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Official name:
People’s Republic of
China
Government:
Communist state
Capital:
Beijing
Area
9,571,300 square kilometers
Population
1,236,914,658 (1998 estimate)
Urban areas( Population):
Shanghai 10,579,491
(1991)
Beijing 7,746,519 (1991)
Tianjin 5,171,317 (1991)
Wuhan 4,901,450 (1991)
Chongqing 4,717,750 (1991)
Shenyang 4,649,490 (1991)
Guangzhou 4,111,946 (1991)
Harbin 3,433,629 (1991)
Chengdu 3,347,433 (1991)
Nanjing 3,091,404 (1991)
Xi’an 3,035,803 (1991)
Dalian 2,980,513 (1991)
Zibo 2,955,575 (1991)
Qingdao 2,638,919 (1991)
Changchun 2,583,890 (1991)
Jinan 2,450,931 (1991)
Hangzhou 2,305,741 (1991)
Zhengzhou 2,001,109 (1991)
Tangshan 1,968,386 (1991)
Kunming 1,943,696 (1991)
Changsha 1,776,343 (1991)
Taiyuan 1,711,709 (1991)
Fuzhou 1,652,228 (1991)
Nanchang 1,585,901 (1991)
Population growth rate: 0.83 percent (1998)
Population density: 129 persons per square
kilometer
Urbanization: Percent urban
32 percent (1997)
Percent rural 68
percent (1997)
Life expectancy: Total 69.6 years
(1998)
Literacy rate: Total 81.5
percent (1995)
GDP by economic sector:
GDP, agriculture share 18.7 percent (1997)
GDP, industry share 49.2 percent (1997)
GDP, services share 32.1
percent (1997)
Exports:
Textiles,
garments, footwear, toys, machinery and equipment, weapon systems, mineral
fuels, chemicals.
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Although
much of China is mountainous, the country can be divided
into six major geographic regions, each of which contains
considerable diversity in terrain and topographic relief.
The
Northwest: This region consists of two basins—the Junggar
Pendi on the north and the Tarim Pendi on the south—and
the lofty Tian Shan mountain chain. The Tarim Pendi
contains the vast, sandy Takla Makan Desert, Asia’s
driest desert, where dunes rise to elevations of about
100 meters (about 328 feet). The fertile steppe soils
of the Junggar Pendi support irrigated agriculture.
The
Mongolian Borderlands: This plateau region of north
central China is mainly sandy, stony, or gravel deserts
that grade eastward into fertile steppe lands. The flat
to rolling plains are partitioned by several barren,
flat-topped mountain ranges. The higher, forested Da
Hinggan Ling (Greater Khingan Range) lie east of Mongolia.
The
Northeast: The Dongbei Pingyuan, with its productive
soils and its bordering uplands, with their broad valleys
and gentle slopes, lie east of the Da Hinggan Ling.
The Liaodong Bandao (Liaodong Peninsula) extending to
the south is noted for its good natural harbors.
North
China: Situated between the Mongolian Borderlands to
the north and the Yangtze River Basin to the south is
a region of several distinct topographic units. The
Huangtu Gaoyuan on the northwest is formed by the accumulation
of fine, loosely packed loess. Erosion on the plateau’s
surface has left behind sunken roads, vertical-walled
valleys, and gullies. The region is extensively terraced
and cultivated. The Huabei Pingyuan, the largest flat
lowland area in China, consists of fertile soils derived
from loess. To the east, the Shandong Qiuling (Shandong
Highlands) on the Shandong Bandao (Shandong Peninsula)
consist of two distinct areas of mountains flanked by
rolling hills. The rocky coast of the peninsula provides
some good natural harbors. To the southwest are the
Central Mountains, which make north-south travel difficult.
South
China: This region embraces the Yangtze Gorges and the
topographically diverse regions farther south. A series
of basins with fertile alluvial soils, the Yangtze Gorges
is crisscrossed with natural and artificial waterways
and dotted with lakes. The relatively isolated and hilly
Sichuan Basin to the west is enclosed by rugged mountain
spurs of the Central Highlands. The area is known for
its intensive terrace farming. The highlands of South
China extend from the Tibetan Plateau east to the sea.
