China is seriously big! It has a total land area of 9,596,960 km2 (3,705,410 sq miles). This makes it the same size as the USA (either one is ranked 3rd or 4th depending upon the inclusion/exclusion of disputed territories). The top two ranking countries are Russia and then Canada.
China has only recently lost its top spot place as the most populated country on the planet, to India.
Given the physical size of China, maybe its place in terms of population density, relative to the UK, should not come as a surprise – it does though…
Given that one of our main inspirations for visiting Japan, last year, was the topic of life expectancy (Okinawa, in particular – see Day 12 blog and Day 14 blog), we found the following to be of interest…
We are aware that some of the World’s most highly populated cities sit in China. Having recently visited Jakarta, Tokyo and New Delhi, we note with interest that as we are to visit both Shanghai and Guangzhou that ticks off five of the top six…
China has great physical diversity. Nearly 20% of China is desert, with the Gobi Desert being the largest of 12 deserts.
Given that the Mount Everest summit line marks the exact international border between China and Nepal, China’s highest point is recorded as 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft).
China’s lowest point is the historical site of Turpan Pendi. It sits about 154 m below sea level, making it one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth. Interestingly, the area is famous for sweet fruits like grapes and Hami melons grown using ancient undergrown water systems called karez.
The rivers in China have a total length of 420,000 km. The longest river is the Yangtze (Chang Jiang). It rises in Tibet, flows through Central China and enters the East China Sea near Shanghai. The Yangtze is 6,300 km long and has a catchment area of 1.8 million square kilometres. It is the third longest river in the world, after the Amazon and the Nile. The second longest river in China is the Huang He (Yellow River).
China’s considerable physical diversity contributes, therefore, to the full range of climate types; making for a fascinating and distinctly colourful climate type map.
Why would anyone be drawn to China, I ask?! And all of the above is before we begin to explore the uniquely ancient history, philosophy, religion, language, tradition, culture, customs, art, literature etc of this incredible land… not to mention the very people that populate it.
a single step
a journey around China
a single step 