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China is situated in the east of Asia and on the west bank of the Pacific Ocean of the eastern hemisphere. Its territory extends from Zengmuansha in the south to Mohe near the Heilongjiang River in the north, from the Pamir Plateau in the West to the joints of the Heilongjiang River and the Wusulijiang River in the east. On land, China has 15 neighboring countries: from the northeast counter clock- wise they are DPR Korea, Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Tadzhikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanma, Laos and Vietnam. Land border extends over 20,000 kilometers. China is looking to the east and south, across the Yellow Sea, the East Sea and the South China Sea, at the countries and regions of Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. The coast line of the mainland is more 18, 000 kilometers. The whole country covers an area of about 9.6 million square kilometers. Beside its vast sea and ocean, it is the largest country in Asia. It is about 5,500 kilometers across from the north to the south in China. While the Province of Heilongjiang in the north is still winter covered with snow and ice, the islands in the South China Sea in the south are all in hot summer time. Moreover, it is 5,000 kilometers across from the east to the west in the country, the moment when there is already bright sunshine in the mornings along the Wusulijiang River, it is still dark at night with stars in the sky on the Pamir Plateau. |
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China has a varied topography with a higher landscape in the west and a lower one in the east. The difference in height is obvious and gradual from the west to the east: the average height on the Qing Zang Plateau is 4,000 meters above sea - level on which there are mountain ranges and valleys stretching in the same direction and there are numerous lakes. The world' s highest peak, Mount Qomolangma, 8848 meters above sea - level, stands here between the border of China and Nepal. East and north of the Qing Zang Plateau, down at the height of 2,000 to 1,000 meters above sea - level and lower, vast highlands and basins spread out including the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang in which the lowest point is 154 meters below sea- level, also the lowest point of land in China. The Bigger Xing An Mountain, Taihang Mountain, Wushan Mountain and the Yun Gui Plateau and east onward has a average height of 500 meters above sea - level and lower, where there are hills and plains. The coastal plains are only 50 meters above sea-level or lower. To the southeast of the mainland are China's inner sea Bohai Sea and marginal seas the Yellow Sea, the East Sea and South China Sea. The long stretching coast line is linked by the large continental shelf. There are countless islands on the vast sea, numbering over 5,000, the largest of which is the Taiwan Island, followed by the Hainan Island and the third is the Zongming Island. |
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China is abundant in rivers with over 50,000 each of which cover over 100 square kilometers. Among them, over 1,500 are rivers that are greater than 1,000 square square kilometers. All these rivers flow east and southward with the landscape to the sea. Among the outflowing rivers, the trunkstream of the Yangtze River is 6,300 kilometers, the longest in China and the third in the world. The Yellow River is the second longest river in China, the trunk-stream of which is 5,464 kilometers. There are a lot of inflowing rivers in the western and northern parts of China. The longest is the Tarim River in the south of Xinjiang, which is 2,179 kilometers. |
