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The terrain of China is high in the west and low in the east. Mountains, plateaus, and hills take up about 67% of the land area, and about 33% of the land is basins and plains. Most of the mountains run from east to west or northeast to southwest, including the Altai, Tianshan, Kunlun, Karakoram, Himalayas, Yinshan, Qinling, Nanling, Daxinganling, Changbai, Taihang, Wuyi, and Hengduan mountains. The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in the west is the largest plateau in the world, it is known as the "Roof of the World", with an average altitude of more than 4,000 meters. Mount Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in English, is the highest peak in the world at 8,844.43 meters above sea level. From the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau to the northern border, is located the Inner Mongolia Plateau, the Loess Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. They are considered the second stage of China's terrain. In the area from the ranges of the Daxing’anling Mountain, Taihang Mountain, Wu Mountain, Wuling Mountain, and Xuefengshan Mountains to the eastern coastline, there are many plains and hills so it is regarded as the third stage of China's terrain. The continental shelves to the east and south of China’s coastline contain abundant seabed resources.
The climate of China is incredibly varied with the characteristics of large temperature differences between China’s northern and southern landscapes during winter, high temperatures in summer, a large range of humidities from east to west, and a remarkable monsoon climate. China is located in the eastern portion of the Eurasian continent, the largest continent in the world, and to the west of the Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean in the world. The country’s southwestern border is close to the Indian Ocean. Therefore, the climate is greatly affected by continental shifts and oceans. The northerly wind blowing from the mainland to the ocean prevails in winter, and the southerly wind blowing from the ocean to the land prevails in summer. Influenced by the cold and dry winter monsoons from inland Asia, most of China, and especially the northern part, has little rainfall and low temperatures in winter. The warm and humid summer monsoon comes from the Pacific Ocean to the southeast and the Indian Ocean to the southwest, raising temperatures and also bringing a large amount of rainfall. China is widely affected by the alternating winter and summer monsoons. It has the most intense version of a monsoon climate in the world. To that end, compared with other regions at the same latitude in the world, the winter temperature is considerably lower in China, while the summer temperature is similarly higher. A striking annual temperature difference and far more rainfall in summer mark the essential features of China’s continental monsoon climate.
There are many rivers and lakes in China, they play not only an important part of China's geographical environment, but also serve as some of China's precious natural resources.
China is one of the countries with the most rivers in the world. There are many immense rivers with grand histories, such as the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, and Huai River. Along with these rivers, there are over 1,500 rivers with a drainage area of over 1,000 square kilometers. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a remarkable representative of China’s great man-made river system.
There is an extremely large number of lakes in China, but the distribution of them is uneven throughout the nation’s landscape. At present in China, the number of lakes with an area of 1 square kilometer or above is 2,693. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, is located the largest freshwater area. The space is home to many large lakes, such as Dongting Lake, Taihu Lake, and Poyang Lake. Many lakes in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, including Qinghai Lake and Namco Lake, are inland saltwater lakes.
China is one of the countries with the richest animal biodiversity in the world. According to statistics, there are about 2,070 species of terrestrial vertebrates in the country, accounting for 9.8% of the world's terrestrial vertebrates. There are more than 1,170 species of birds, over 400 species of mammals, and 184 species of amphibians in China. This accounts for 13.5%, 11.3%, and 7.3% of the world’s species respectively. Some rare animals, like the giant panda, white porpoise, finless porpoise, white-lipped deer, Chinese alligator, white sturgeon, and more, are found exclusively in China. These animals have been garnering a great deal of attention and fondness from tourists all over the world.
China enjoys vast land, complex terrain, and diverse climate types, so it is rich in plant variety as well. According to statistics, 300 animal families, 2,980 genera, 24,600 species of seed plants, and 2946 genera of angiosperms (accounting for 23.6% of the total genera of angiosperms in the world) can be found in China. The ancient plants in the country, such as metasequoia, ginkgo, et cetera, make up about 62% of the world's total genera. These plants are all "living fossils" remaining alive in China while they have gone extinct in other parts of the world. The number of seed plant species in China, which are found in three zones of varying temperatures, is much greater than the total number present in Europe itself. This makes China the country with the most abundant plant resources in the world.
