PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ATLAS

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: The Nixon Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06931189
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 84
• Document Creation Date: February 23, 2022
• Document Release Date: February 11, 2022
• Publication Date: November 1, 1971

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PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC
OF
CHINA
Atlas
Central Intelligence Agency
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PEOPLE'S
REPUBLIC
OF
CHINA
I
November 1971
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PREFACE
This volume goes beyond the scope of a conventional atlas.
It presents a wider variety of information, including geographic,
economic, historical, and cultural data. In the interest of simplicity
and clarity, it employs a number of unconventional graphic
techniques in addition to standard regional and thematic maps,
charts, and photographs. The publication is designed as an
introduction and general reference aid for those interested in the
People's Republic of China. To make so much information about
such a complex and little-known country as meaningful as possible,
a great deal of it is placed in a familiar context -- that is, by
drawing comparisons between China and the United States.
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Introduction to China 5
Northeast 8
North 12
South 16
Southwest 20
Sinkiang 24
Tibetan Highlands 28
Administrative Divisions 32
Population 36
Ethnolinguistic Groups 40
Railroads 44
Roads and Inland Waterways 48
Climate 52
Agriculture 56
Minerals and Metals 60
Fuels and Power 64
Industry 68
Human Resources and Economy 72
Historical Perspective 74
Peking and Environs 76
Prominent Sights in Peking 78
Gazetteer 80
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Let's attack here!
Drive away the mountain gods,
Break down the stone walls
To bring out those 200 million tons of coal.
Let's strike here!
Let the Dragon King change his job,
Let the river climb the hills,
Let us ask it for 8000 acres of rice paddies.
Let that valley open its bosom
To yield 500 catties of oats every year.
Cut down the knoll
To make a plain over there...
Let's wage war against the great earth!
Let the mountains and rivers surrender under our feet.
March on nature,
Let's take over the power of rain and wind.
We shall tolerate not a single inch of unused land!
Nor a single place harassed by disaster.
Make wet rice, wheat, and yellow corn grow on top of the mountain,
And beans, peanuts, and red kaoliang rise on sheer rocks...
�
"An inch of time is an inch of gold,"
That's the value of yesterday.
Time's worth today
Is "An inch for ten thousand pieces of gold."
Chang Chih-min, Personalities in the Commune
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Introduction to China
China's central location in Asia, immense area and population,
and legacy of cultural superiority have given it a dominant role in
Asian affairs. Tempering these factors of strength, however, are
serious limitations. China must grow sufficient food for its rapidly
increasing population, and also provide raw materials for the
expansion of industry, from a land of limited and already
extensively exploited agricultural resources. The regional
character of China�the distribution of physical features,
population, and resources�provides a framework for an
understanding and evaluation of the problems and developments
within the People's Republic of China.
Physical Characteristics�China often is compared to the
United States since both are about equal in area�China has
nearly 3.7 million square miles and the United States slightly more
than 3.6 million�and both occupy similar latitudes. Differences,
however, are more important than similarities, and perhaps none is
of greater significance than the higher proportion of land in China
unsuited for intensive agriculture and settlement. Most of China
consists of hills, mountains, and high plateaus; only 12 percent of
the surface is in plains and about 19 percent in basins. Most of the
bccins contain semiarid and arid deserts which, though flat to
rolling, are of little agricultural use. Only 11 percent of China is
now under cultivation, and little additional land is physically or
economically suitable to augment this total.
The major mountain systems of China are oriented west to east,
a characteristic that is most pronounced in western China, where
the massive Tien Shan, Kunluns, and Himalayas extend eastward
more than 1,000 miles, In eastern China extensions of these
ranges are often broken and at considerably lower elevations;
nevertheless, they are of sufficient size to form physical barriers to
north-south transport, separate different types of climate and
vegetation, and serve as regional boundaries. The major rivers of
China�the Huang (Yellow), Yangtze, and Hsi�also drain from
west to east. The middle and lower basins of these great rivers
provide the physical framework within which distinctive patterns of
settlement and land use have evolved. In the fertile plains and
valleys of these rivers, separated from one another by hills and
mountains, lies most of the good agricultural land, the bulk of the
rural population, and the more important transportation facilities
and industrial areas.
Population and Ethnic Characteristics�About 95 percent of
China's population lives in the eastern half of the country.
Adequate precipitation for agriculture is the key factor explaining
this east-west population contrast, though high elevations and
steep slopes as well as limited rainfall are contributing factors to
the scanty population of western China. Ethnic contrasts also are
sharp. Almost all of the dominant Han Chinese majority are
concentrated in eastern China; a number of minority groups, of
mostly Mongoloid racial stock, but with distinctive linguistic and
cultural traits, predominate in western China. The political and
economic integration of these diverse peoples of western China
has been a major policy objective of the Chinese leadership.
Regional Divisions�The major regional divisions of China
shown on the map are defined primarily by climatic patterns and
the generally west-to-east alignment of major mountain ranges.
Western China consists of two distinctive regions�the Tibetan
Highlands and the desert basins and desolate mountains of
Sinkiang-Mongolia�which combined comprise slightly more than
half of China's total area but contain only 5 percent of her total
population. High mountains and plateaus, large deserts, and
extensive grasslands are characteristic of these western regions;
only locally do fertile river valleys have sufficient water resources
to support a sedentary agricultural population.
Eastern China includes about 46 percent of the land area of the
country and almost all of the population. It is divided into four
traditional regions�Northeast, North, South, and Southwest
China, each possessing distinctive physical and cultural features.
Cultural variants from region to region, mainly linguistic, are
less important than the common cultural bonds that prevail in
eastern China. The distinctive features of each of the major
regions are examined on subsequent pages of this atlas. The
Inner Mongolia area of Sinkiang-Mongolia is treated as a part
of the North map and text for cartographic convenience.
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PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA 7
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Northeast
Northeast China�the provinces of Heilungkiang, Kirin, and
Liaoning�is the most important industrial region of the country
and a nationally significant and still-developing center of
agricultural production. Most of the Northeast remained largely
unpopulated and unaffected by Han Chinese culture until about a
century ago, although tenuous political ties with China had
existed, specifically with the southernmost sector of the Manchu-
rian Plain, from very early times. It was, in fact, a frontier region
that often served as a base for nomadic invaders who periodic-
ally threatened, and at times controlled, parts of North China.
The severe population pressures in North China during the 19th
and 20th centuries, coupled with periods of Russian and Japa-
nese development, provided the stimuli that finally led to settle-
ment and modern economic development.
The heart of this region is the extensive Northeast or Manchuri-
an Plain, the largest in the country. Almost encircled by hills and
low mountains, it opens only to Po Hai (Gulf of Chihli) in the
southwest and through the restricted Sungari river valley to the
frontier with the USSR in the northeast. Despite frequent spring
droughts and a relatively brief growing season, the Manchurian
Plain is highly productive agriculturally, and it is here that most of
the region's population and economic activity is centered. The
Greater and Lesser Khingan Ranges to the northwest, north, and
northeast and the highland complex of hills and low mountains
adjoining North Korea are economically important because of
their extensive stands of timber and their important coal deposits.
Northeast China contains the best-developed transportation net
in the country. An extensive rail system�the densest in
China�links all of the major population concentrations with
regional market towns, major sources of industrial raw materials,
and fuel resources. Though the initial development of the railroads
dates to earlier periods of Russian and Japanese occupation, they
have been substantially improved by the Chinese in recent years.
Many of the old Japanese lines leading to the Soviet frontier have
been rebuilt, a number of rail lines serving forestry areas have
been expanded, and the capacity of the basic rail net has been
increased. Though more localized, the Sungari river is a regionally
important means of transporting forest and agricultural products.
As the primary industrial region in China, the Northeast owes its
national importance to its superior transportation system, extensive
raw materials and energy sources, as well as to accidents of his-
tory. Most of its extensive industrial development has taken place
during this century, much of it prior to 1945 and under the auspices
of foreign industrial ms. The Chinese have reconstructed and
further developed the industrial base, however, capitalizing at
times on help provided by friendly nations. A recent major
development is the much-heralded and nationally preeminent Ta-
ch'ing oilfield and refinery, located in the northern part of the
Manchurian Plain. Other extensive mineral deposits in the North-
east include large coal deposits. Coal is mined in huge open pits,
as at Fu-shun and Ho-kang, and in large underground complexes
such as those in the Shung-yo-shan area. Other mineral resources
include large, relatively low-grade iron ore deposits around An-
shan, the major iron and steel center in China, and in southwestern
Liaoning there are sizable deposits of molybdenum and smaller
deposits of manganese and other important ferroalloys. Though
magnesite is found in abundance in southern Liaoning, most other
mineral deposits, such as copper and lead, are relatively small.
Important hydroelectric power resources exist, particularly on the
Yalu and Sungari rivers, where several major dams and reservoirs
have been built.
The Northeast also is most typically characterized by its
extensive agricultural development, with orderly farm villages,
cultivated dry fields, and the ubiquitous soybean and grain
storage bins. Most agricultural development has occurred on the
rich dark soils of the central and southern sectors of the Manchu-
rian Plain�but continuing efforts are being made to bring the
more marginal areas of the northern part of the plain under cul-
tivation. Reclamation also has been continuing in poorly drained
tracts along the Amur-Ussuri frontier.
The forests of the Northeast comprise nearly two-thirds of the
nation's forest resources. Lying primarily in the Khingan Ranges,
and to a lesser extent in the southeastern highland complex, these
forests are undergoing intense exploitation by the Chinese, who
are pressed for timber supplies and wood by-products.
Though Northeast China's population is now overwhelmingly
Han Chinese and integrated into the national economy, there are
important minorities, particularly of Korean farmers who live in
valleys close to the Korean border. A few Mongol groups live
partially within and to the west of the Greater Khingan Range.
Manchus, once numerous, are now largely absorbed within
Chinese culture. Though only a few Russians remain, they left an
architectural imprint on the northeastern cities that is visible in the
bulbous spires of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. However, they,
like the Japanese, left their most important legacy in the form of
an impressive industrial and transportation complex.
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Timber operations in the Khingan Mountains. These sparsely populated ranges conta
the largest concentration of timber resources in China. Timber operations are wide-
spread throughout these hills and low mountains and constitute the most character-
istic land use.
Harvesting wheat on the Manchurian Plain. Agricultural production, particularly
of soybeans and dry field grains, is characteristic of the plain. Its extensive
level land is more adaptable to mechanization than are most agricultural areas
in China. The plain has the largest population concentrations in the Northeast.
several important mineral deposits and most of the region's industrial base.
Agricultural valley in the southeastern highlands. Small agricul-
tural valleys, surrounded by hills and low mountains, are focal
points for most of the people and economic activity within the
highland complex. Here, as in the Khingan Mountains, forestry
is economically significant, particularly in the more isolated lo-
cations in the eastern part of the highlands. Though more local-
ized, there are also several areas where mineral exploitation is
the most important economic activity.
NORTHEAST
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11
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North
North China includes the densely populated and intensively
cultivated North China Plain, the loess-covered uplands of Shansi,
northern Shensi, and eastern Kansu, and the sparsely populated,
semiarid steppes of Inner Mongolia. Historically, often-hostile
nomadic groups surged across the steppe to threaten and
occasionally invade the prosperous cities and adjoining rural
districts of North China. Separating these two distinct worlds�the
grasslands from intensively cultivated valleys and plains�is the
Great Wall. The Wall, actually a series of walls built at different
times, was constructed by the Chinese to limit and control contact
between themselves and the "barbarians" of the steppes.
Ancient Chinese civilization began in the Wei Ho Valley and in
contiguous areas of present-day Shensi, Shansi, and Honan; in time
it gradually expanded to incorporate the North China Plain.
Fertile and easily tilled soil, extensive plains, and an adequate
climate (at times marginal in terms of rainfall) proved conducive to
the development of intensive forms of agriculture and relatively
high population densities, The North has been the politically and
culturally dominant region of China throughout most of history,
although recurrent droughts, floods, famines, and periodic
invasions from the northern steppes have from time to time shifted
the political and economic base southward to the middle and
lower Yangtze regions.
The advantages of the North have in recent times been
reasserted and its primacy has been reinforced by a homogeneous
Han Chinese population that shares a common culture and
language, terrain that is suitable for road and rail construction,
and the mineral and power resources needed by modern industry.
