The third-largest country in
the world, China is bounded to the north by the deserts of Mongolia,
to the west by the inhospitable Tibetan plateau and the Himalaya,
and to the east by the East and South China seas. China's 22
provinces and five autonomous regions are governed from Beijing,
along with some 5000 islands. Hong Kong and Macau have returned to
the fold as Special Administrative Regions (SAR). Disputed
territories are dotted near and far around China's southeast coast.
Taiwan - a festering dispute that flares up from time to time - is
the best known. Then there's the oil-rich Spratly Island group,
which every country in the region wants to suck dry, the Diaoyutai
Islands (known as Senkaku to the Japanese), the Paracels (or Xisha,
if China gets its way), and the Pescadores (or Penghu).
The statistics for population and area refer to mainland China.
The topography included in China's vast panorama runs the gamut from
towering mountains to featureless plains. The terrain descends
across the planet from Tibet's 'roof of the world' in the west, down
through the Inner Mongolia Plateau and east to the plains of the
Yangzi River valley. In the southwest, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau
has a lacerated terrain with numerous gorge rapids, waterfalls,
underground caverns and limestone pinnacles, making it one of the
country's most spectacular regions. Inland features include the
Taklamakan Desert shifting salt lakes and the Turpan Depression
(China's hottest region, and known as the Oasis of Fire). Melting
snow from the mountains of western China and the Tibetan Plateau
provides the headwaters for many of the country's major trade
routes: the Yangzi, Yellow, Mekong and Salween rivers.
China's plant life has fared a little better under the crunch of a
billion people, but deforestation, grazing and intensive cultivation
have all taken their toll. The last great tracts of forest are in
the subarctic northeastern region near the Russian border, while the
tropical south is home to the country's most diverse plant life,
including rainforest. China's many useful plants include bamboo,
ginseng, angelica and fritillary.
Given China's size, it's only to be expected that its animal life is
diverse. Unfortunately, much of the country's rich natural heritage
is rare, endangered or extinct, largely due to the destruction of
habitat caused by agriculture, urbanisation and industrial
pollution. Magnificent animals endemic to China - but found in
increasingly low numbers - include giant pandas, snow leopards,
elephants, argali sheep, wild yaks, reindeer, moose, musk deer,
bears, sables and tigers. Bird-watchers can spot cranes, ducks,
bustards, egrets, swans and herons in the country's lakes and nature
reserves (of which there are more than 300). |
Western
China
