Geography of China 23237 225382324 2008-07-13T11:30:33Z Harald Khan 5732081 rm. vandalism {{For|the modern political entities|Geography of the People's Republic of China|Geography of Taiwan}} [[Image:China 100.78713E 35.63718N.jpg|thumb|300px|[[NASA]] composite satellite photo]] The '''geography of China''' stretches some 5,026 kilometers across the [[East Asia]]n 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 [[desert]]s, and lofty [[mountain range]]s, 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, [[desert]]s, [[steppe]]s, and [[subtropical]] areas. The western half of China is a region of sunken [[drainage basin|basin]]s, rolling [[plateau]]s, and towering [[massif]]s, including a portion of the highest [[tableland]] on earth. 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 Desert|Gobi]] and [[Taklamakan]] deserts, which stretch from the extreme northwest eastward through [[Mongolia]]. 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 [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s ''[[The World Factbook]]'' gives 9,826,630 km²,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html | title = CIA World Fact Book - Geography Note | publisher = CIA |accessdate=2008-03-25}}</ref> the United Nations Statistics Division gives 9,629,091 km²,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/DYB2005/Table03.pdf| title=Population by Sex, Rate of Population Increase, Surface Area and Density|publisher=UN Statistics Division|work=Demographic Yearbook 2005|accessdate=2008-03-25}}</ref> and the ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' gives 9,522,055 km².<ref>{{cite web|url=http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:2lOa44xXcrgJ:www.britannica.com/eb/article-9111233/United-States+United+States+Area+encyclopedia+britannica&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us|title=United States|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|accessdate=2008-03-25}}</ref> 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). ==Boundaries== China has a total of 22,117 km of land boundaries with 14 other nations: [[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]] (northeast 3,605 km, northwest 40 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]]. 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. ==Geography== [[Image:ChinaGeography.png|The Geography of China|thumb|300px|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://java.nationalgeographic.com/studentatlas/clickup/deserts.html |title=Natural World: Deserts |publisher=National Geographic |accessdate=2007-07-23 }}</ref> A continental [[escarpment|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. The east-west ranges include some of Asia's greatest mountains. In addition to the [[Himalayas]] and the [[Kunlun Mountains]], there are the [[Mount Kailash|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 [[swamp]]y region containing many salt lakes. A southern branch of the Kunlun Mountains divides the [[drainage basin|watershed]]s 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]]. 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 [[Dike (construction)|embankment]]s 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. 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. [[Han Chinese|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 [[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. 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 (China)|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 [[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 River|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. 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. Areas of China have experienced earthquakes. On 23 August, 1976, a major [[1976 Tangshan earthquake|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 [[volcano]]es in [[China]]. ==Climate== [[Image:Average annual precipitation in China(English).png|thumb|300px|The average annual [[Precipitation (meteorology)|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. 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. 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 [[typhoon]]s (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts), damaging floods, [[monsoon]]s, [[tsunami]]s, and [[drought]]s. ==Natural resources== China has substantial [[mineral reserve]]s 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 (element)|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. Based on 2005 estimates, 14.86% (about 1.4 million sq km) of China’s total land area is [[arable land|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]] [[harvest]]s 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]]. [[Water resources of China|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<!--page 199 ISBN 1891853767-->. In 1993, 498,720 square kilometers were [[irrigation|irrigated]]. ==Environment== {{main|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 [[forest]]s, and [[wetland]]s, [[grassland]]s 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. [[Air pollution]] ([[sulfur dioxide]] particulates) from reliance on [[coal]] is a major issue, along with [[water pollution]] from untreated wastes and use of debated standards of pollutant concentration rather than [[Total Maximum Daily Load]]. There are water shortages, particularly in the north. The eastern part of China often experiences smoke and dense fog in the atmosphere 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. {{fact|date=October 2007}} China is a party to the [[Antarctic-Environmental Protocol]], the [[Antarctic Treaty]], the [[Convention on Biological Diversity]], the [[Global warming|Climate Change]] treaty, the [[United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification]], the [[Endangered Species]] treaty, the Hazardous Wastes treaty, the [[Admiralty law|Law of the Sea]], the International Tropical Timber Agreements of [[International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1983|1983]] and [[International Tropical Timber Agreement, 1994|1994]], the [[International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling]], and agreements on Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, [[MARPOL 73/78|Ship Pollution]], and Wetlands protection. China has signed, but not ratified the [[Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol|Kyoto Protocol]] (but is not yet required to reduce its carbon emission under the agreement, as is India), and the [[Nuclear Test Ban]] treaty. ==Habitats== The world's third (or fourth) largest country, China rises from sea level in the east to peak of [[Mount Everest]] on the border with Nepal. The south shares tropical [[rainforest]]s with Laos, Vietnam and Burma, while the Da Hinggan Mountains in Inner Mongolia 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]]. [[Desert]]s 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. ===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. [[Image:Comparison Size with China map.GIF|thumb|right|250px|Comparative size of China with other regions and countries.]] ===Grasslands=== [[Grassland]]s 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. ===Freshwater ecosystems=== [[Freshwater]] habitats are of massive importance to China, and a huge percentage of the population is directly dependent on [[wetland]]s — [[marsh]]es, [[river]]s, and [[lake]]s — for economic activity, flood control and drinking water. Seven of the most important rivers in the world begin in the [[Highland (geography)|highland]]s of [[western China]]. The [[Yellow River]] (Huang He), [[Yangtze River]] (Chang Jiang), [[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, [[Geography of India|India]], [[Geography of Pakistan|Pakistan]], [[Geography of Bangladesh|Bangladesh]] and throughout [[Southeast Asia]]. These rivers rise and gather strength from many of the thousands of freshwater lakes of the region. China's [[Northeastern China|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 [[ecosystem]]s. 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 (plant)|reed]] production, the bulk of which is turned into [[pulping|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]]. China's freshwater [[lake]]s 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 Crane]]s, 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. ===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 [[cormorant]]s, [[great black-headed gull]]s, [[bar-headed geese]] and [[pied avocet]]s. 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. ===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. ==Wildlife== {{main|Wildlife of China}} China lies in two of the world's major [[ecozone]]s, 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. ==See also== {{Commonscat|Geography of China}} {{commons|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]] ==References== {{Reflist}} == Bibliography == * Chun Lin, Hans Hendrischke, ''The Territories of the People's Republic of China''. Europa Publications, First edition, 2002, London. 264 pages. ISBN 1-85743-149-9 (Each region is presented in 5-8 pages, with : physical Geography, History, Economy, Directory). {{Geography of Asia}} {{coor title dm|35|00|N|105|00|E|type:country}} [[Category:Geography of the People's Republic of China| ]] [[es:Geografía de China]] [[eu:Txinako geografia]] [[fr:Géographie de la Chine]] [[hu:Kína földrajza]] [[nl:Geografie van China]] [[pt:Geografia da República Popular da China]] [[vi:Địa lý Trung Quốc]] [[zh:中国地理]]