Major industrial districts in North China are located in a triangle
formed by the cities of Peking, rang-shan, and Tientsin; at T'ai-
yijan; in northern Honan at Cheng-chou and Lo-yang; and at Pao-
eau. Iron and steel, agricultural machinery, and textiles are some
of the major products. Plentiful supplies of coal, located at
numerous mines that rim the North China Plain, are available;
major iron ore deposits also occur.
West of the North China Plain are the physically diverse lands
of Shensi, Shansi, and eastern Kansu, where almost everywhere
landforms are blanketed by thick layers of fine-grained, yellow
loessial (wind-deposited) soils. The characteristic landscape is one
of steep-sided valleys, gullies, and cliffs, often contoured into even
more intricate forms by man-made terraces. The favorable physi-
cal environment in the loess area nurtured early civilization, but
continuous settlement led to the gradual destruction of the original
cover of grass and forest. Population pressures increased the need
for timber and for additional land to till, thereby accelerating the
physical degradation of a soil highly susceptible to erosion. The
loesslands today are bleak and harsh, overpopulated, and
continually threatened by droughts and crop failure.
North of the Wall is semiarid country that administratively
comprises part of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region as well
as the Ningsia Hui Autonomous Region and northeastern Kansu
Province. Life centers in a few irrigated river valleys and oases and
in the mixed agricultural-pastoral areas that extend
discontinuously from the great bend of the Huang Ho or Yellow
River northeast to the Greater Khingan Mountains. The most
productive agricultural area is based upon irrigation water
obtained from the Yellow River, particularly where it flows through
the desert between Wu-yikin and Pao-t'ou.
The Mongol population of Inner Mongolia is now small and far
outnumbered by Han Chinese. Only a few Mongols still depend
entirely upon animal husbandry for their livelihood; many more
live in fixed settlements where animal husbandry is practiced and
crops are grown. Others have been absorbed into the urban life of
the larger settlements. The Han Chinese are concentrated in a
narrow and irregular band north of the Great Wall. Numerous
state farms have been established in this mixed pastoral-farming
area; many of them are devoted to forage crops grown to sup-
port the important animal husbandry industry.
The Yellow River in a sense links the desert and steppe of Inner
Mongolia and the settled; cultivated plains and hills of North
China south of the Wall. It is one of the great hydrologic problems
of the world, however, and keeping the river under control has
taxed the financial resources and engineering skill of the Chinese
for centuries. The high variability of rainfall in the Yellow River
drainage basin and unchecked erosion are major river-control
factors. Centuries of deposition has raised the streambed above
the surrounding land; consequently, failure to maintain the dikes
can cause the loss of a season's crop in large areas adjacent to the
river. In 1955 a comprehensive Yellow River Plan was announced;
it proposed flood control measures, the production of
hydroelectric power, the provision of irrigation water, and the
improvement of stream navigability. A key project�a major dam
and associated hydroelectric facilities�was begun at Son-men
Gorge, just west of the North China Plain; smaller dams and
reservoirs were constructed upstream to help control runoff,
prevent silting, and provide hydroelectric power. In spite of some
progress in soil conservation, including reforestation, and the
building and maintenance of dikes, the heavy load of silt carried
by the Yellow River apparently has been a major factor preventing
operation of the San-men facilities.
North China is plagued with problems that have arisen out of a
history of intense population pressures upon the region's rich but
fragile agricultural resources. In the past the lack of effective
government controls to preserve these resources led to increased
abuse of the physical environment; highly variable amounts of
rainfall accentuated the problems, causing droughts, floods, and
often famines. The preservation, rebuilding, and harnessing of the
land resources through a variety of land and water conservancy
programs have provided Chinese planners with one of their most
severe tests.
12
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Hydroeiectric power project. San-men Gorge, Huang Ho(Yellow River). The control
of the Huang Ho has been a continuous problem for Chinese planners for centuries
The building of a darn and power station at San-men Gorge was the beginning of a
comprehensive plan for flood control, power production. irrigation, and navigation of
the Huang Ho. The dam was completed in 1962 but, because of excessive silting,
the power piant has never been operative.
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on the inne� Morool.ar. stepoe. The yurt. a por'..able Mongol louse. is a
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ioE,ss areas beaving aii available fiat and for cultivation
NORTH
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South
South China comprises the drainage basins of the middle and
lower Yangtze River, the basin of the :Hsi Chiang (West River) in
Kwangtung and Kwangsi, and the mountainous coastal provinces
of Fukien and Chekiang. The division between the North and
South, the two most important regions in China, is sharp and
distinct in the west, where hills and mountains act as a barrier to
movement and form a significant climatic divide. In the east,
however, where alluvial plains of the North and the South merge,
topographic distinction between the major regions does not exist.
Instead, the regional division occurs in a zone characterized by
gradually increased precipitation and temperature from north to
south, and by the transition in cropping patterns from wheat to
rice.
The ethnic and linguistic pattern of South China is complex,
being the product of repeated migrations and much local
isolation. No other part of China, except the Southwest, has such a
confusion of ethnic groups and dialects. Until about two thousand
years ago South China was inhabited largely by non-Chinese
tribes. Newcomers from the north repeatedly pushed the non-
Chinese into the more inaccessible areas, and sometimes the
newcomers themselves were later pushed into isolated areas by
subsequent migrants from the north. Even after the region was
fully incorporated into China in the third century A.D., newcomers
escaping alien oppression or famine in various parts of North
China continued to settle in South China, where the hilly and
mountainous terrain served to perpetuate and accentuate their
ethnic variations. Today Cantonese-speaking people prevail in
southern Kwangtung and eastern Kwangsi, and they comprise the
largest non-Mandarin-speaking Han Chinese ethnolinguistic group
in South China.
Widely diverse landscapes, ranging from monotonously flat
and densely populated lowlands to sparsely populated hills and
mountains, characterize the South. Although the uplands make up
more than 80 percent of the total land surface, the core of South
China is the fertile Yangtze Plain�often divided into middle and
lower parts. The Yangtze Plain exhibits a coherence not found in
other parts of the region: the majority of South China's population
is located on or near it; it contains nearly all of the region's major
manufacturing centers; and it is the most prosperous part of South
China, producing more wealth than the rest of the region
combined. The Yangtze Plain is highly irregular in shape and
stretches inland some 600 miles before terminating at the steep-
faced Wu Shan (mountains), guarding the entrance to the
Szechwan Basin.
About 70 percent of the Yangtze Plain is cultivated; an immense
agricultural output is obtained by using intensive production
techniques, including multiple cropping. Rice is the major crop and
it has long been the primary commercial grain; the other main
crop is winter wheat. Although most of the Yangtze Plain is
already under cultivation, land reclamation projects are adding
materially to the area available for crops. Most of this activity
centers on the Plain's marginal lakes the Tung-t'ing, P/o-yang,
and T'ai�and on coastal tracts reclaimed from the sea.
The wide, navigable waters of the Yangtze River penetrate
deeply into an immensely productive interior, providing an
efficient avenue of east-west communication that helps to unite the
lowlands and facilitates the exchange of commodities. A number
of China's major cities are located along the Yangtze Plain. Wu-
han, consisting of the tri-city conurbation of Han-k'ou, Wu-ch'ang,
and Han-yang, is an important industrial center that occupies a
strategic location, controlling inland waterway, road, and railroad
transport over the middle Yangtze Plain. Shanghai, China's largest
industrial and commercial metropolis and the country's most
important port, lies near the mouth of the lower Yangtze River. It is
a city with a wide range of heavy and light industries, and it is
especially noted for textiles, iron and steel, and shipbuilding.
The coastal zone south of the Yangtze is the only section of
China that has a long tradition of interest in seafaring. Rivers here
are short and swift, unnavigable, and without extensive
floodplains. Each basin constitutes a unit isolated from other
basins, except on the seaward side, and agriculture is restricted to
small and scattered lowlands. Population pressure on the limited
arable land, the presence of numerous protected coves and
harbors in the deeply indented coast, and abundant forest
resources have combined to give fishing and coastal trading an
important place in the traditional life of the region.
The Nan Ling (southern mountains) form a watershed be-
tween the tributaries of the Yangtze and those of the Hsi Chiang
and lesser rivers flowing to the South China Sea; at the same time
they form a climatic divide that shelters the region to the south
from cold northern air masses in the winter. South of the divide
hills predominate, and there is little level land. To the west the hills
merge with the Yunnan-Kweichow Plateau of Southwest China in
an area of striking karst topography, where steep-sided hills and
grotesque pinnacles rise abruptly from small plains. In the east,
from eastern Kwangtung to Chekiang, deeply dissected hills
extend to the very coast of the South China Sea, producing an
irregular coastline characterized by promontories, protected bays,
and numerous offshore islands.
The principal river south of the Nan Ling is the Hsi Chiang, which
rises in the highlands of eastern Yunnan and southern Kweichow. It
flows eastward into Kwangtung, where it merges with the Pei
Chiang (North River) and the Tung Chiang (East River) to form the
Canton Delta�the most densely populated area of South China
and one of the most highly developed agricultural areas in the
world. The Canton Delta, also known as the Pearl River Delta,
consists of fertile alluvium and a maze of distributaries and man-
made canals. Not all of the delta is actually level; numerous hills of
red sandstone have been enveloped, but not covered, by the
advancing alluvium. Canton, which is situated at the northern edge
of the delta, is the economic focus, principal population center,
and leading manufacturing center south of the Nan Ling. Major
industries include shipbuilding, steel manufacture, sugar refining,
and food canning.
In most of southernmost China two crops of rice are grown
every year, and in the Canton Delta and on Hainan Island three
crops a year can be produced. Sweet potatoes, which are grown
an drier lands, are also a major food crop. 5ugarcane is a
particularly important crop in the Canton Delta, and Kwangtung
Province is mainland China's leading sugar producer. The Nan
ling and the hills to the south contain a wide variety of ores, and
small mines are scattered throughout the region. Most of the mines
are of the open-pit type. Principal mineral resources include
tungsten, antimony, manganese, oil shale, iron, tin, and coal.
16
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Karst ( limestone ) landscape
in western Kwangsi Province.
A major category of Chinese
painting, known as shan shui
(mountain and water 1, often
depicts bizarre landscapes
of pinnacles and steep-sided
hills protruding above mist-en-
shrouded lowlands Many of
the paintings are inspired by
the unusual terrain of northern
and western Kwangsi and adja-
cent southern Kweichow.
Rice fields on reclaimed land near Tung-t'ing Hu (Lake) in
Hunan Province. Drained and cultivated, these fertile low-
land tracts can be very productive. Double-cropping is prac-
ticed in this area, with winter wheat usually following rice.
The reclaimed areas often serve as models.
Floating small logs downstream in Kwangtung
Province. In South China bamboo rafts provide
the most common means of transporting fell-
ed timber to the nearest sawmill or railroad.
The rafts can generally be used the year round.
Similar rafts carry passengers and local produce.
Experimental tea farm near Hang-chou, Chekiang
Province. China's most important tea-producing
regions are in Chekiang, and the province normal-
ly leads all others in total output
Agricultural lowland in Fukien Province. Level land is found only in
the small deltas and in small and scattered lowlands of each stream
basin, but fertile alluvium and a long growing season make these
lowlands highly productive. As shown here, adjoining valley sides
may be terraced for rice where soil and sufficient water are available
SOUTH
17
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SOUTH
19
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Southwest
Southwest China includes the Szechwan Basin and the
Yunnan�Kweichow Uplands�two contrasting regions that differ
in physical character, historical development, and in population
density and composition. They are alike, however, in that they
share a common disadvantage�separation from eastern China
by vast distances and difficult terrain. Their consequent isolation,
modified only by limited transport, has complicated their economic
and political integration into the mainstream of the nation.
The Szechwan Basin�sometimes called the Red Basin because
of the predominant color of its soil�is surrounded by mountains
and drained by four major tributaries of the Yangtze (the name
Szechwan, in fact, means "four rivers" in Chinese). One of the
most densely settled and productive agricultural regions of China,
it has hot summers, mild winters, and adequate rainfall for an
almost year-round growing season. Much of the land in the Basin
is hilly�a notable exception being the Ch'eng-tu Plain�but
many slopes are gentle and easily terraced; approximately 35
percent of the total area is under cultivation.
