China is the world’s most populous nation, with a population of 1.3 billion. This means one out of five human beings in the world reside in China./n/n
In land area, China is the world’s third largest country (after Russia and Canada). At 3,696,100 square miles or 9,572,900 square kilometers, the country is slightly larger than the United States (3,679,192 square miles or 9,529,063 square kilometers).
For most Chinese, the country’s longest river, the Yangzi (known as the Yangtze in the West), separates the country into the South and the North. Chinese from south of the river are generally regarded as Southerners and those north of it, Northerners.
Scientists, however, have a more accurate division of the country into the southern and northern portions. For them, the dividing line is to be found some distance north of the Yangtze River, a line that can be drawn from the Qinling Mountains in Central-Western China eastward, along the Huai River, to the seashore. Notable geographical and climatic differences can be observed on the two sides of the dividing line.
North China is consisted of a plain in the east and a high plateau in the west. The said plain, North China Plain, is the largest area of level land in what is generally a mountainous country, and it supports a large population of high density. This is also where the nation’s capital, Beijing is located. The plateau to the west, on the other hand, features terraces of yellow earth, which is a fine dust of clay and sand deposited there by wind over past millennia. Both on the plain and the plateau air is generally dry. In winter times, icy wind sweeps down from Siberia and temperature quickly drops below the freezing point. In summer, however, currents of warm and moist air from the sea do bring rain. The advances and retreats of these two major air-systems give North China easily identifiable four seasons. The land of North China, having been cultivated for thousands of years by hardworking Chinese peasants, is generally level and covered with few trees.
The South of China, in contrast, is far more hilly and mountainous. Here the weather is largely dominated by the warm and moist air-system of the Pacific and the region receives a greater amount of precipitation. Many rivers flow among the mountains and the land is also dotted with numerous lakes. The land is better treed than the North, giving the land a lush green color-tone.
Historically, Chinese civilization first originated in North China, in the valley of the Yellow River. From there it gradually spread to other parts of the country, in the process absorbing and digesting local influences to create what is generally known as the Chinese civilization.
Back to China Travel Tips
Back Home
|
