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Geography and Climate By Xiaoping Shen INTRODUCTION China is the most populated country in the world. More than 1 billion Chinese people live on a vast land—the third largest in the world after Russia and Canada. From Mount Everest (the world’s tallest mountain) to Turfan (the lowest land in the world at 154 meters [505 feet] below sea level) and from the cool-temperate climate in the north to the tropical climate in the south, China includes an extraordinary variety of physical environ- ments. As one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations, the Chinese people have cre- ated unique cultural landscapes on this great landmass. This section will introduce both the physical and cultural aspects of the geography of China. 1. LOCATION AND TERRITORY Geography Area: China covers a land area about 9.6 million square kilometers (3.7 million China is an east Asian country located in square miles), including the mainland and the southeastern portion of the Eurasian islands. The territory of China includes landmass and on the western shore of the Taiwan, although it is currently adminis- Pacific Ocean. The territory lies between tered by governments other than that of latitudes 3º50’N to 53º31’N and longitudes the People’s Republic of China. 73ºE to 135º5’E. It covers about 50 degrees The area of China is exceeded only by of latitude and 60 degrees of longitude. those of Russia and Canada. It is slightly China is about 5,200 kilometers (3,232 larger than the area of the United States miles) from west to east, and about 5,500 (9.4 million square kilometers, or 3.6 mil- kilometers (3,418 miles) from north to lion square miles) and is similar to the south. area of all of Europe. China occupies about China and the United States are both one-fifteenth of the total land surface on mid-latitude countries in the Northern the earth and one-quarter of the area of Hemisphere. With a very similar longitudi- Asia. nal extent between China and the 48 con- Seas and Islands: China has four tiguous U.S. states, China is considerably neighboring seas on the east and southeast wider from north to south. The northern- of the land area. From north to south, they most point of China is located in the mid- are Bo Hai, Huang Hai (Yellow Sea), Dong dle of the Heilong Jiang River, which is the Hai (East China Sea), and Nan Hai (South same latitude as Edmonton in Alberta, China Sea). Canada. The southernmost point of China Besides the mainland territories, there is in the Nansha Islands on the same lati- are more than 5,000 islands scattered tude as Cali in Colombia. Comparing the along the east and southeast coast. The latitudes, Miami—which is almost the largest island is Taiwan and the second southern limit in Florida—is only halfway largest is Hainan Island. between Shanghai and Hong Kong. Time Zones: China’s vast land crosses four time zones, similar to the 48 continu- ous states of the United States. But the dif- 3 4 Facts About China ference between the two countries is that Macao the United States uses four times in four time zones, China uses only one time, Since the 16th century, Macao has been a Beijing time, for the entire country. Since Portuguese overseas territory in South Beijing is located in east China, people in China. Macao is in the delta of the Zhu western China are inconvenienced by this. Jiang River (Pearl River) and includes two People in west get up “late” and go to work small islands. The area of Macao is 17 “late”; eight o’clock in the morning Beijing square kilometers (6.6 square miles), com- time is only five o’clock local time in the prising the Macao Peninsula and the west. If Chinese people were more equally islands of Taipa and Colôane. The popula- distributed over the territory, as in the tion of Macao was 438,000 in 2000. United States, using one time for the According to the Joint Declaration on the entire country would be even more awk- Question of Macao by the Governments of ward. the People’s Republic of China and the Beijing time is ahead of U.S. time Republic of Portugal signed in 1987, China between 16 hours (Pacific time) to 13 hours resumed sovereignty over Macao on (Eastern time). When it is daytime in the December 20, 1999. United States, it is nighttime in China. China does not have daylight savings time Taiwan in the summer. Therefore, the time differ- ence decreases one hour during daylight Taiwan is a part of China and is cur- savings time in the United States. When rently administered by the Guomindang people in the United States make phone (Nationalist Party) government. Taiwan is calls to China, they must calculate the located to the southeast of the Chinese time difference. mainland, opposite Fujian Province and is separated from the southeast coast of Hong Kong China by the Taiwan Straits. To the east of Taiwan is the Pacific Ocean. Taiwan Prov- Hong Kong is a special administrative ince consists of Taiwan Island, the P’eng- region under the central government of the hu (Penghu) Islands, and 80 other smaller People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong is a neighboring islands and islets. The total port city located on China’s southeast coast area covers 36,000 square kilometers near Guangzhou city. The area of the Hong (13,900 square miles). Taiwan had a popu- Kong administrative region is 1,072 square lation of 22.28 million in 2000. kilometers (414 square miles). That Taiwan was occupied by Japan from includes Hong Kong Island, Kowloon pen- 1895 to 1945, and was returned to China at insula, nearby islands, and the New Terri- the end of World War II. When the Chinese tories north to Kowloon. Hong Kong’s Communist Party won the civil war and population was 6.67 million in 2000. founded the People’s Republic of China, the Hong Kong was a British crown colony Guomindang authorities retreated from for 155 years between 1842 and 1997. the mainland to Taiwan in 1949. To this According to the Sino-British Joint Decla- day, the Guomindang government contin- ration signed in 1984, China resumed sov- ues to refer to itself as the government of ereignty over Hong Kong at midnight on the Republic of China. The delegate from June 30, 1997. The central government of Taiwan held the seat of China in the China handles defense and foreign affairs, United Nations until 1971, when the and the Hong Kong government is respon- United Nations recognized that the gov- sible for other governmental functions. The ernment of the People’s Republic of China Chinese government has promised that was the sole legal government of China. Hong Kong will keep its own currency, (the The seat of China in the United Nations is Hong Kong dollar) and its capitalist mar- now held by the delegate from the People’s ket system for fifty years after its return to Republic of China. Working channels for China. nongovernmental contacts have been established across the Taiwan straits since 1992. Geography and Climate 5 Neighboring Countries China has 32,000 kilometers (19,888 miles) of coastline (including mainland and China has a land boundary of 22,800 island coastlines) on the east and south- kilometers (14,170 miles) and is bounded east. Across the seas to the east and south- by 16 countries: North Korea, Russia, Mon- east, the parts of the ocean owned by golia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China touch borders with parts of the Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, India, ocean owned by the following countries: Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Philip- (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam. pines, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Malay- sia, and Indonesia. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS Regional Administrative System Autonomous Regions: When the majority of people in a region are from a single China has three major regional adminis- minority nationality, this region is classi- trative levels: provincial level, county level, fied as an autonomous region. For exam- and township level. There is a prefecture ple, the Hui nationality is the majority in level between the provincial and county Ningxia; therefore, Ningxia is a Hui auton- levels, but it does not have full government omous region. The five autonomous regions authority as the three major levels, except are Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Inner for those autonomous prefectures and pre- Mongolia autonomous region, Tibet auton- fecture level cities. Township is the lowest omous region, Guangxi Zhuang autono- level in government hierarchy; village and mous region, and Xinjiang Uygur street are communities that have a com- autonomous region. The names in italics mittee but do not have government offi- are the names of nationalities that have cials. China is divided into twenty-three the autonomous authority. The regional provinces (including Taiwan), five autono- government is located at the regional capi- mous regions, four municipalities, and two tal. special administrative regions (Hong Kong Municipalities: Municipality is a spe- and Macao) at the provincial level. cial term in the Chinese administrative Capital: Beijing has been the capital of system for large cities that are directly the People’s Republic of China since 1949. under the central government and enjoy It is the political, cultural, scientific, and provincial level status, although they have educational center of China. Beijing is a much smaller areas and populations. The historical city and has served as the four such municipalities are Beijing, Tian- national capital for more than 800 years.
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