Ch'eng-tu, located in the most productive agricultural part of
the Basin, was established as Szechwan's political and cultural
center by about 300 B.C. The Ch'eng-tu Plain and the city of
Ch'eng-tu mirror the agricultural systems and urban designs of
early North China civilization. As a result of this contact with the
north and subsequent Han settlement, the Szechwan Basin from
early times has had a large Han Chinese population, but because
of its insular location, the Basin has remained a distinctive region
that has historically maintained at various times considerable
administrative independence.
The Yunnan�Kweichow Uplands include most of the provinces
of Yunnan and Kweichow as well as the mountains of southern
Szechwan. Interspersed within the rugged, sparsely inhabited
highlands are numerous saucer-shaped and densely populated
intermontane basins. The high proportion of steep slopes and high
elevations has restricted the amount of cultivated land to only 10
percent of the total, although reclamation of fertile lake basins in
central Yunnan and the terracing of forested highland areas are
expanding the cultivated area.
Large-scale Han Chinese settlement of the Yunnan�Kweichow
Plateau did not begin until the Ming rulers (1368-1644 A.D.)
encouraged people in the area of the Yangtze Delta to migrate
into Yunnan and Kweichow. As the Chinese expanded into the
fertile basins of the uplands, they displaced indigenous ethnic
groups, forcing them to migrate into remote valleys and highlands.
Despite a large influx of Han Chinese in recent decades, the
provinces of Yunnan and Kweichow still have large numbers of
these minority peoples, who comprise an estimated 30 percent of
the population. In each of these provinces much effort has been
directed toward political and economic integration of these
minority groups.
The modern economic development of Southwest China began
shortly after the eruption of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937. As the
Chinese Nationalists retreated into the Southwest, they brought
industrial plants piecemeal from eastern China; some
indispensable parts of the Chinese machine industry, for example,
were moved from Shanghai and Han-krou into K'un-ming and
Ch'ung-ch'ing (Chungking), which become the wartime capital. By
1938 K'un-ming had doubled and Kuei-yang, the capital of
Kweichow, tripled in population. The relocation of industry to the
Southwest rather than to the Northwest was largely determined
by the extent, relative location, and quality of coal and iron ore
deposits. The movement of the industries and the subsequent
migration of students, craftsmen, skilled labor, and technicians laid
the foundation for the industrial expansion that has taken place in
Southwest China since 1950.
The key to economic development of the Southwest has been
the construction of transportation lines that link areas of heavy
industry to their sources of raw materials and to the markets of
eastern China. Szechwan was the focus of early railroad
construction, initially with the linking by rail in 1952 of its two
major industrial cities�Ch'eng-tu and Ch'ung-ch'ing. The first
external rail link from the province was completed in 1956 when
Pao-chi, located in the Wei Ho Valley to the north, was connected
to Ch'eng-tu. Subsequently, several other railroads have been
built that connect the three provinces of the Southwest and serve
the developing heavy industrial areas around Kuei-yang, K'un-
ming, and Ch'ung-ch'ing. In addition, numerous roads have been
built, particularly in the frontier regions of Yunnan bordering
Burma and Laos.
The economic development of Yunnan and Kweichow and the
increase in the Han Chinese population of these provinces have
resulted in further political and cultural pressures upon the
numerous non-Han Chinese ethnic groups. A measure of autonomy
for these minority nationalities exists in the form of sub-provincial
autonomous administrative units. They have been established over
large areas of Yunnan, where the greatest variety of ethnic groups
is found and where minorities form a proportionately larger
percentage of the population. The heaviest concentrations of Han
Chinese are found in the larger lake basins around K'un-ming and
Ta-li; their numbers decrease to the south and west. The Chinese
have traditionally shunned the tropical valleys and basins of
southern Yunnan and have been equally deterred by the rugged
mountain lands to the west. Although the Chinese appear to have
succeeded in pacifying most of the southwestern borderlands,
some minorities, particularly along the Burma border, with long
traditions of independence and anti-Chinese attitudes, still hinder
total political consolidation of the Southwest.
20
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Cotton drying in Szechwan. This province produces 90
percent of the cotton grown in Southwest China. Most
of the crop is raised in the northwest portion of the
Szechwan Basin, and many of the cotton textile mills
are located in Ch'eng-tu.
Plowing in Kweichow Province. A green
manure crop is being plowed under in
the preparation of the field for rice.
Kweichow. traditionally one of the poorest
and most backward provinces in China.
is mostly hilly and mountainous with only
isolated and scattered small basins suited
for agriculture.
A section of the Pao-cheng railroad
between Pao-chi and Ch'eng-tu. The
railroad traverses the rugged west-
ern extensions of the Tsinling and
Ta-pa ranges. The completion of the
line in 1956 ended the isolation of
Szechwan and opened the Szechwan
Basin to economic exploitation.
Terracing in the Szechwan Basin. Most of the Szechwan Basin is hilly, but
fertile and easily tilled soils throughout the lowlands and on the slopes, a
near year-round growing season, and usually adequate precipitation make
this one of China's most productive agricultural regions.
SOUTHWEST
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
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SOUTHWEST
23
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Sinkiang
Sinkiang is a vast region of deserts and high mountains, lightly
populated and largely undeveloped. Mountains rim the province
on three sides, and the west-to-east trending ranges of the Tien
Shan separate the two major physical regions�the Dzungarian
Basin, with its deserts and steppe lands to the north, and the larger
and more arid Tarim Basin in the south. Sinkiang occupies a pivotal
position in Central Asia, and it shares an 1,800-mile-long
boundary with the Soviet Union. The Chinese have throughout
history tried, by direct or indirect means, to prevent the region
from falling into potentially hostile hands by controlling key areas
and routes within it.
Perhaps in no other part of China is the overworked expression,
"land of extremes and paradoxes," more appropriate than in
Sinkiang. In area the province comprises one-sixth of China, but in
population it accounts for barely one percent of the total.
Temperatures may reach 130�F. in the Turfan Depression, while on
the steppes of Dzungaria, lows of �40�F. have been recorded.
Sinkiang contains China's lowest and driest areas; the Turfan
Depression is 505 feet below sea level; and at Charkhlik
(Jo-chlang) in the southern Tarim Basin, the annual precipita-
tion averages only one-fifth of an inch. Sinkiang's yearly
precipitation is inadequate for agriculture, yet some of its
oasis agricultural products�Ha-mi melons and Turfan seedless
grapes and dried fruits�are renowned throughout China.
Although Sinkiang is physically isolated by mountains, deserts,
and sheer distance, routes crossing it served for centuries as
China's major means of contact with the rest of the world.
The Tarim Basin is Sinkiang's most striking physical feature.
Sharply defined by encircling mountains, it comprises just over half
of the provincial area. It is almost devoid of vegetation. The bare,
shifting sands of the Takla Makan Desert and the salt wastes of
Lop Nor account for over one-third of its area. Ribbons of poplars,
willows, and often lush undergrowth along the water courses give
way to drought- and salt-resistant grass and scrub as the streams
thin and disappear into the desert sands. Dry river channels are
marked by dead forests and cone-shaped mounds of sand,
formed and held in place by dead tamarisk bushes. Nevertheless,
life exists along the channels of the Yarkand-Tarim River that
winds across the western and northern rim of the Basin and at the
base of the encircling mountains where streams spill out in fan-
shaped form to create oases of great fertility. Dependable sup-
plies of water in these oases are obtained from streams that are
fed by snowmelt in the high mountains.
The Tarim oases are populated primarily by Uighurs, people of
Turkic stock. Over the centuries they have built intricate systems of
canals and dug wells to supply water for fields in which various
grains, fruit, vegetables, and cotton are grown. Agricultural areas
have expanded in recent years, particularly along the Basin's
northern margin, where a growing number of earthen dams on the
Tarim River provide water for irrigation, drinking, and fish culture.
Northern Sinkiang, comprised principally of the Dzungarian
Basin and the Tien Shan, has traditionally been an area inhabited
by nomadic herdsmen. An average of 10 inches of precipitation
annually, with somewhat higher amounts in the mountains,
produces extensive grasslands that enable Kazakh, Mongol, and
Kirghiz herders to graze large numbers of sheep, cattle, and
horses. Dry farming, with wheat and other grains predominating,
is practiced in parts of the Dzungarian Basin. Extensive irrigated
tracts also are present. The Ma-na-ssu (Manas) River, which flows
northward from the Tien Shan into the Basin, is the site of a major
irrigation scheme that provides water for the cultivation of wheat,
cotton, sugar beets, and rice.
Important oil discoveries have been made at Karamai and Tu-
shan-tzu in the Dzungarian Basin. The economic base also has
been enlarged through the construction of a number of
manufacturing plants, mostly in and near Urumchi. Included in the
industrial complex are an iron and steel works and factories
producing cement, farm machinery, fertilizers, and textiles. In
addition there are tanneries, rendering plants, and fruit-and-
vegetable canning centers. A number of mines of local importance
also have been opened.
The oases located both north and south of the Takla Makan
Desert were stopping points for travelers of the ancient Silk Route
that led from China through Central Asia and eventually to
Europe. The alignments of the Silk Route remain today as a major
segment of southern Sinkiang's roadnet, improved in places by
grading and gravel, but in many places poorly maintained and ill
defined. A number of new roads, however, have been built,
particularly those providing access to sensitive and strategic
frontier areas�most notably in northern Sinkiang adjacent to the
Soviet frontier. A significant transportation development was the
completion of the Trans-Sinkiang Railroad to Urumchi in the early
1960's, which finally connected Sinkiang by rail to the rest of
China. Although originally scheduled to extend west and connect
with the Soviet rail system at Druzhba at the border, the linkup has
not been completed because of the dispute between the two great
powers.
Since 1953, and particularly since 1960, Peking has sent
massive numbers of Han Chinese, both workers and party cadres,
to Sinkiang to help develop the province. Many have been placed
in the Production and Construction Corps, a paramilitary
organization now under the People's Liberation Army, which is
assigned major land reclamation and water conservancy projects.
The influx of Han Chinese has drastically altered the traditional
population balance of the region, in which the Uighurs and other
non-Han Chinese groups for outnumbered the Han. Of the 8 to 10
million people in Sinkiang today, perhaps as many as two-fifths
are Han Chinese.
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
A pass (elevation 15,600 feet) in the barren
Kunlun Mountains along Sinkiang's southern
border. Melt water derived from the snow-
capped summits feeds this meandering stream,
a tributary of the Yarkand river. The Yarkand
is being increasingly used for irrigation be-
fore emptying into Lop Nor, 1000 miles away.
A Chinese geological survey party in the Takla such terrain. A northeast wind constantly shifts
Makan Desert. This team of geologists is using the sand, forming it into classic examples of
the most efficient form of surface transport for ripple and crescent-shaped dunes.
Kazakh herdsmen grazing their flocks The scene
is in the Altai Mountains near the Mongolian border
where precipitation is sufficient to support luxuriant
grasslands and occasional stands of coniferous forests.
Members of the Sinkiang Production and Construction Corps clear land in the
Tarim Basin preparatory to planting. The dead trees and undergrowth being
removed are the remains of a dense poplar-willow-tamarisk jungle that once
flourished along the banks of a now dry stream channel. Live trees and bushes
in the background indicate an active watercourse.
A vineyard in the Turfan Oasis, southeast of Urumchi
Raisin-curing flues are on the slopes in the background.
Many kinds of fruit and long staple cotton thrive in
this area of arid conditions, high temperatures, and
long growing season.
SINKIANG
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
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\ Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
200 Kdometers
SINKIANG:
27
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Tibetan Highlands
The Tibetan Highlands, containing more than one-fourth the
area of China but less than one percent of the population, is the
highest and most extensive plateau on earth. It is the mother of
many rivers: its eastern slopes are the sources of the Huang Ho,
Yangtze, Mekong and Salween; along its southern edge are the
sources of the Indus, Sutlej, and Brahmaputra (Tsangpo). Rimmed
by even higher mountain ranges, this region's physical seclusion
has produced a unique civilization relatively unchanged by outside
forces until the Chinese occupation in 1951. The region is the
homeland of the Tibetan peoples, who ethnically predominate
almost everywhere in the Highlands, parts of which ore now
incorporated into the provinces of Tsinghai, Szechwan, and
Yunnan. The southern half of the region, designated as the Tibetan
Autonomous Region by the Chinese, coincides territorially with the
former extent of the political entity of Tibet. This vast region
traditionally was held together by three unifying influences: a form
of Buddhism administered from Lhasa through numerous powerful
monasteries; a common written form of the various dialects of the
Tibetan language; and the propensity of Tibetans to be traders.
