Land Area  
 
Located in the east on the Asian continent on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean, the People's Republic of China has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km, and is the third-largest country in the world, next only to Russia and Canada.
    From north to south, the territory of China stretches from the center of the Heilong River north of the town of Mohe to the Zengmu Reef at the southernmost tip of the Nansha Islands, covering a distance of 5,500 km. From east to west, the nation extends from the confluence of the Heilong and Wusuli rivers to the Pamirs, covering a distance of 5,200 km.
    With a land boundary of some 22,800 km, China is bordered by Korea to the east; Mongolia to the north; Russia to the northeast; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the northwest; Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan to the west and southwest; and Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the south. Across the seas to the east and southeast are the Republic of Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.
    China's mainland coastline measures approximately 18,000 km, with a flat topography, and many excellent docks and harbors, most of which are ice-free all year round. The Chinese mainland is flanked to the east and south by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas, with a total maritime area of 4.73 million sq km. The Bohai Sea is China's continental sea, while the Yellow, East China and South China seas are marginal seas of the Pacific Ocean. 
    Some 5,400 islands dot China's territorial seas. The largest of these, with an area of about 36,000 sq km, is Taiwan, followed by Hainan with an area of 34,000 sq km. The Diaoyu and Chiwei islands, located to the northeast of Taiwan Island, are China's easternmost islands. The many islands, islets, reefs and shoals in the South China Sea, known collectively as the South China Sea Islands, are the southernmost island group of China. They are called the Dongsha (East Sandbar), Xisha (West Sandbar), Zhongsha (Middle Sandbar) and Nansha (South Sandbar) island groups according to their geographical locations.

Physical Features

China's topography was formed around the emergence of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau created millions of years ago in the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rose continuously to become the "roof of the world," averaging more than 4,000 m above sea level. The terrain in China then gradually descends from west to east like a staircase. The second step of the staircase includes the gently sloping Inner Mongolia Plateau, the Loess Plateau, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the Tarim Basin, the Junggar Basin and the Sichuan Basin, with an average elevation of between 1,000 m and 2,000 m. The third step, dropping to 500-1,000 m in elevation, begins at a line drawn around the Greater Hinggan, Taihang, Wushan and Xuefeng mountain ranges and extends eastward to the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Here, from north to south, are the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain and the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain. Interspersed among the plains are hills and foothills. To the east is the fourth step of the staircase, land that consists of the vast continental shelf formed by the shallows together with the islands on the rim of the mainland.

Mountains

China's mountains are a major feature of its physical geography with mountains, plateaus and hills accounting for about 65 percent of the country's landmass. Mountainous areas are home to 90 percent of China's forests, 77 percent of its pastures, 76 percent of its lakes and 98 percent of its hydropower resources. Besides Mount Qomolangma in Tibet, China's most famous mountains include Taishan in Shandong Province, Huangshan in Anhui Province, Emei in Sichuan Province, Lushan in Jiangxi Province, Changbai in Northeast China, Huashan in Shaanxi Province, Wuyi in Fujian Province, Yushan in Taiwan Province and Wutai in Shanxi Province. 
     The mountainous northwest area of the Three Parallel Rivers National Park in Yunnan Province was added to the World Natural Heritage List on July 2, 2003. Within the boundaries of this 1.7-million-hectare site are eight geographical clusters of protected areas where occurred the major geological events millions of years ago that formed Asia's land surface. Here the upper reaches of three great Asian rivers ? the Yangtze (known in its upper reaches as the Jinsha), Mekong and Salween ? run roughly parallel, north to south, through steep gorges which in places are 3,000 m deep and are bordered by glaciated peaks more than 6,000 m high. UNESCO sited this area of as one of the richest temperate regions of the world in terms of biodiversity.