In the west, the deeply eroded Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau
is bordered by a series of mountain ranges separated
by deep, steep-walled gorges.
One
of the world’s most scenic landscapes is found in eastern
Guizhou, where tall limestone pinnacles and pillarlike
peaks dominate the terrain. To the east are the largely
deforested and severely eroded Nan Ling hills, and along
the coast are the rugged Southeastern Highlands, where
bays with numerous offshore islands provide good natural
harbors. South of the Nan Ling hills is the hilly, infertile
Xi Jiang Basin; the region’s numerous streams, however,
are bordered by fertile, flat-floored alluvial valleys.
The broad delta plain of the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River)
is commonly called the Canton delta.
The
Tibetan Plateau: Occupying the remote southwestern extremity
of China is the mountain-rimmed plateau of Tibet, the
world’s highest plateau region. Tibet has an average
elevation of about 4,900 meters (about 16,000 feet)
above sea level. Bordering ranges include the Himalayas
on the south, the Pamirs and Karakoram on the west,
and the Kunlun and Qilian Shan on the north. The plateau
is dotted with salt lakes and marshes and is crossed
by several mountain ranges. It contains the headwaters
of many important rivers, including those of the Indus,
Ganges, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtze, and Huang He (Yellow
River). The landscape is bleak, barren, and strewn with
rocks.
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Much
of China is at the mercy of the Asian monsoon. In winter,
cold, dry winds blow out of central Siberia, bringing
low temperatures to all regions north of the Yangtze
River and drought to most of the country. In summer,
warm, moist air flows inland from the Pacific Ocean,
producing rainfall in the form of cyclones. Farther
from the sea and on leeward sides of mountains, rain
lessens. The remote basins of the northwest receive
little precipitation. China’s summer temperatures are
remarkably uniform, but winter brings extreme temperature
differences between the north and south.
Southeastern
China, from the Yangtze Gorges southward, has a subtropical
climate that becomes distinctly tropical in the extreme
south. Summer temperatures in this region average 26°C
(79°F), while average winter temperatures decline
from 18°C (64°F) in the tropical south to about
4°C (about 39°F) along the Yangtze River. Between
July and November, typhoons bring high winds and heavy
rains to the coastal areas. The mountainous plateaus
and basins to the southwest also have subtropical climates,
with considerable local variation. Summers are cooler
and winters are mild. The Sichuan Basin claims an 11-month
growing season. Rainfall, especially abundant in summer,
exceeds 990 millimeters (39 inches) annually in most
of southern China.
With
no mountain ranges to form a protective barrier against
the flow of air from Siberia, North China experiences
a cold, dry winter. January temperatures range from
4°C (39°F) in the extreme south to about -10°C
(about 14°F) north of Beijing and in the higher
elevations to the west. July temperatures generally
exceed 26°C (79°F). Annual precipitation, most
of which occurs in summer, generally measures less than
760 millimeters (less than 30 inches) and decreases
in the northwest. Year-to-year precipitation varies
in these areas; this, combined with the occasional dust
storms or hail, makes agriculture precarious.
The
climate of Dongbei Pingyuan is generally colder than
that of North China. January temperatures average -18°C
(0°F) over much of the Dongbei Pingyuan. Rainfall,
concentrated in summer, averages about 510 to 760 millimeters
(about 20 to 30 inches) in the east but declines to
about 300 millimeters (about 12 inches) west of the
Da Hinggan Ling.
Desert
and steppe climates prevail in the Mongolian Borderlands
and in the northwest. January temperatures average below
-10°C (below 14°F) everywhere except in the
Tarim Pendi. July temperatures generally exceed 20°C
(68°F). Most of the area receives less than 100
millimeters (less than 4 inches) of rainfall annually.
Because
of its high elevation, the Tibetan Plateau has an arctic
climate; July temperatures remain below 15°C (below
59°F). The air is clear and dry throughout the year
with annual precipitation totals of less than 100 millimeters
(less than 4 inches) in most areas.
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