The Highlands comprise three natural divisions: the Chlang-
t'ang (north plain); the populous cultivated valleys of the south
and southeast; and a large peripheral area in the east and
northeast. The arid, wind-swept Ch'iang-t'ang�bounded by the
Kunlun, Karakoram, and Kailas mountain ranges and by the high
grasslands of Tsinghai�is a gigantic basin of internal drainage; its
surface, almost everywhere 3 miles high, is a complex of mountain
ranges, broad valleys, and plains that are liberally strewn with
lakes varying in degree of salinity. Life is sustained by meager
short grasses and by fresh water supplied from springs or from
melting snow and ice. In the southern part of the Ch'iang-fang,
the Tibetan nomads tend herds of yaks, sheep, and goats;
throughout the uninhabited northern part there are only large
numbers of wild yaks, antelope, and assorted predators.
Elsewhere the scanty population�both Tibetan and Chinese�is
concentrated in the far west, principally in a few ancient
settlements in the Indus and Solej valleys. Although the Chinese
mission in western Tibet is primarily military, they have taken over
much of the area's agricultural and sheep breeding activities.
The populous cultivated valleys in the south and southeast are
located at elevations generally below 12,000 feet, At the lower
elevations pockets of rich loam and somewhat greater
precipitation permit a limited amount of agriculture. The Tsangpo
Valley, together with its tributary valleys, is the heartland of Tibet.
Over the centuries it was the focus of ancient trade routes from
India, China, and Central Asia. Lhasa, the capital, formerly was
also the residence of the Dalai Lama, who headed the religious-
civil government in Tibet. Until recently, farmers, traders, and
monks inhabited the cultivated valleys, while nomads roamed the
surrounding grasslands at higher elevations. Under the Chinese,
trade has been sharply curtailed and the monks have fled or been
eliminated. The major centers of population other than Lhasa are
Jih-k'a-tse and Chiang-tzu, southwest of Lhasa, Ch'ang-tu in the
Mekong Valley of eastern Tibet, and the new Chinese-built town of
Lin-chih, located in southeastern Tibet. Chinese military and
administrative personnel are stationed in these key areas, where
small-scale industrialization and the expansion of cultivated areas
are being undertaken on a very limited basis.
The third natural division of the Tibetan Highlands consists of
the old Tibetan districts of Amdo, now the province of Tsinghai,
and Kham, now western Szechwan and northwestern
Yunnan�traditionally a region of petty kingdoms and grasslands
controlled by unruly nomadic peoples. Most of Tsinghai is
grassland, and it has a large nomadic population�mainly in the
southeast. But in western Szechwan and northern Yunnan, an area
of rugged mountain ranges, separated by deep valleys and
narrow canyons, there is little grazing land and few upland valleys
that are suitable for agriculture. The people here (Khambas) are
fierce, brigandish warriors, who stoutly resisted the Chinese
invasion and were instrumental in preventing Chinese control of
the area until 1959. Except for industrial development around Hsi-
ning in northeastern Tsinghai and oil exploitation in the Tsaidam
Basin, the Chinese have expended their greatest effort on the
construction and maintenance of access roads to Lhasa and the
other key areas of southern Tibet. This was particularly difficult
through Szechwan where roods had to be built "against the
grain" of the mountain ranges.
The Tibetan Highlands, because of their remoteness and difficult
access, have yielded limited economic returns to China for the
amount of resources invested. Although the Tibetan Highlands are
politically more firmly integrated with China than at any other time
in history, control and administration of this region have been
difficult to achieve and occasional acts of Tibetan resistance still
are recorded.
28
pproved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Ganden Monastery near Lhasa. This monastery, one of the
largest and most important In Tibet, was gutted and its
contents destroyed by the Chinese as an aftermath of the
1959 revolt. It Is now used as the central granary for stor-
ing grain from all parts of the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
All of the monasteries, except a few preserved as "show
places," have suffered similar treatment by the Chinese In
their attempt to eradicate religion In Tibet. The buildings
are rarely destroyed, however, because they are useful for
offices, barracks, prisons, or storage.
Valley west of Lhasa. The stacked grain is barley, the principal grain crop In farms, agriculture continues in the old patterns. Here Chinese plows and dzo
Tibet. Ground and mixed with butter and tea, It becomes tsampa, the staple (a yak-cattle hybrid), traditional draft animals of Tibet, are being used. Grain
Of the Tibetan diet. Although the Chinese have instituted a few experimental Is still winnowed by hand, as indicated by the cloud of chaff in background.
Tibetan nomad camp near Na-ch'U on the high plateau north of Lhasa. No-
mads have only one variety of sheep; they are longer legged and have coar-
ser wool than other varieties of Tibetan sheep found at lower elevations.
These pasturage sheep are used both for wool and as pack animals; they
can carry a 30-pound toad for great distances. Salt from the old lake beds
on the Ch'iang-t'ang is transported down to trading centers where the
sheep are unloaded and sheared and the salt and wool are bartered.
The town of Lin-chih in southeastern Tibet. The tributary valley
of the Tsangpo in which it is located is below 10,000 feet and
receives considerable rainfall. Slopes are covered with shrubs
and trees, most of which are suitable for timber. The valley is
among the most productive in Tibet, and along with similar
valleys to the east, has a physical environment that is more
hospitable for the Han Chinese than are the higher, drier, and
more barren parts of Tibet.
Valley south of Tee-tang. This valley, one of the
many tributary valleys of the Tsangpo, is typical
of the cultivated valleys of southern Tibet. The
slopes here are more barren of vegetation than
those in southeastern Tibet, but the valley floors
are equally as fertile The tree clusters, some of
which are fruit trees, mark the location of houses
and monasteries. Barley, and maize, along with
hardy vegetables, are grown.
TIBETAN HIGHLANDS
29
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Administrative Divisions
The administrative structure of the People's Republic of China
(PRC) was established by the Constitution adopted at the First
National People's Congress in September 1954. The accompany-
ing table, Administrative Divisions, lists the number of adminis-
trative subdivisions, at various levels, within the 21 provinces, the
five autonomous regions, and the three municipalities directly
under Central Government control.
Administrative Changes (1949-58)�The political structure
inherited by the PRC in 1949 had experienced considerable stress
during the preceding decodes of civil unrest, warlordism, foreign
occupation, and civil war. In many remote frontier provinces, local
administration had even supplanted national control. The country
then consisted of 35 provinces, including Tibet but excluding
Taiwan. Between 1949 and 1958 considerable reorganization of
the provincial structure occurred, involving mainly the abolition of
provinces principally in the Northeast and the incorporation of
their territory into adjacent provinces. Numerous but minor
readjustments of provincial boundaries were also made during this
time period.
Autonomous Administrative Units�Nearly 60 percent of
China is inhabited by various non-Han Chinese ethnolinguistic
groups, and the provinces in which they predominate have been
redesignated as "autonomous regions." Autonomy, as conceived
by the PRC, is not outside the Chinese tradition. Essentially it
involves symbolic cultural indulgence of local minorities, along with
the appointment of local people who are sufficiently reliable to
assure effective administration of Peking's policies. Autonomous
regions were established in Inner Mongolia, Kwangsi, Sinkiang,
and Ningsia between 1947 and 1958. Tibet did not gain full-
fledged status as an autonomous region until 1965, when its
rebellious people were finally judged to be sufficiently under
Chinese control to permit such a step. In the five autonomous
regions, the non-Chinese peoples outnumber the Han only in Tibet
and Sinkiang. An autonomous structure at subprovincial and lower
administrative levels also occurs in some parts of other provinces
inhabited by sizable numbers of non-Chinese peoples.
Administrative Changes (1959-71)�During the last
decade, the first-order administrative structure has remained
comparatively stable. The number of administrative units directly
under central control has been increased by one, some provincial
boundaries have been realigned, and a provincial capital has been
relocated.
The addition of one first-order administrative unit, directly
under central control, occurred with the re-elevation in 1967 of
Tientsin (T'ien-chin) to a province-level municipality on a par with
Peking and Shanghai. No official announcement giving the date of
this action is known. Concurrent with the elevation of Tientsin to its
new status was the relocation of the Hopeh Province capital from
Tientsin to Shih-chia-chuang, some 160 miles southwest of Peking.
During 1969 a series of administrative changes appear to have
occurred in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (IMAR).
Several special district-level units (meng) in the east were
apparently taken from IMAR and subordinated to Heilungkiang,
Kirin, and Liaoning provinces. About two-thirds of western IMAR
was detached, part being assigned to Kansu and part
subordinated to the Ningsia Hui Autonomous Region. There has
been neither a formal publication of these boundary changes nor
an official pronouncement concerning the administrative structure
of the area retained as IMAR. These changes were apparently
motivated by heightened tensions and border incidents along the
Sino-Soviet border in 1969 and by the consequent need for a
simplified and centrally controlled military defense system
opposite the sensitive and strategic border with Mongolia and the
USSR. Aside from the military implications, the shifting of
subprovincial units to adjacent provinces has probably simplified
administration and tightened political control.
At lower administrative levels changes have been more
numerous and frequent, particularly in the wake of the
administrative confusion caused by the creation of communes after
1958. The administrative organization was further upset and
possibly modified by the Cultural Revolution (1966-69).
Administrative Divisions
Province Level'
(First Order) (Intermediate) (Second Order)
Suborovince Level b County Level
Province
Auton.
Chou
Special
District
Munici- Munici-
pality ;Why
County
Autom
County
Anhwei
9
6
2
70
Chekiang
8
3
63
Fukien
7
2
4
62
Heilungkian
6
a
1
64
1
Honan
10
3
11
110
Hopei
10
1
a
142
2
Hunan
9
2
5
84
4
Hupeh
a
2
3
72
Kansu
2
8
2
2
66
Kiangsi
6
2
s
80
Kiangsu
8
7
4
64
Kirin d
1
5
2
7
36
2
Kwangtung
1
7
1
9
94
3
Kweic how
2
5
1
3
69
9
Liaoning d
4
10
41
2
Shansi
5
3
1
96
Shantung
9
4
5
107
She
8
1
3
93
Szechwan
3
12
3
5
181
3
Tsinghai
6
1
32
5
Yunnan
8
7
2
2
107'
15
Autonomous Region
Inner Mongolia
75
2
874h
3
Kwangsi Chuang
8
6
72
Ningsia Hui d
1
2
16
Sinkiang Uighur
6
2
2
73
6
Tibet
5
1
70
Municipality
Peking
Shanghai
10
Tientsin
Total
29
178
79
90
2,057
69
a The country r divided into 29 first-order units-21 provinces (anon), 5 autonomous tegiuns
(tzutchih' chon), and 3 municipalities (shin)�directly under the central authority.
b At the subprovince (intermediate) level, provinces and autonomous regrons are citvided
into special districts (chtien-atS0) or autonomous ultou (tzu-chin chod). A number
of Municipaqttes aisa exist St This level,
c Co unties (hulas) are the basic sacendtorder unit. Other second-order units include
autonomous haien (tzutchih Osten) and hsien-level shit), The term hsien is normally
used instead of its English equivalent
d Subprovinciat telefs do not rot/eat changes caused by the presumed reapportionment and
realignment of the Inner Mongolian Autonomems Region OMAR) because of lack of data,
e fiwangtung has an atypical unit�administrative district (hsingrcheng ch'n)�comprising
the iserld of Hainan, It functions as the top administrative organization of the island.
f Includes one tows (Oen) in Yunnan that functions et the second-order hsien leel,
g The subprovince level unit in /MAR is officially designated as league (mertgii.
h Includes 52 hamlets (chi), a helen-fevel unit in 'MAR.
t !MAR autonomous Osten-level unit is termed train/7in chi,
j Hslen information unavailable,
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HEILUNGKIANG
Province-level Administrative Divisions
Province
t Autonomous region
Municipality
Conventional
Anhwei
Chekiang
Fukien
Heilongkiang
Hon an
Hopeh
Hunan
Hupeh
Inner Mongolia
Kansu
Kiangsi
Kiangsu
Kirin
Kwangsi
Kwangtung
Guide to Pronunciation of Major Administrative Divisions
Wade-Giles
Romanization
An- hui ahn - way
Che - chiang Luh - jee_ong
Fu -chien too - jee_en
Hei- lung - chiang hay - loong jee_iong
Ho - nen huh-non
Ho - pei huh bay
Hu - nan hoc-non
Hu - pei hoo -bay
Nei - meng - ku nay - mung - goo
Kan -su gahn - soo
Chiang - hsi jee_ong -she
Chiang - su jee_ong-soo
Chi- lin jee - lynn
Kuang - hsi g wong - she
Kuang -tung g wong - doong
Pronunciation
estern
&louse"
cu
e Sea"
/"Honorabld�'
...,Distect
o (Cu, cnvo)
e
a Eau
"River West-
I"Prosperi
Found"
Terf ace
Peac&u Honor"
Au; .;;;;+)
Chinese place names may take on picturesque qualities
when rendered in literal translation. This view of China
from the east suggests the geographic origins of many of
the ancient province names. Geographic features frequently
comprising elements of place names include: pei- north, nan -
south, tung - east, hsi- west, ho and chiang - river, hu -lake,
and shan- mountain.
