the britannica guide to modern china

[...]... to the east; the South China Sea to the south-east; Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), India, Bhutan, and Nepal to the south; Pakistan to the south-west; and Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan to the west In addition to the 14 countries that border directly on it, China also faces South Korea and Japan, across the Yellow Sea, and the Philippines, which lie beyond the South China Sea The. .. lakes The Country The Northeast Plain (also known as the Manchurian Plain and the Sungliao Plain) is located in China' s north-east, the region formerly known as Manchuria It is bordered to the west and north by the Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range and to the east by the Xiao Hinggan (Lesser Khingan) Range An undulating plain split into northern and southern halves by a low divide rising from 500 to. .. between China and Nepal, is the highest peak in the world By contrast, the lowest part of the Turfan Depression in the Uygur Autonomous Region of XinjiangÐLake AydingÐis 508 feet (155 metres) below sea level The coast of China contrasts greatly between south and north To the south of Hangzhou Bay, the coast is rocky and indented, with many harbours and offshore islands To the north, except along the Shandong... Gansu to Henan, constitutes the greatest chain of mountains east of the Plateau of Tibet Geographers use a line between the Qin Mountains and the Huai River to divide China into north and south The Sichuan Basin is one of the most attractive geographical regions of China It is surrounded by mountains, which protect against cold northern winds The lack of arable land has led to farmers cultivating the. .. (Zhu) River to the south The main peaks along the watershed are above 5,000 feet (1,500 metres), and some are more than 6,500 feet (2,000 metres) But a large part of the land to the south of the Nan Mountains is also hilly; flatland does not exceed 10 per cent of the total area The Pearl River delta is the only extensive plain in this region and is also the richest part of South China The coastline... of the Plateau of Tibet and at a much lower elevation lies the Tarim Basin It is hemmed in by great mountain ranges: the Tien Shan (Tian Shan; ``Celestial Mountains'') on the north, the Pamirs on the west, and the Kunlun Mountains on the south Glacier-fed streams descend from these heights only to lose themselves in the loose sands and gravels of the Takla Makan Desert, which occupies the centre of the. .. basin The Takla Makan is one of the most barren of the world's deserts Only a few of the largest riversÐsuch as the Tarim and Hotan (Khotan)Ðcross the desert, but even their flow is not constant, and they have water throughout their entire courses only during the flood period North of the Tarim Basin is another large depression, the Junggar (Dzungarian) Basin It is enclosed by the Tien Shan on the south,... advised the authorities in Myanmar to heed international calls to cease the oppression of the Buddhist clergy there Elsewhere, China has continued to insist that urging countries such as Zimbabwe to adhere to international standards of human rights is to infringe their sovereignty Indeed, in its accelerating search for sources of oil, China has struck deals with authoritarian regimes in Africa and the. .. linked with the Yangtze Here rivers, canals, and lakes form a dense network of waterways The 14 OVERVIEW surface of the plain has been converted into a system of flat terraces, which descend in steps along the slopes of the valleys The Nan Mountains (Nan Ling) are composed of many ranges running from north-east to south-west These ranges form the watershed between the Yangtze to the north and the Pearl... kingdom A comparable situation arose in the Tarim Basin in the north-west It is therefore possible to divide China into three major topographical regions: the eastern, north-western, and southwestern zones The eastern zone is shaped by the rivers, which divide into two plains The north-western region is arid and eroded by the wind, and forms an inland drainage basin The 12 OVERVIEW south-west is a cold, . of China. THE GUIDE TO MODERN CHINA A comprehensive introduction to the the world's new economic giant Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. www .britannica. com First print edition published in the. contributed The Chinese Dynasties, is head of the Chinese Department at the British Library. She is also the author of, among other books, Did Marco Polo Go to China? , The Silk Road and The First. Queen Elizabeth visited the show to view the Manchu emperor's favourite objects the building was closed all day to the public; Mr Hu and his royal host had the place to themselves for 50 minutes. And