[...]... world.” The second step lies to the north of the Kunlun and Qilian mountains and (farther south) to the east of the Qionglai and Daliang ranges There the mountains descend sharply to heights of between 6,000 and 3,000 feet (1,800 and 900 m), after which basins intermingle with plateaus This step includes the Mongolian Plateau, the Tarim Basin, the Loess 26 | The Geography of China: Sacred and Historic Places. .. contrast, the lowest part of the Turfan Depression in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang—Lake Ayding—is 508 feet (155 m) below sea level The coast of China contrasts greatly between South and North To the south of the bay of Hangzhou, the coast is rocky and indented with many harbours and offshore islands To the north, except along the Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas, the coast is sandy and flat China. .. occupying the northwestern portion of the Plateau of Tibet, is the largest, as well as the lowest, depression in the plateau The broad northwestern part of the basin lies at elevations between approximately 8,800 and 10,000 feet (2,700 and 3,000 m), and the narrow southeastern part is 34 | The Geography of China: Sacred and Historic Places slightly lower Gravel, sandy and clay deserts, semideserts, and salt... 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 rivers—such as the Tarim and Hotan (Khotan)—cross the desert, but even their... because the shifting river often overflows its banks and floods the North 20 | The Geography of China: Sacred and Historic Places China Plain The Huang He has changed course many times In the past 4,000 years for instance, the river has entered the Yellow Sea at points that vary as much as 500 miles (800 km) The Yangtze is the longest of China s rivers, flowing from the Plateau of Tibet to the East China. .. against the penetration of cold northern winds, the basin is much warmer in the winter than are the more southerly plains of southeast China Except for the Chengdu Plain, the region is hilly The relief of the basin’s eastern half consists of numerous folds, forming a series of ridges and valleys that trend northeast to southwest The lack of arable land has obliged farmers to cultivate the slopes of the. .. until it encountered the combined barriers of relief and climate The long, protruding strip of land, commonly known as the Gansu, or Hexi, Corridor, illustrates this fact South of the corridor is the Plateau of Tibet, which was too high and too cold for the Chinese to gain a foothold North of the corridor is the Gobi Desert, which 28 | The Geography of China: Sacred and Historic Places also formed a... flatland does not exceed 10 percent 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 is rugged and irregular, and there are many promontories and protected bays, including those of Hong Kong and Macau The principal river is the Xi River, which rises in the highlands of eastern Yunnan and southern Guizhou The. .. levels The first level is represented by the Plateau of Tibet, which is located in both the Tibet Autonomous Region and the province of Qinghai and which, with an average elevation of well over 13,000 feet (4,000 m) above sea level, is the loftiest highland area in the world The western part of this region, the Qiangtang, has an average height of 16,500 feet (5,000 m) and is known as the “roof of the. .. enclosed by the Tien Shan on the south, while to the northeast it is cut off from Mongolia by the Altai Mountains The surface of the basin is flat, with a gentle slope to the southwest The larger portion of the land lies at elevations between about 1,000 and 1,500 feet (300 and 450 m), and in the lowest part the elevation drops to just below 650 feet (200 m) In general the main part of the basin is . Mountains 29 The North China Plain 29 The Loess Plateau 30 The Shandong Hills 30 The Qin Mountains 31 The Sichuan Basin 31 The Southeastern Mountains 31 Plains of the Middle and Lower Yangtze 31 The Nan. The Huang He, or Yellow River, is the most northern of China s three main rivers. It rises on the Plateau of Tibet and drains into the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli), part of the Yellow Sea. The. region of land to the north of the mountains, so that today China is like a table tilting from west to east. This western part, the Plateau of Tibet (or Qiangtang), is known as the “roof of the