Kweichow
Liaoning
Ningsia
Peking
Shanghai
Shansi
Shantung
Shensi
Sinkiang
Szechwan
Tibet
Tientsin
Tsinghai
Yunnan
New Fro t
Kuei- chou g vvay joe
Liao - ning lee_ow-fling
Ning - hsia fling - she_ah
Pei - ching bay - jing
Shang � hai shong - hi
Shari-hsi shahn - she
Shan - tung shahn - doong
Shen-hsi shun -she
Hsin chiang shin - jee_ong
Ssu ch'uan ssu ch_wan
Hsi - tsang she - dzong
Tien � chin teen - jin
Ch'ing hai ching- hi
YOn nan y_oon - non
k Dragon Riv
,ung-,-tpa
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ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
33
Administrative Divisions
SINKIANG UIGHUR
AUTONOMOUS REGION
HAI-H.51 MONGOL-TIBETAN-KAZAKH
SINGHA,1
(
Yli-5111,1 TIBETAN
AUTONOMOUS REGION
Province-level boundary
Subprovince-level boundary
11111 Shih (municipality)
Chuan-ch'ii (special district)
Tzu-chih-chou (autonomous district)
Hsing-cheng-ch'U (administrative district)
Meng (league)
Area under direct province-level administration
NOTE: in i969, four Meng of the Inner Mango.Iron Autonomous Region were trans-
ferred, ln whale or in port, to achararna provinces. Their nornes or type of
trarn, unre are not known.
Limits of Viro�kong, Chia-mu-ssu, Shuanu-yo-shon, Chi-hsi, trod Mu-ton-chiono
Municipalities in Heilungkiong end Shih-chio-chuany Municipality in hiPpeh
are not known.
090
Scale 1:10,000.000
200 300
490
500 Miles
0 100 200 300 400 500 KilorrielerS
NO,'i-t,airml t106Pld� nil ale not n,c,ssal.ly authoe,latwe
34
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AN
ETV!.
NINGSIA
I
A 14
14:."1:tu
ECHWAN
Tru.konsit
n-en lag
A N
S H
!
srsulAsf.1
kftftClitqi
411hpeleigoi
KWANd�Si CHUANG.
AUTONOMOUS REGION
irownisig -
PEI<
MUNICt
1ENTS:N
ICIPALtTY
HOPEH
r!,
tsao�chu
A N
_
HONG
KONG
MACAO (U.K.)
(Port)
.;; Yhtg-Vou
it�yint-kang
-
K IAN GS U
'1..ch't�ha�orts
-1
r .
_wilan�t'uho
-
NIng-pie
HEK ANG
Vtow.oh
oy
-chou
HANGMA:
UNICIPALITY
'hal
/TAIWAN I
Ta-ch'ing and A-lo-eai in Sinkiang are special districts subordinote to Ili
Kazakh Autonomous District.
* 14e.-nan Li-Mioo in Kruanptung is on autonomous district suborchnote to Hainan
Using-droop-ch.�.
YEN-Pith
If GIRDS"!
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ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
35
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Population
Nearly one-fourth of the people of the world live in the People's
Republic of China. The number is speculative because official
population data have not been announced for more than a
decade. Estimates of the total population, therefore, vary
widely�from approximately 750 million to nearly 900 million�
and reflect alternative projections from the 583 million people
officially reported by the 1953 census.
Population density varies strikingly, with the greatest contrasts
being between the eastern and western halves of the country. The
high mountains, plateaus, and arid basins of the Tibetan Highlands
and the Sinkiang-Mongolia Region comprise slightly more than 50
percent of the area of China, but this vast territory contains only
about 5 percent of the total population, and large areas are
uninhabited. Sharply contrasting are small nodes of comparatively
high population density in oases areas where dependable amounts
of water are present.
In the eastern half of China population densities generally
range upward from 130 per square mile. Major areas in which the
population density is in excess of 520 persons per square mile
coincide with level-to-rolling alluvial plains on which intensive
agriculture is centered. A major exception is the moderately hilly
Szechwan Basin; it contains little level land, but extensive terracing
and a long growing season permit high rural population densities.
Areas of lower population density in the eastern part of China
usually denote marginal or nonagricultural land.
Urban areas with populations in excess of 50,000 are classified
by size on the map, and a few selected cities with fewer than
50,000 people are shown�principally in western China. An
accurate classification of all urban areas is not possible because of
the lack of data and the very rapid growth of many Chinese cities
during the past decade or so. Approximately 90 percent of the
216 urban centers with populations of 50,000 or more are located
in eastern China; of the 16 cities with populations exceeding 1
million, only Canton is located south of the Yangtze River. This
pattern results in part from the longer period of Han Chinese
settlement and the political and economic primacy of the Yangtze
Valley and the North China Plain, in contrast, most of the
provinces of South China have been more recently settled (in the
long view of Chinese history), and they possess fewer and more
dispersed natural resources sizable enough to support large urban
agglomerations.
Five cities in Northeast China have a population of 1 million or
more�Shen-yang, Chiang-chlun, Fu-shun, la-erh-pin, and LU-
ta�reflecting the development of this region as China's first major
base of heavy industry. To the northwest, the cities of Sian and T'ai-
yLion, each with over 1 million population, have experienced very
rapid growth during the past 15 years, benefiting from Chinese
policies to develop and expand industrial bases in the interior
provinces. Lan-chou, which probably has almost 1 million people,
has also shared in the great industrial expansion of this region.
Other urban concentrations include the large number of cities
located on the North China Plain and the string of Yangtze River
ports and cities located nearby on navigable tributaries.
36
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Cleve!arid
750,903
Irdianapolis
744,624
tvlilwau,ee
717,099
Sa-. Francisco
715.674
San Diego
696,769
Sac Actonio
654.153
Boston
641.071
Population
Per square mile
0 26 260
[11.11
0 10 ioo
Per square kilometer
Sixteen Most Populous Cities
u.s.' Chinab
Shanghai 6.900,000
Peking 4,010,000
Tientsin 3.220,000
Shen-yang 2,411,000
Wu-harr. 2,146.000
Ch'ung-ch'ing 2.121.000
Cantor. 1.840,000
Ha-erti-p.n 1.552,000
WasCi.ciciton, D.C.756,510 Lii-ta 1.508,000
Nan-chicly 1,419,000
Sian 1,310,000
Tsingtao 1,121,000
Ch.e.ng-tu 1.107.000
Taeynac 1.020.000
Fu-shun 1.000.000
Chang-chun 1000.000
New York
7.867,760
Chicago
3.366,957
Li3S Acries
2.816,061
Philadelphia
1.948,609
Detroit
1,511.482
Houston
1,232,802
Baltirro,e
905.759
Dallas
844.401
Censc�s, /970
Othc,a' 1957 estunates based on /953 Census. Mani, c,t,es have
wow!, ,ery rapid:v:n (1,5 /as: decade and CL,' pops1a(ions (nay
be cont,,de�ahly than the tioures shown.
Cities Over One Million
in Population
Area and Population (1957)*
11a-erh-pin,
Ch'ang-chito.
Shen-vang**
Pelong,
Icentssn'
rat-yitan*
Nan-chalq.
.1.71-feng-tu
1.711ung, Wing
Canton
Northeast
Area
Population
Square Miles
Percent of
National Total
Thousands
Percent of
National Total
Heilungkiang
272,300
7.4
16,100
2.5
Kirin
104,900
2.8
13,800
2.1
Liaoning
88,600
2.4
26,100
4.0
North
Honan
64,400
1.8
48,700
7.5
Hopeh and Tientsin Municipality
76,100
2.0
44,700
6.9
Inner Mongolian Auton. Region
163,900
4.4
4,200
.6
Kansu and Ningsia Hui Auton. Region
303,700
8.2
15,100
2.3
Shansi
60,700
1.6
16,000
2.5
Shantung
59,300
1.6
54,000
8.3
Shensi
75,600
2.0
18,100
2.8
Peking Municipality
6,600
0.2
4,000
.6
South
Anhwei
54.000
1.5
33,600
5.2
Chekiang
39,300
1.1
25,300
3.9
Fukien
47,500
1.3
14,700
2.3
Hunan
81,300
2.2
36,200
5.6
Hupeh
72,400
2.0
30,800
4.8
Kiangsi
63,600
1.7
18,600
2.9
Kiangsu
39,500
11
45,200
7.0
Kwangsi Chuang Auton. Region
92,700
2.5
21,400
3.3
Kwangtung
81,700
2.2
35,900
5.6
Shanghai Municipality
2,200
0.1
6,900
1.1
Southwest
Kweichow
67,200
1.8
16,900
2.6
Szechwan
219,700
6.0
72,200
11.2
Yunnan
168,400
4.6
19,100
3.0
Tibetan Highlands
Tibetan Auton. Region
471,700
12.8
1,300
.2
Tsinghai
278,400
7.5
2,100
.3
Sinkiang Uighur Auton. Region
635,800
17.2
5,600
.9
Total
3,691,500
100.0
646,600
100.0
This table is based �pen 1957 eraftmelea, (lie loot �Mc., Adjuat-
ments have been made to reflect post-1957 territorial-administrative changes.
POPULATION
37
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Population
0
�
0
RURAL POPULATION
Persons per square mile
2.6 26 LJO 260 52
10 50 100 2
Persons per square kilometer
URBAN POPULATION
Over 3,000,000
1,000,000-3,000,000
500,000-1,000,000
CI 100,000-500,000
� 50,000- 100,000
� Under 50,000 (selected)
Sca:e i:ionoo.000
190 200 300 400 590 Miles
0 100 200 300 400 500 Kilomelers
Names dr, to�mMamy remesentabon are not necessary authorMatme
pproved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
681- I-86900 01-/ZO/ZZOZ :eseeej J04 08A0JddV
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Ethnolinguistic Groups
Almost all inhabitants of mainland China are of Mongoloid
stock, and ethnic distinctions in the country are largely linguistic
rather than racial. The Han comprise nearly 95 percent of the
population; the remaining 5 percent, consisting of approximately
50 groups, are termed "minority nationalities" by Peking.
Although non-Han peoples are relatively few in number, they are
politically significant; most inhabit strategic frontier territory, and
some have religious or ethnic ties with groups in adjoining nations.
The traditional preponderance of non-Han groups in western
China, however, is lessening because Han Chinese have entered
these remote regions in increasing numbers since 1950.
Major Language Families�Four major language families are
represented in China�the Sino-Tibetan, Altaic, Indo-European,
and Austroasiatic. The Sino-Tibetan family is numerically and
areally the most important, and within it the several languages
and dialects of Chinese predominate. Although unified by
tradition, written language, and many cultural traits, the Han
Chinese speak several mutually unintelligible tongues. Most Han
Chinese use the northern dialect, or one of its variants, commonly
called Mandarin; a national vernacular based on this dialect has
been popularized. Several different Chinese languages are spoken
south of the Yangtze. They include Wu, Hsiang, Kan, Min,
Cantonese, and Hakka, each of which is used by several million
persons, with lesser numbers speaking other local languages and
dialects.