Rivers and Lakes

China has over 1,500 rivers. Most of the major rivers - like the Yangtze - have their source on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and drop greatly from the source to the mouths. As a result, China is rich in water-power resources, leading the world in hydropower potential, with reserves of 680 million kw.
      Known as Chang Jiang or "Long River" in Chinese, the Yangtze at 6,300 km is not only the longest river in China but in all of Asia. It is the third longest river in the world, next only to the Nile in Africa (6,670 km) and the Amazon in South America (6,400 km). In its upper reaches, the Yangtze tumbles through steep, forested gorges. In its middle and lower reaches, the Yangtze River flows through important agricultural regions that have a warm and humid climate, plentiful rainfall and fertile soil. 
     Also known as the "golden waterway," the Yangtze serves as an important trade and transportation route. The second longest river in China is the Yellow River with a length of 5,464 km. The Yellow River valley was one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese civilization. It has lush pasturelands along its banks, flourishing agriculture and abundant mineral deposits. 
     The Heilong River is a large river in north China with a total length of 4,350 km, of which, 3,101 km are in China. The Pearl River (Zhujiang), 2,214 km long, is a major river in south China. In addition, China has a famous man-made river - the Grand Canal, running from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province in the south. Work first began on the Grand Canal as early as in the fifth century A.D. It links five major rivers: the Haihe, Yellow, Huaihe, Yangtze and Qiantang. With a total length of 1,801 km, the Grand Canal is the longest as well as the oldest man-made waterway in the world.
      China's many rivers can be categorized as exterior and interior systems. The catchment area for the exterior rivers that empty into the oceans accounts for 64 percent of the country's total land area. The Yangtze, Yellow, Heilong, Pearl, Liaohe, Haihe and Huaihe rivers flow east, and empty into the Pacific Ocean. The Yarlungzangbo River in Tibet, which flows first east and then south into the Indian Ocean, boasts the Yarlungzangbo Grand Canyon, the largest canyon in the world, 504.6 km long and 6,009 m deep. The Ertix River flows north from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to the Arctic Ocean. The catchment area for the interior rivers that flow into inland lakes or disappear into deserts or salt marshes makes up about 36 percent of China's total land area. Its 2,179 km makes the Tarim River in southern Xinjiang China's longest interior river.
      China's territory includes numerous lakes, most of which are found on the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Freshwater lakes mostly lie in the former area, such as Poyang, Dongting, Taihu, and Hongze; while in the latter are saltwater lakes, such as Qinghai, Nam Co and Siling Co. Poyang Lake, in the north of Jiangxi Province and with an area of 3,583 sq km, is the largest one of its kind and Qinghai Lake, in northeast Qinghai Province and with an area of 4,583 sq km, is the largest one of its kind.

Climate

China lies mainly in the north temperate zone, characterized by a warm climate and distinctive seasons, a climate well suited for habitation. Most of China has a continental monsoon climate. From September to April the following year, dry and cold winter monsoons blow from Siberia and the Mongolian Plateau, resulting in cold and dry winters and great differences in the temperatures of north and south China. From April to September, warm and humid summer monsoons blow from the seas in the east and south, resulting in overall high temperatures and plentiful rainfall, and little differences in the temperatures of north and south China. In terms of temperature, the nation can be sectored from south to north into equatorial, tropical, subtropical, warm-temperate, temperate, and cold-temperate zones. Precipitation gradually declines from the southeastern to the northwestern inland area, and the average annual precipitation varies greatly from place to place. In southeastern coastal areas, it reaches over 1,500 mm, while in northwestern areas, it drops to below 200 mm.

Land and Mineral Resources

Cultivated land, forests, grasslands, deserts and tidelands are distributed widely across China. Cultivated land is mainly located in east China, grasslands are mainly located in north and west China, and forests mainly in the remote northeastern and southwestern areas.
      In China today, 130.04 million ha of land are cultivated, mainly on the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain, the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain, the Pearl River Delta and the Sichuan Basin. The fertile black soil of the Northeast Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of more than 350,000 sq km, abounds in wheat, corn, sorghum, soybeans, flax and sugar beet. The deep, brown topsoil of the North China Plain is planted with wheat, corn, millet and cotton. The Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain's flat terrain and many lakes and rivers make it particularly suitable for paddy rice and freshwater fish, hence its designation of "land of fish and rice." This area also produces large quantities of tea and silkworms. The purplish soil of the warm and humid Sichuan Basin is green with crops in all four seasons, including paddy rice, rapeseed and sugarcane, making it known as the "land of plenty." The Pearl River Delta abounds with paddy rice, gathered 2-3 times every year.
      Forests cover only 158.94 million ha of China. The Greater Hinggan, Lesser Hinggan and Changbai mountain ranges in the northeast are China's largest natural forest areas. Major tree species found here include conifers, such as Korean pine, larch and Olga Bay larch, and coniferous-broadleaf trees such as white birch, oak, willow, elm and Northeast China ash. Major tree species in the southwest include the dragon spruce, fir and Yunnan pine, as well as teak, red sandalwood, camphor, nanmu and padauk. Often called a "kingdom of plants," Xishuangbanna in the south of Yunnan Province is a rare tropical broadleaf forest area in China, playing host to more than 5,000 plant species.
      Grasslands in China cover an area of 400 million ha, stretching more than 3,000 km from the northeast to the southwest. They are the centers of animal husbandry. The Inner Mongolian Prairie is China's largest natural pastureland, and home to the famous Sanhe horses, Sanhe cattle and Mongolian sheep. The important natural pasturelands north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang are ideal for stockbreeding. The famous Ili horses and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep are raised here.
      China's cultivated lands, forests and grasslands are among the world's largest in terms of sheer area. But due to China's large population, the areas of cultivated land, forest and grassland per capita are small, especially in the case of cultivated land - only one-third of the world's average.
China is rich in mineral resources, and all of the world's known minerals can be found here. To date, geologists have confirmed reserves of 158 different minerals. These include 10 energy-related minerals, including oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium; 54 metallic minerals, including iron, manganese, copper, aluminum, lead and zinc; 91 non-metallic minerals, including graphite, phosphorus, sulfur and sylvite. The reserves of the major mineral resources, such as coal, iron, copper, aluminum, stibium, molybdenum, manganese, tin, lead, zinc and mercury, are in the world's front rank. China's basic coal reserves total 331.76 billion tons, mainly distributed in northeast China and north China, with Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Shanxi Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region taking the lead. China's 21.36 billion tons of the basic reserve of iron ore are mainly distributed in northeast, north and southwest China. The country also abounds in petroleum, natural gas, oil shale, phosphorus and sulphur. Petroleum reserves are mainly found in the northwest, northeast and north China, as well as in the continental shelves of east China. The national reserves of rare earth metals far exceed the combined total for the rest of the world.

