Land forms Population distribution Climate and water Provinces and regions Resources Regional differentiation
Formation: collision of Indian subcontinent and Asian landmass China landmass tilts west to east, with three steps in elevation: West: Tibetan Plateau averages > 4,000 m* Central: Plateaus and basins, 1,000~ 2,000 m East: Plains and low hills < 500 m * 1 meter = 3.25 ft
China
China s Landforms Source: U.S. Geological Survey
Yellow (Huang He) River: drought and flood Yangtze (Chang Jiang) River: flood Pearl (Xi Jiang) River: flood Which river causes most problems? Relation with landforms - all flow west to east following topography
China s Rivers
Aihui (Helongjiang) to Tengchong (Yunnan) line, divides area of China in half 6% of population lives in dry, mountainous west; 94% lives in eastern part of country Population density west-northwest of line has population density of 11 people/km 2 constrained by water-shortage East-southeast of line, population density is 260 people/km 2 in monsoon China
Population Distribution Aihu One dot represents 5,000 people Tengchong
China s terrain means relatively little land is cultivatable Good agricultural land lies in fertile plains and valleys of major river systems 15% of China is arable land compared to 7% in Russia, 19% in US and 54% in India Per capita arable land is 0.1 hectare* in China, compared to 0.15 in India, 0.61 in US, and 0.86 in Russia China has adapted via laborintensive agriculture * 1 hectare = 2.5 acres
Dominated by southeast monsoon sets patterns of wet summers and dry winters High pressure zone over central Asia results in cold dry air flowing over eastern China in winter In summer, heating of Asian landmass draws tropical maritime air into southeastern China As air encounters mountains and cooler air, abundant rainfall in southern China Coast stays cool, inland basins (Chongqing, Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanjing) get hot
Northern boundary of wet rice growing area China s Average Annual Precipitation
In bad years, monsoon becomes stuck over central mountain belt between Yangtze and Yellow Rivers drought in north, flooding in south China is arid overall in northwest, desert continually threatens margin of habitation In north, Yellow River flows through arid/semiarid country, area s population placing great demands on water
Yellow River runs dry in many years (1997 dry in lower reaches for 226 days) agricultural irrigation has increased fivefold since 1950 Also floods in other years due to heavy load of sediment on riverbed Yangtze and Pearl Rivers carry 20 and 6 times as much water as Yellow River rise steadily between February and August/September
Relative to its large population, China is short of arable land, forests and water With uneven distribution of population and resources, China is faced with problems of environmental degradation Particularly, acute scarcity of water in the northern and western regions of the country As economic growth meets the limits of what land can support, likely to be a permanent environmental crisis over next 50 years
China currently has 31 province-level administrative units Henan most populous (97 million), Tibet least populous (2.7 million) Official distinction between 22 provinces, 4 municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing) under national supervision, and 5 autonomous regions of ethnic minorities (Tibet, Neimongol, Guangxi, Xinjiang, and Ningxia) Recent creations Hainan Island (Guangdong, 1988) and Chongqing Municipality (Sichuan, 1997) 2 Special Administrative Regions (SARs) Hong Kong (1997), and Macau (1999)
China s Provinces
Following anthropologist William Skinner (1977), China can also be divided into macro-regions defined by topography Each spreads over several provinces, consisting of densely settled core, and less densely settled periphery North China: most important, including North China Plain, largest flat land area of China - 25% of farmland, 27% of population, producing 30% of industrial output and 31% of crop output (wheat) Beijing is urban center along with sister city Tianjin
China s Macro-regions Beijing Tianjin Shanghai Xiamen SOUTHWEST Hong Kong FAR SOUTH
Lower Yangtze: most developed part of China, with Shanghai at center 7% of farmland, 10% of population, producing 21% of GDP and 10% of crop output (wet rice) Incomes and urbanization highest in China Northeast (Manchuria): abundant resources (iron ore, coal, petroleum) 17% of farmland (grain and soybeans), 10% of population producing 10% of GDP Center of heavy industry, but region has lost role it had in centrally-planned economy as number of jobs in state-owned enterprises has shrunk
The North, Northeast, and Lower Yangtze regions account for bulk of Chinese economy 46% of population, 51% of farmland, and 55% of GDP Historically, North China Plain and Lower Yangtze regions were a single economic entity grain surpluses shipped from the latter to Beijing region in former via the Grand Canal Beijing-Shanghai link still defines central part of Chinese economy In past 20 years, Northeast has become marginalized, losing its importance in economy to the Lower Yangtze region
Middle Yangtze: Provinces of Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi; 10% of farmland, 13% of population, producing 14% of crop output (grain) and 9.5% of GDP exports grain surplus (monoculture) Greater Southwest: 15.5% of population, producing 8.5% of GDP, densely populated with low per capita incomes consists of (i) Upper Yangtze with Sichuan basin as core, and (ii) Yunnan-Guizhou plateau (i) Upper Yangtze: Sichuan basin, fertile and densely populated, divided into provinces of Chonqing municipality and Sichuan Province
No natural route out of Sichuan basin, e.g., Yangtze cuts through deep gorges where Three Gorges dam has been built Chongqing and Chengdu (capital of Sichuan) main urban centers for Upper Yangtze region (ii) Southwest: Yunnan and Guizhou Provinces linked to Sichuan basin by economic and transport ties lumped in by Chinese government with Sichuan and Chongqing to form greater Southwest region Far South: core area is Pearl River delta in Guangdong Province, rich diversified agriculture and dense population, with Guangzhou and Hong Kong as urban centers
Southeast Coast: traditional maritime China, cut off from Hong Kong and Taiwan during Maoist era after 1949 - poor at end of 1970s Links re-established after 1978, with setting up of 4 special economic zones (SEZs), targeting particular groups of maritime Chinese Shenzen adjacent to Hong Kong, Zhuhai next to Macau, Shantou up the coast, and Xiamen North/Northwest: arid northern plateau region of Shanxi, Shaanxi, Neimongol, Gansu and Ningxia 10% of population, 18% farmland, 8% of crop output and 6% of industrial output
China is land-scarce labor-abundant 20% of world s population occupies 7% of land area Mineral reserves/capita ½ world average coal 11%, oil 2.3% and natural gas 0.8% of verified world reserves Uneven distribution of mineral and energy resources 90% oil and 80% coal reserves in north; 68% hydroelectric potential in southwest
Far South, Southeast Coast and Lower Yangtze regions richest and fastest growing held back 1949-78 Coast-inland gap now a fundamental feature of Chinese economy, but also a north-south gap Inevitable that coastal regions are center of China s economy with integration into world economy Concentrated poverty along Aihui-Tengchong line severe environmental and economic problems where dense population meets land and water constraints
Regional Differentiation
Regional Differentiation