Tibeto-Burman Groups�Politically the most potent of the
several Sino-Tibetan language groups, aside from the Han
Chinese, are the Tibeto-Burman-speaking people who inhabit
much of the rough mountainous country of western and
southwestern China. The Tibetans, inhabiting a vast sweep of
territory from Kansu and Szechwan westward to Kashmir, are the
most important group. Totaling only about 3 million, they have
retained their cultural identity and political unity largely through
the bond of Lamaism�the Tibetan variant of Buddhism. The
former ecclesiastical power base provided by Lamaism, at whose
apex was the Dalai Lama, has been greatly reduced and
weakened since suppression of the 1959 Tibetan revolt. The three
dialects spoken in Tibet�western, central, and eastern�are
mutually intelligible.
The Hui, or Chinese Muslims, number about 3 million and are
intermingled with the Han throughout much of China. Their
heaviest concentration is in the Northwest, particularly in the
Ningsia Hui Autonomous Region and in Kansu, where nearly one-
third of the Hui reside. Although the Hui speak Mandarin or
regional Chinese languages and use Chinese characters, they
generally live in separate communities and their history is marked
by uprisings against the Han.
The other Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups are divided into hill
people�whose way of life is characterized by a subsistence
economy based upon varying mixtures of agriculture, animal
husbandry, and hunting�and lowland people such as the several
Tai-speaking groups. Of the hill groups, the Yi (Lobo) are the most
numerous. Those living in the mountains of southern Szechwan
between the Yangtze and its tributary, the Ya-lung Chiang, share
with the Tibetans a cultural identity and a tradition of independ-
ence marked by frequent conflict with the Han Chinese. Two
sizable Tibeto-Burman-speaking groups�the Pai (Min-chia)
and Tuchia�are valley dwellers engaged in wet-rice agriculture.
Miao-Yao�The Miao-Yao group of the Sino-Tibetan family is
widely scattered throughout the mountains of South and
Southwest China; a number also live in northern Southeast Asia.
Although the Miao and Yao exhibit some cultural variations, in
general they are upland dwellers. Their traditional slash-and-burn
agriculture reportedly has been curbed, and more stable and
intensive agricultural practices have been promoted. In spite of a
history of suppression and dispersal throughout Southwest China,
the Miao have retained independent ways that are marked by
initiative and adaptability to changing physical and political
conditions.
Tai�Tai-speaking peoples comprise the fourth major group of
the Sino-Tibetan family. They appear to be differentiated by minor
linguistic dissimilarities�although Tai dialects reportedly are
mutually intelligible�and partly by locational and minor cultural
variations. The largest group is the Chuang, who total nearly 7
million and inhabit western Kwangsi. Unlike many hill-dwelling
groups, most Tai groups have been strongly influenced by Chinese
culture. Nearly all of the Tai inhabit lowlands and their economy is
based upon growing irrigated rice.
Altaic Family�People of the Altaic language family are widely
dispersed from the forests of Northeast China to the basins of
Sinkiang. They include the Mongols, several Tungusic groups in
Northeast China, and the Turkic groups in Sinkiang's oases and
grasslands.
The Mongols are the most widely dispersed of the Altaic
language speakers, and several dialects are recognized. Most of
the Mongol population live in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous
Region, but small Mongol and Mongol-related groups are
scattered from Sinkiang through Tsinghai and into the provinces of
the Northeast. Some retain their tribal divisions and are
pastoralists, but most now live in permanent settlements and are
engaged in a mixed crop and livestock economy.
Turkic Groups�Turkic-speaking groups predominate in
Sinkiang and are scattered in Tsinghai and Kansu. The productive
oases of Sinkiang have felt the impress of different peoples and
cultures from ancient times; consequently the racial, linguistic, and
cultural origins of the present-day inhabitants are blurred and
complex. The Uighurs are the most numerous of the Turkic
speakers, numbering about 5 million, they predominate in the
oases of southern Sinkiang where they comprise an estimated 90
percent of the population. The Kazakhs, who rank second in
number, inhabit areas adjacent to the USSR and Mongolian
borders. The third largest group is the Kirghiz, high mountain
pastoralists inhabiting southwestern Sinkiang. Other smaller Turkic-
speaking groups occupy valleys of the Tien Shan and the oases
and grasslands of northern Sinkiang.
Other Altaic Groups�Other members of the Altaic language
family include such Tungusic groups as the seminomadic Evenki
and Oronchon, the Sibos, and the Manchus. The Evenki,
Oronchon, and Sibos together number only a few thousand.
Although the 1953 Chinese census recognized the Manchus as a
separate nationality and enumerated some 2.4 million of them,
they appear to have been almost entirely assimilated by the Han
Chinese and therefore are not separately identified on the map.
Slightly more than 1 million Koreans live in China, primarily in Kirin
Province adjacent to the North Korean border. The exact affinities
of the Korean language are unclear, but because of strong
structural similarities it is included with the Altaic family.
Indo-European and Austroasiatic Families�The Indo-
European and Austroasiatic language families are both
represented by relatively insignificant numbers; representatives of
these language families live in southwestern Sinkiang and in
Yunnan. The Kowa, a Mon-Khmer-speaking group, inhabit the
rugged mountain country of the Burma-China border. The Indo-
European family is represented by the Tadzhiks who live in the
valleys and surrounding uplands of southwestern Sinkiang.
40
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
SINO-TIBETAN
JO Han (Chinese
Hui (Chinese Muslim)
Tibeto-Burman
Tai
Miao-Yao
INDO-EUROPEAN
MIN Tadzhik
AUSTROASIATIC
ME Mon-Khmer
Linguistic Groups
SINO-TIBETAN
EA Mandarin
1. Northern
2. Eastern
3. Southwestern
Southern dialects
1, Wu
2. Kan
3, Hsiang
4, Min
5, Hakka
6. Cantonese
E.E2 Tibetan
1. Western
2, Central
3. Eastern
Tai
ALTAIC
:a: Turkic
M Mongolian
III Tungusic
Yao
IN
Tadzhik
AUSTROASIATIC
Mon-Khmer
ALTAIC
77.3 Turkic
1. Kazakh
2. Uighur
3. Kirghiz
Mongolian
I. Western (Torgun
2. Western (Khoshot)
3, Western (Oirat)
4. Southern (ardor)
5. Southern (Chabasi
6. Eastern (Khalkha)
INN Tungusic
EN Korean
Ethnic Groups
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ETHNOLINGUISTIC GROUPS
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Ethnolinguistic Groups
3
* .
r
A group ot Tibetans The dress and articles
thown ii this recent (and posed) photograph
are those ut the Tibetan middle class prior to
the Chinese occupation Intended to show
ciii lite IMO today, the group pictured is
probably more typical of a prosperous family
on a picnic
42
ALTAIC*
TURKIC
1. Uitttiur
2 KaZakit
Ko
MONGOLIAN
6 M
7 Tue.; h�,,,ini-;
TUNGUSIC
iC) Oronchon
11 Sax)
KOR FAN
INDO EUROPEAN
TADZHIK
AUSTROASIATIC
MON-KHMER
1.1 KaAa
14 Purnan Pulain
Uninhnoiled
SINO-TIBETAN
HAN CHINESE
4 Salar
F.
lit MOrlgOr
DOUr
12. LvenLi
;"--;
UIGHUR
HUI iCHINESE MUSLIW
TIBETO-BURMAN
,bc�tan
Yi Loud
17 Pal
Min chia
Tuchia
TA
23 PuYi
iChung,chha,
2.1
MIAO-YAO
Mn
Yao
I anguage or hale
19_ Han, ,Woni.
20. Lisu,Chinppo
21. Lahu
22. Nast
25 Tar
25. Chuang
2'. (.,trui
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Languago tensity
men-shih.
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habitants
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r -
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41- as
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_.� �13 f7r
19,5
pproved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Mongol encampment, This traditional form
of Mongol life -- portable yurts. camels
and accompanying herds -- is rapidly
passing Most Mongol families now live
in permanent quarters, have fixed pastures,
and grow vegetables, fodder crops. and grain
Khotan (Ho rieni In-
nklang oases are pre
ic stock, and most are
vines adjoining flat-
ide shade from the
n.
SOL/IRE-PO,
ON6604,14
(ORDOS)
6
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Hill tribe vilage .n Yunnan Province,
Numerous TMetc-Burman speaking groups
iii jtAltlIWUSt i.h'ii. iV Si w,dc:y
tr.!Mti Sort soiaiod moiinia.nviiaqos
Their tradenal way of life commonly
oased on shifting agriculture, is giving
way to a more stabikzed ecOroribc sys
tern that often mvblves grew:rig irrigat-
ed rice
E R N
I.
Lo-yang
Naniya
HSIANG
tit
cnua n
A N D
CANTONESE
0 -
Hai.wou
. MIN
ud..-
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Li
Al.NAN
TAO
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man.ctl'ang
one
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0
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z"
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MIN
svotov40:,
HAKKA
MACAO HONG
KONG
(port
Fu-ctai�
n ch.nes,! ,tuderib-. and teachers in
study session Educational 0911C,C�; ern-
phasit,, Inc ctine)nalion ot fo,mal edu-
isation and want nal working exoeroint
Cirl farms and m facto's
1- a: in YUn", Pr�),..1!,Ce The Lai
one of the more numerous in:nor:hes m
Southwest China Use :inmost exclusively
tfunnaii Province They inhatiot lowland,
where they glow wot rice arid troiticai
oruw, v1�1,10eo goror,O," '
beside finwing water and the !muses are
surrounded rtv bamboo fences
ETHNOLINGUISTIC GROUPS
43
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Railroads
Railroads are the principal component of China's transportation
system. Despite many difficulties, China has added more than
11,000 miles of main and branch lines to the railroad system since
1950, thereby greatly improving the integrity and flexibility of the
25,000-mile rail network as of early 1971. Every province and re-
gion except Tibet is connected to the railroad network by at least
one main line. China has 11 international rail connections (5 with
North Korea, 2 each with the USSR and North Vietnam, and 1
each with Mongolia and Hong Kong). The Chinese have made ef-
forts to improve the railroad system in order to solidify central gov-
ernment control, to disperse the industrial base, and to provide
more efficient logistical support to the military. In furthering these
goals they not only have built new lines, but also have increased
the number of industrial spurs and have expanded numerous
railroad yards.
Repair and Rehabilitation (1949-52)�The railroad network
inherited by the Chinese Communists in 1949 was badly damaged,
poorly distributed, disconnected, and heavily oriented toward
North and Northeast China. Much of China south of the Yangtze
and all of western China were without rail lines. The principal
construction effort initially was directed toward restoration, and
more than half of all the track laid during the period 1949-52 was
for this purpose. During this period emphasis also was placed on
the completion or extension of three new lines started by the
Nationalists: (1) extension of the major east-west line between
T'ien-shui and Lan-chou, (2) completion of the line between Ch'eng-
tu and Ch'ung-ch'ing in the Szechwan Basin, and (3) extension
of a line southward from near Li-t'ang to the border of Viet-
nam, primarily for the purpose of supporting the Vietnamese
Communists in their war against the French.
Expansion of the Rail Network (1953-60)�Once the basic
repair and rehabilitation work had been completed, the Chinese
shifted their emphasis to expanding the basic network. The travel
distance between Moscow and Peking was shortened by 700 miles
in 1954 with the completion of a railroad across Mongolia. During
the 1950's steady progress also was made on the Trans-Sinkiang
line that led west from Lan-chou and was designed to link with the
Soviet rail net at the border; however, the line has not been
extended beyond Urumchi, the capital of Sinkiang. Both these lines
had high economic and strategic priorities. In 1955 military
Mechanized tracklayer on the Lan-chou to Urumchi line. The Trans-Sinkiang
Railroad connects the oil and mineral regions of the Northwest with the in-
dustrial centers of North China
considerations were evident in the rapid building of the line from
Ying-t'on to Amoy on the Fukien coast opposite Taiwan and other
Nationalist-held islands. Two important lines linking key areas in
China were opened to traffic in 1956 and 1958, respectively: (1)
the Pao-chi-Ch'eng-tu line, traversing very rugged mountainous
terrain and affording a rail connection between North China and
the Szechwan Basin, and (2) the Pao-t'ou-Lan-chou line,
connecting two developing economic centers in the interior.
