CHINA PROPER The physical features of China are extremely complicated and can only be sketched here in broad outline. The country is on the whole mountainous, but there are several plains of considerable importance. North China belongs in part to the mid-world moun tain system, its western half being enclosed within, and traversed by, ranges from the Inshan and Tsin-ling mountains, which are folded continuations of the Kwen-lun. Further east, beyond the old plateau of Ordos, the hills of the Shansi upland run from north to south, and those of Chili from north-east to south-west. The eastern part of Northern China is occupied by the Great Plain, which extends from the hills of Chili to the delta lands of the Yangtse, and covers a considerable part of Chili, Honan, Shantung, Anhwei, and Kiangsu. To the south of the Tsin-ling and its continuation, the Funiu-shan, lies the Chinese plateau, the mountain ranges of which were formed by fracture of the ancient land mass, and have a general trend from south-west to north-east. In the west of Szechwan and Yunnan, the mountains run from north to south.
CLIMATE.—The climate of China differs considerably from that of the remainder of the monsoon region of Asia. The greater part of the country lies outside of the tropics, and although the summers are everywhere hot the winters are cold in the north and mild in the south. This wider range of temperature is in the main due to the fact that China, unlike India which is protected by the lofty wall of the Himalayas, is exposed to the cold winds which blow outward from the Asiatic land mass during the winter season. Canton, for example, has a winter temperature about 14°F. below that of Calcutta which lies less than one degree further south, while Shanghai, practically in the same latitude as Multan, has a winter temperature which is lower by about 18°F.
In January the greater part of China lies between the isotherms of 10°F. and 60°F., the temperature decreasing on the whole from south to north. In the basin of the Hwang-ho many of the lakes and rivers are frozen during the coldest part of the year, and, although in Central China the climate is less severe, the surface of the smaller lakes in the lowlands of the Yangtse are sometimes covered with a sheet of ice sufficiently thick to permit skating. Even in the basin of the Si-kiang the thermometer frequently descends at night to freezing point, and ice is sometimes found. In summer, on the other hand, when the Asiatic land mass becomes heated, China has a high temperature, and in July the greater part of it lies between the isotherms of 80°F. and 90°F. In the basin of the Hwang-ho the temperature is naturally not quite so high, nor is the period during which it lasts so prolonged, as is the case in Central and Southern China.
The rainfall is monsoonal and occurs mainly during the summer months when oceanic winds from the south and south-east blow towards the heated continental interior. Owing to the general con
figuration of the country, there is nowhere a precipitation so heavy as that which occurs in parts of India and Indo-China, but, on the other hand, the total amount of rainfall is more evenly distributed. In winter, the winds blowing outwards from the cold, continental interior bring but little moisture to the greater part of the country as they come from the north and north-west, but, when they veer round to the north-east and strengthen the ordinary trade wind system, they help to bring a certain amount of moisture to the coastal districts of Central China. The mean annual precipitation decreases from south to north. In the basin of the Si-kiang and in the southern part of that of the Yangtse, it varies from 60 to 80 inches. Except in the north-west, the remainder of the Yangtse basin has over 40 inches and the Hwang-ho basin over 20 inches. In a country the topography of which is so diverse as that of China the local deviations from these general conditions of temperature and rainfall are very great.
VEGETATION.—The climatic conditions of China are reflected in its vegetation, which varies from warm temperate in the north to tropical in the south. The cold winters which prevail in the basin of the Hwang-ho are fatal to tropical and sub-tropical plants at this season of the year ; on the other hand, the hot summers permit the cultivation of cotton, and rice can even be grown in some of the southern districts. Among the trees are the pine, birch, beech, oak, poplar, and willow. The fruits and food grains are those of the temperate zone, the former including apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and cherries, and the latter wheat, maize, millet, peas, and beans. In the Yangtse basin, with its longer summers, milder winters, and heavier rainfall, a sub-tropical vegetation appears. The bamboo, the camphor tree, the mulberry, the banyan, and a variety of the date palm are all found in different parts of the region together with trees which produce wax, tallow, and varnish. Rice, which is the chief food of the inhabitants, is extensively grown, sugar-cane and tea flourish in places, and various fibres are cultivated. The long hot summers, the warm winters, and the heavy precipita tion in the basin of the Si-kiang permit the growth of a tropical vegetation in the lowland districts. Among the trees are the mahogany, the ebony, and the date palm ; the fruits include the banana, the pine-apple, and the pomegranate; and caoutchouc, aniseed, and several other industrial products are also obtained. In addition, the great variations in elevation throughout the basin of the Si-kiang render possible the growth of most of the plants of the preceding regions.