Plants and Animals

Among those countries with the greatest diversity of wildlife, China has more than 6,266 species of vertebrates, 10 percent of the world's total. Among them 2,404 are terrestrials and 3,862 fishes. More than 100 species of wild animals can be found only in China, including such rare animals as the giant panda, the snub-nosed monkey, the golden-haired monkey, South China tiger, brown-eared pheasant, red-crowned crane, red ibis, white-flag dolphin and Chinese alligator. The giant panda, which makes its home in the forests of the Upper Yangtze River in southwest China, weighs on average 135 kg and lives on tender bamboo leaves and bamboo shoots. Because it is extremely rare - just over 1,000 are left at present - the giant panda has become the symbol of the world's protected wild animals.
        China's abundance of plant life ranks it among the top in the world. For example, with an area almost exactly that of the continental United States, China has nearly twice as many plant species, about 32,000 (compared to 17,000 for the U.S. and Canada combined) or one-eighth of the world's total. China's plant species include almost all the major plants that grow in the northern hemisphere's frigid, temperate and tropical zones. In addition, China has more than 7,000 species of woody plants, including 2,800-odd tree species. Found only in China are the metasequoia, Chinese cypress, Cathay silver fir, China fir, golden larch, Taiwan fir, Fujian cypress, dove-tree, eucommia and camplotheca acuminata. The metasequoia, a tall species of arbor, is considered to be one of the oldest and rarest plants in the world. The golden larch, one of only five species of rare garden trees in the world, grows in the mountainous areas in the Yangtze River Valley. Its coin-shaped leaves on short branches are green in spring and summer, turning yellow in autumn. China is home to more than 2,000 species of edible plants and over 3,000 species of medicinal plants. Ginseng from the Changbai Mountains, safflowers from Tibet, Chinese wolfberry from Ningxia and notoginseng from Yunnan and Guizhou are particularly well-known Chinese herbal medicines. China has a wide variety of flowering plants, including the world-renowned peony that is indigenous to China and considered one of the country's national flowers. }

China's Geological Parks

Today China has 44 national geological parks, thanks to a pilot program begun in 1999 by the Chinese Ministry of Land and Resources in cooperation with UNESCO to find a way to protect geological sites of importance while encouraging both tourism and scientific research.        Zhangjiajie Gritstone-peak Forest, China's best preserved cluster of volcanoes and geological features in Hunan Province, in 2001 became among the first nationally designated geological parks. In February 2004, UNESCO announced the World Network of Geological Parks as well as its first geology park conference to be held in Beijing from June 27-29, 2004. Of the 28 UNESCO world geoparks, eight are in China.
    They include:
— Shilin Geopark in China's Yunnan Province, featuring a carbonate peak forest landform, which brings about the formation of various karst landscapes, such as stone teeth, corroded gullies and corroded funnels.
— Huangshan Geopark in Anhui Province, famed for its grand and steep mountains, with 72 peaks of over 1,000 meters high. The geopark is picturesque with green and straight pines, jagged rocks of grotesque shapes, wide and imposing cloud sea, as well as many gushing warm springs.
    The other six world-class Chinese geology parks are Lushan Geopark in Jiangxi Province, Yuntaishan Geopark and Songshan Geopark in central China's Henan Province, Danxia Geopark in Guangdong, Zhangjiajie Geopark in Hunan, and Wudalianchi Geopark in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

UNESCO World Heritage List of Natural Sites in China
(See Culture Chapter for China's World Heritage List of Cultural Sites)
With outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty.
 
Category 

Three Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan       ( Natural,2003)
Mount Wuyi                                                        (Natural & Cultural,1999)
Mount Emei and the Leshan Giant Buddha(Natural & Cultural,1996)
Wulingyuan Scenic Area                                  (Natural,1992)
Scenic Wonders of Huanglong Scenic Area(Natural,1992)
Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area                                    (Natural,1992)
Mount Huangshan                                             (Natural & Cultural(1990)
Mount Taishan                                                   (Natural & Cultural, 1987)