Post-1960 Development�The collapse of the Leap Forward
in 1960 significantly curtailed further expansion of the rail system
for several years. Construction activity revived in the mid-1960's
when the Chinese began preparations for a Third Five-Year Plan
(1966-70), but this revival was interrupted in 1967-68 by the
upheavals of the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution
the Chinese again initiated long-term economic planning, and the
scope and intensity of railroad construction increased significantly.
Only a few major projects, however, were started during the
Yangtze river bridge at Nan-ching. This bridge, opened to
rail traffic in 1968, carries a roadway on its upper deck
and a double-track railway on its lower deck. A strategic
link on the important Peking to Shanghai rail line, con-
struction continued during the turmoil of the Cultural
Revolution. This bridge is the third across the Yangtze,
the others are near Chung-ch'ing and Wu-han.
1960's. Much of the recent activity represents the continuation of
work started in the 1950's.
Since 1964 railroad construction has focused primarily on
southwest China. During the mid-1960's lines were completed
to link Kweichow Province with both Yunnan and Szechwan
provinces. A line linking Ch'eng-tu directly with K'un-ming in
Yunnan Province was recently completed after more than a
decade of construction activity. This new line provides a shorter
and more direct access route to Yunnan Province from the
Szechwan Basin and establishes the means for promoting the
overall economic development of the southwestern region.
Another major north-south line has been constructed roughly
parallel to the Peking-Canton line as far south as the Yangtze
river. This new line establishes an alternate route for heavy north-
south traffic and opens up parts of Honan and Hupeh provinces
for industrial development. Another important line is the Wu-
han-Ch'ung-ch'ing line, presently under construction. When
completed this line will provide the first direct rail route between
the Szechwan Basin and the middle-Yangtze Basin.
The results of nearly 20 years of new railroad construction are
considerable in terms of trackage added. Nevertheless, the
regional distribution of the network, while improved, remains
uneven. Although much remains to be done, the Chinese have
made impressive progress toward achieving their goal of
developing a modern, efficient railroad system to carry the
increased traffic expected during the Fourth Five-Year Plan (1971-
75).
The photo shows a reinforced concrete beam being em-
placed on completed piers. Opening up rail lines through
this rugged and remote area is a striking example of the
central governments determination to develop the South-
west and to firmly integrate it with the rest of the country
44
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
RAILROADS
45
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
*SHnla
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
8(
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STANDARD GAUGE (4'81/2")
Double track
Single track
Projected
BROAD GAUGE (5'6" in India, 5'0" in
U.S.S.R. and Mongolia)
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Single track
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NARROW GAUGE (various widths)
----- Single track
Scale 1,10,000.000
0 100 290 390 490
0 100 260 360 460 560 Kilometers
,01 tarii �
kul
tang
590 Miles
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
1.10.0
RAILROADS 47
Roads and Inland Waterways
In China roads supplement other forms of transport,
particularly the railroads, and provide short-haul, farm-to-market
service. Direct through routes linking widely separated parts of the
country are few, and there is no coordinated national highway
system. Roads are of greatest relative significance in the west,
where in many areas, as in Tibet, there may be no other means of
transport.
China has more than 300,000 miles of road. More than one-half
of this total consists of natural earth roads; the remainder are soil-
aggregate roads (primarily gravel) along with a few thousand
miles of bituminous-treated or concrete road. Most of the network
is low-grade by Western standards and requires constant
maintenance; on the other hand, traffic density is extremely light.
Expansion of the Road Network (1949-60)�in 1949 there
were only some 50,000 miles of serviceable roads in the 124,000-
mile highway network. At that time most major
roads�approximately 75 percent of the total�were located in
the eastern half of the country, particularly in the coastal areas
and on the larger plains of the northern and northeastern
provinces. From 1949 through 1952 emphasis was placed on the
maintenance and restoration of the existing network, and only a
limited amount of new construction�mostly highways of military
significance in Liaoning, Shantung, and Fukien and on Hai-non
Too�was completed. After 1952, major construction projects
were begun in western and southwestern frontier provinces
inhabited by large non-Chinese population groups. Several new
roads in Kwangsi and Yunnan were extended to the Indochina
border, thus helping to provide logistical support for the
Vietnamese Communists, then fighting the French. In recent years
this part of the system has been further improved and enlarged.
Between 1954 and 1956, major roads were completed to link the
Szechwan Basin, eastern Tsinghai, and Sinkiang with Tibet and its
capital at Lhasa. New roads also were built to permit the
exploitation of the petroleum deposits of Karamai in western
Sinkiang and of the Tsaidam Basin in western Tsinghai. The
extensive road construction program in the remote western and
southwestern provinces thus served several Chinese objectives:
political control was greatly aided by improved communications;
Chinese military capabilities (as demonstrated in the 1962 Sino-
Indian border war) were greatly enhanced; and economic
exploitation and development has been fostered.
Recent Developments�More recently the Chinese
constructed or improved numerous roads in the Sino-Soviet border
area in the Northeast and made a few additions to the road
network in the Northwest. Other new roads were constructed to
the vicinity of the borders of Burma and Laos; one Chinese-
constructed road extends into Laos to the town of Muong Sai. The
Karakoram Highway, which connects Sinkiang Province with
Pakistan through the Khunjerab Pass, was also recently completed.
Inland Waterways�Water transport was traditionally the
major form of transportation in pre-1949 China. Much of its
capacity was destroyed by war, however, and as a result, China's
navigable waterways totaled only 46,000 miles in 1949. At that
time a program of restoration and expansion was begun; locks
were constructed, navigational facilities installed, and ports,
harbors, and shipyards renovated. The completion of a number of
large-scale water conservation projects, primarily for flood
control, also contributed to the extension of the system. By 1958,
China's navigable inland waterways had more than doubled in
length, and at present they probably total more than 100,000
miles. Routes on streams suitable for modern motorized vessels
total some 25,000 miles.
Regional Characteristics�Regionally, about 65 percent of the
inland waterway network is located in South China, where the
Yangtze and Hsi Chiang form the principal river basins, and about
30 percent is in North and Northeast China, where the Amur,
Ussuri, Sungari, Huang, and Huai are the principal rivers. The
Amur and Ussuri rivers along the USSR border are also used by
the Soviet Union. In the Northeast, much of the network is closed
to traffic for upwards of 180 days per year because of ice. The
Huang Ho and most of the waterways in North China, including
much of the Grand Canal, are of limited use as navigable
waterways because of considerable silting and very low water
during winter and spring.
Because the major rivers of China flow from west to east, north-
south inland waterway traffic is limited. Some cargo, however, is
moved on three of the southern tributaries of the Yangtze (the
YUan, Hsiang, and Kan Chiang), on the Han Shui north of the
Yangtze, on the southern section of the Grand Canal, and on
other minor waterways. The lack of usable north-south connections
between the predominantly west-east oriented waterways and the
obvious economic advantages that would result from an
integrated system have been recognized by Chinese Communist
planners. Long-range plans were drawn up in the early 1950's to
interconnect the basins of the Amur, Huang, Yangtze, and Hsi
rivers through the construction of new canals and the repair and
improvement of existing waterways. Except for improvement of
the southern half of the Grand Canal, however, little has been
accomplished.
Importance of Waterways�Modern water transport is
recognized by the Chinese to be important as a carrier of bulk
cargoes over long distances when speed is not of major
importance. Furthermore, inland waterways have played an
important role in the Chinese Communist efforts to enlarge and
expand their industrial bases, particularly to the west. Much effort
has gone into the maintenance and improvement of the
Yangtze�historically the great commercial artery of China and
the major transportation route into the interior. At present no
large-scale inland waterway expansion program appears to be
underway, but the maintenance and improvement of existing
systems continue.
Primitive Transport�Vast amounts of cargo in China are
moved by animal-drawn and manually drawn carts, carried by a
variety of pack animals, or shouldered by humans. Distances
involved in moving this cargo are short. Huge quantities of freight
are also carried by sampans, junks, and similar small craft on the
major waterways as well as on the innumerable small streams and
canals.
Animal-drawn carts hauling fertilizer. Traditional means of transport -- ani-
mals, carrying poles, carts, and small boats -- still play a very important
role in the movement of vast amounts of materials in China. Rubber-tired
wheels on carts, a relatively recent innovation, reduce wear-and-tear on
road surfaces and permit easy movement in fields.
48
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
A traditional means of transport-the carrying pole-still plays a very
important role in the movement of vast amounts of material in China_
Two baskets multiplied by millions of shoulders carry everything from
fertilizer to vegetables.
Roads in Kweichow Province Roads in
low-lying areas are built on levees. This
road is typical of those found in the
principal plains and basins of eastern
China.
Road from Peking to the Great Wall, Hopeh Province.
Only a few thousand miles of roads in China have high-
grade surfaces such as the bituminous-treated surface
here Road surfaces may vary from section to section:
this road, for example, has a concrete sur face in the
vicinity of Peking, although concrete surfaces are rare
in China. Near oil refineries, residual oils or tars are
applied to harden or stabilize the surface.
Army trucks on the Szechwan-
Tibet road. This is a soil-aggre-
gate type of construction,
classified as a loose-surface,
all-weather road. Constant
maintenance, including snow
removal, is required to keep
this main access road to Tibet
open to traffic_
Barges in the Yangtze Gorge
upstream from l-ch'ang. The
Yangtze River is the major
water transportation route to
the interior of China. The
Chinese have improved the
river channel so that barges
can now navigate the treach-
erous gorge area, as shown
here, in comparative safety
Principal Improved Inland Waterways
Road in western China. Looping precipitous
roads, such as this one, are common through-
out the mountainous country of China. Road
loops are often so numerous that road mile-
age is doubled or tripled compared to the "crow-
fly- distance. Mountains in eastern China,
although not as high as those shown here,
often are as rugged and as troublesome for
construction, maintenance, and -transit
Station on the Szechwan-Tibet road. This
road, like most of the main roads in western
China, stretches for hundreds of miles through
sparsely inhabited areas. Rest, refueling, and
supply stations, constructed about one day's
drive apart, vary in size and services offered,
and often accommodate road maintenance
crews. The station shown here is one of the
larger and more complex ones.
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
ROADS AND INLAND WATERWAYS
49
Yarkan
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
K4THMANDU
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latinsk
ha k
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Scale 1:10400,000
o 100 290 390 490
o 100 200 360 460 560 Kdometers
500 Miles
pproved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
90
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ROADS 51
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Climate
The climate of China directly and often dramatically affects the
lives of millions of its inhabitants. Each year the thin margin
between agricultural production and population growth is
threatened by too much or too little rainfall, unseasonable cold,
and other climatic factors. No history of China is complete without
reference to its floods and droughts, some of which were of great
importance in sparking peasant discontent and rebellion.
General Climatic Patterns�The climate of most of China
resembles that of the United States (excluding the Pacific coastal
states) because of similar latitudinal locations, a comparable
continental position, and general similarities in atmospheric
circulation. Selected climatic data for representative cities
occupying comparable locations in China and the United States
are as follows:
In general, Chinese cities have lower winier temperatures, higher
summer temperatures, and less precipitation than their United
States counterparts. Rainfall in China is much more seasonal,
being highly concentrated during the summer months. The
principal reason for these differences arises from the greater size
of Asia and the greater intensity of its air masses and their
movement.
The most significant climatic division in China is between the
semiarid-to-arid western regions and the humid eastern half of the
country. An arbitrary line separating these two climatic divisions
would extend northeast from the northern tip of Burma to a point
where the Greater Khingan Range reaches the Amur river.
During summer, warm, moist maritime air masses prevail over
eastern China and heavy rains fall over much of the area. Hot,
oppressive summer weather is typical, with the water-logged
middle and lower Yangtze plains being notoriously hot and humid.
Winter offers a sharp contrast when very cold and dry Siberian air
masses dominate and often penetrate�though greatly
modified�to the southern provinces. Little precipitation falls
during the colder months; clear days with low temperatures and
very low humidities are common. During late winter and spring,
strong winds sweep across North China, and hazy days caused by
dust storms are common.
