the Loess Plateau, as well as the Inner Mongolian High Land. Also three basins – the Sichuan, the Tarim and the Zungar which contain mountains, desert and grasslands are to be found here. An area of outstanding natural beauty.

Area three at less than 1,000 meters above sea level is comprised of hills and plains. Included are the North-East China Highland, the North China plain and the lower and middle plains of the Yangtze river. The principal farming areas of China are located here resulting in a dense population and a well developed tourism industry.

The fourth area is where land meets sea. The beautiful islands extending from the continental shelf among shallow seas are ideal for beach holidays.

The famous Yangtze River extending for 6,300 kilometers is the largest river in China and one of the largest in the world. In second place, the Yellow River runs for a length of 5,463 kilometers. China’s vast water resources are due to the fact that it’s major rivers, which originate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, have large drops in their elevation leaving China with huge reserves of electricity power.

The Climate:
As china is divided into 4 time zones it is also divided into 6 temperature zones. In the North West there is dry weather with big variations in temperature whereas South East China has plenty of rainfall, steady temperatures and humidity. She has a wide area subject to the monsoon climate and spans equatorial to cold temperate zones. With a drop in temperature of 6 degrees Celsius for every 1,000 meters of altitude the drop in elevation from West to East has a great bearing on her markedly varied climate.

Natural resources:
China’s natural resources as one would expect for such a vast territory are wide and varied. Included are metals, minerals and petroleum. With over 1,500 species of marine fish among her shallow seas and 500 species of fresh water fish in the numerous rivers and lakes her fish production ranks among the largest. About 12% of China is forested and these are found on the Greater Xingan Mountains located in the North East and in Southwest China. Among her rare animals of which there are over 100 the Great Panda and the Golden Monkey are probably the most well recognized.

Population:

As most people know China’s population is now the largest in the world and comprises 22% of the world’s total population. The vast majority at 74% still live in her rural areas leaving 26% inhabiting the urban cities.

Although multi-cultural, the ethnic group the Han, comprises 92% of China’s population and the other 8% is made up of 55 further ethnic minority groups. The Han’s spoken and written dialect are today’s common language. There are a further 53 minority dialects and 23 written languages.

Religious Beliefs:

The three main religions are Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism although the latter is rather a school of philosophy but generally it can be said that the Chinese people are not strongly religiously inclined.

Chinese Arts, Crafts & Inventions:

With the first dynasty dating back to around 21 BC, China has had an enormous effect on the development of arts and crafts. Among the more well known are embroidery, silks, calligraphy, porcelain and opera. However these are just a handful of the numerous examples of artistry and craftsmanship which have been handed down over countless centuries. Perhaps the four greatest contributions to the world in this field are paper, printing, the compass and gunpowder.