In western China the effects of the Asian circulation patterns are
modified by mountain ranges, elevation, and other physical
factors. There is little precipitation due to the alignment, extent,
and high elevations of the mountain ranges that form the eastern
and southern borders of the region. Temperatures exhibit great
extremes�from the intense heat of the Turf an Depression to the
bitter cold in the high mountains and plateaus. Microclimates are
common in mountainous areas where local conditions of wind, sun,
and elevation are the critical climatic factors.
Precipitation Regions�Precipitation is the single most
important climatic element in China because of its vital relationship
to agriculture. Two major precipitation regions exist: 1) subhumid-
to-humid eastern China, including all of South China and most of
North and Northeast China, where annual precipitation is at least
20 inches, and 2) semiarid-to-arid western China, comprising
nearly all of Sinkiang and most of the Tibetan Highlands and Inner
Mongolia, where the mean annual precipitation ranges from less
than 5 to 20 inches.
In eastern China, which contains nearly all of the population
and agricultural land, the amount of precipitation varies
significantly from north to south. Mean annual precipitation
averages 20 to 30 inches in much of North and Northeast China,
increasing southward to approximately 40 inches along the
Yangtze river. South of the Yangtze the annual precipitation is at
least 40 inches almost everywhere, and in some areas it is nearly
double this amount.
Western China is isolated by high mountain barriers and by
distance from significant sources of moisture. The mean annual
precipitation in the Tibetan Highlands varies from less than 10
inches in the west to 20 inches or more in the east and northeast. In
Sinkiang and Inner Mongolia precipitation almost everywhere is
less than 10 inches annually.
North and Northeast China�The amount and timing of
summer rains in North and Northeast China largely determine the
size of the autumn harvest. A disproportionate amount of rainfall
is concentrated during the mid-June through mid-September
period� Ha-erh-pin and Peking receive 65 and 76 percent,
respectively, of their annual total during summer. The erratic
character of the precipitation is indicated by the recording at some
stations of two-thirds or more of the entire annual precipitation in
a single month. In both the North and Northeast the agriculturally
important spring months are deficient in precipitation�Peking
receives an average of only 2.5 inches for the period March
through May. A pattern of spring drought followed by summer
floods is common.
South and Southwest China�Greater amounts of
precipitation are recorded in South and Southwest China than in
the North, and an appreciably higher proportion occurs during
the autumn-spring period. Rainfall is adequate everywhere for
growing irrigated rice, but the timing of the rains and variations
in amounts are critical to highest yields and to the extent of
feasible double-cropping. For example, summer drought is at
times a problem in the middle Yangtze valley, including parts
of the agriculturally rich provinces of Hunan and Kiangsi, and
it is a limiting factor in the extension of the area of double-
cropped rice. The most dependable precipitation is in the
mountain-rimmed Szechwan Basin, where the mean annual pre-
cipitation varies from about 37 to 45 inches. Although these
yearly totals are somewhat lower than for many stations in
Southwest and South China, spring and autumn precipitation is
ample and reliable, contributing to the noted agricultural
productivity of the region.
52
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Spot e4,vat o-,
trt
WYOMING
The North American locations indicated have
temperatures and rainfall somewhat similar
to areas in China. Comparisons such as these
can only be suggestive.
Climatic Analogues
Annual Precipitation
inch: Millimeters20
Elevations
Feet
9842
3281
85
PUERTO
RICO
MINNESOTA
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CLIMATE
Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
Precipitation
,l(r.ashear
ANNUAL PR EC I PI TATIO N
Inches
3.9 9.8 19,7 29.5 39.4 49.2 59.1 68.9 78.7
160 250 500 750 1
Millimeters
190
160 260
Scale 1:10,000,000
290 390 490
360 460 500 Kilometers
Names and boundary representation are not necessartly authoritative
�
Leng.hu
590 Miles
ChtsniIyek)
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Approved for Release: 2022/02/10 006931189
ang
Y U.2
Lar,(...mu
sulo
�
c'ac.rou
0
T FMAMJ TA SONO
TOTAL 22.6 Inches
�Kuang-yaan
NAN-NING
J F MAMJ 3 AS OND
TOTAL: 42.9 IncIles
I FMAMJI A SOND
TOTAL 52.0 Inches
IC
PEKING
� J M AM JJAS OND
TOTAL 24 7 IncFes
Chan
0
1 F MAMI A SONO
TOTAL 282 Inches
Cn esE't
PI-JOG
oTenv'
�P80
stsh
cts.a tt.slang
,Yang
T'A! YUAN
' Tstnan
Han IS
Loyag� Cheng.Mou
�snang
han
pb.s
Laill,tin.tong.striho
lioNG
KONG
MACAO K)
(Port
HA1-NAN
TAO
' -
sticho*
gl-S"�31.4
emvshani
CPUatTer\
chei0.0
t a'
Is
IC TUNG-T'Al
IF MAM / I A SOND
TOTAL 36 1 I,chm
Tortg�V
t,4 cotG
tIA sti-ctie�
Ss..atow
SWATOW
IF MAMJJASOND
TOTAL 59 7 rches
CH'ANG-SHA
I
T FMATAJJ A SOND
TOTAL. 52.1 Irthes
IT
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PRECIPITATION
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Agriculture
Agriculture is the pivotal sector of the Chinese economy. In spite
of intensive and highly publicized efforts to industrialize and to
develop a nuclear energy capability, most Chinese today�as in
centuries past�make their living from the land. Agriculture must
not only provide food and clothing for some 750 to perhaps 900
million people, increasing at the rate of nearly 20 million a year,
but it also must produce raw materials for industry and
agricultural products for export. Thus one of China's most pressing
and persistent challenges has long been not only to maintain but
to increase the supply of food and agricultural products.
Expansion of Cultivated Area�It appears unlikely that
agricultural output can be significantly increased by bringing new
lands into cultivation. Almost all cultivated land�about 11
percent of China's land area�is located in the eastern half of the
country. Although some new land has been brought into
cultivation during the past 20 years, it has not offset losses caused
by the expansion of urban and industrial areas, the construction of
reservoirs, and the salinization and erosion of productive land. The
potential for opening new land in western China or the Northeast
to cultivation is limited because of aridity, short growing season,
and other inhibiting physical factors.
Institutional Changes�Initially, the PRC relied upon
institutional changes�the collectivization of rural life�rather
than the investment of capital and the application of scientific
resources as the principal vehicle to stimulate agricultural growth.
Collectivization did produce short-term results in remedying such
problems as land fragmentation, small holdings, excessive field
division strips and burial sites, and the lack of cooperative
development and use of irrigation facilities. Accomplishments,
however, fell short of the needs. The establishment of the
commune (1958) probably was a final effort to use institutional
change as a means to markedly boost agricultural production.
Post-1960 Developments�Three successive years of very
poor harvests (1959-61) led to a reexamination of agricultural
policy. One consequence of these poor harvests was the import of
grain, in the amount of about 3 to 6 million tons annually, a
practice that has continued until the present. In 1962, in a major
break with past development policies, China allocated a larger
share of state investment to agriculture, and industry was directed
to produce, for example, more chemical fertilizer and electric
pumps for agriculture.
Increased industrial support to agriculture and the
concentration of effort on the most productive farmlands has
Field preparation and application of liquid manure.
Although output of chemical fertilizers is increasing,
night soil remains the agricultural fertilizer in most
widespread use in China. Composting, also common,
is similarly more widely used than chemical fertiliza-
tioft
enabled the Chinese to substantially increase grain production in
recent years. Agricultural productivity has also been enhanced by
the avoidance of policies that would further restrict peasant
incentives. In particular, productivity has been stimulated by
abandonment of restrictive measures inhibiting private enterprise.
The cultivation of small private plots and the encouragement of
private pig and poultry raising have been beneficial to production.
Recent agricultural priorities have been directed toward increased
use of chemical fertilizer, improved seed, greater quantities of
insecticides, additional pumps for irrigation, and improved tools.
Basic to all plans for increased agricultural production is the need
for continued improvement in land management and the
coordination of land and water conservancy programs.
Maintenance of proper soil moisture is essential during
the growing season for maximum crop yield. Most irriga-
tion pumping systems are powered by animals, humans,
or wind; the precise combinations depend on local circum-
stances and resources, Use of electric power to pump
irrigation water recently has become more common in
some areas,
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Maximum Length of Growing Season
The maximum length of the plant-growing
season is defined as that period of time dur-
ing which daily mean temperatures are above
42.8�F (6�C). Though frosts may occur near
the beginning and end of this period, they are
not commonly killing frosts. The plant-growing
season as defined does not indicate the spe-
cific growing season for any particular crop.
Composition of Average Daily Diet
People's Republic of China
other*
meat. eggs, fish
and milk
vegetables
and fruits
cereals, potatoes, and
other starchy foods
'Includes fats; oils, pulses, nuts,
seeds, sugar, and other sweets
Rice harvesting in Kwangtung Province. Hand labor remains the rule for
most fieldwork in most areas of China. Harvesting of certain crops, how-
ever, particularly those grown in large, relatively flat dry fields, is some-
times mechanized, Increasing official emphasis is being given to the me-
chanization of agriculture,
other
United States
cereals, potatoes, and
other starchy foods
vegetables
and fruits
meat, eggs, fish.
and milk
Drying rice on threshing floor, Rice is being circular rice grain storage bins seen in the
spread in neat rows to dry after threshing. background. The degree of mechanization
The products resulting from threshing are be- evident here is usually found only in larger
ing stored in rectangular rice straw piles and farm units such as communes or state farms,
AGRICULTURE
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Agriculture
ASEs
U I G 1_1 j
arkhii
PERCENT IN CULTIVATION
0 10 30 50
Non-
co Ira Lod
Oasis
Oases�Agricultural potential limited by
availability of irrigation water. Wide variety of
food grains, industrial crops (cotton), and
fruit and vegetable specialties�grapes and
melons.
�
Leng.hu
TS
Tibetan Highlands�Nigh
elevations limit cultivation mainly to
fast-maturing barley. Some tubers
and hardy vegetables grown: wheat
and other grains planted at lower
elevations.
Millet-Corn-Winter Whec
in combination, assuming
than winter wheat. Kaolii
and buckwheat widespre
the uplands.
.Hsia 4ung
(Lan,chiin
.Ta-ch"ai.tan
NG HA
^ ng-tu
Szechwan Rice�Single crop rice followed by
wheat, rape, or peas is common cropping
system. Corn and sweet potatoes extensively
cultivated in non-irrigated fields.
Agricultural region boundary
Seale 118.000,000
O 100 200 300 400 500 Miles
O 100 200 300 400 500 Kflometwa
Nwnes and boundary represereaLon we few noceUsenly adnorual ue
A
tiai,yen"
he
So
pr
green
Corn,
secon
grow
58
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let and corn,
importance
mmon. Oats
rticularly in
in
�
� WII P
s,en
La
a
Corn-Kaoliang-Soybeans � Corn acreage
recently increased; grown in rotation with
kooliang and leguminous crops, such as
soybeans. Spring wheat, millet and other food
grains grown; sugar beets locally important.
Spring Wheat�Spring wheat predominant
grain. Yields fluctuate widely, except where
irrigation water available. Millet, oats,
buckwheat and oilseeds also significant crops.
INNER
Tenv.-k ou � Sp
Y,n c
an. ;
Ifu-cnund''
Chung-wei
t
Ch'ing-yana,
ho �
et-Corn-
f "len shut �
.1(11-11Pn�Ii10.:*e
chi -inn%
0
Pas CU Hu- 0-haO't'a
o
Wheat�
� T fling stieng
JJ
1 Yu-lin
Yen-an
�
Yen-th*
�
---"tung-ch'uan
0Pao-chi
Szechwan Rice
i-IWAN
Nan-ch'ung�
'FNG.TU
an �P'eng�
�
shan
Tzu kung
0-
�Sui�ning
Wan.hsien-shih
el-chrana
IiUN
Wang) olsint
I-ha g
chieh
KWEICHO W
Kuei-yang_,
in rs CO An-shun �
n , Tu-yun
K'un ng An.
�
Ch en.ckang
tantii(
e Nan-jdn
' A N c';1 C.
Vang-C
0
YU-tf U
eat
Chi o.
Lola
T'ung.kuan
yaflf�
r
t�-