TIMBER RESOURCES AND TIMBER INDUSTRY OF CHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600370156-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 27, 2011
• Sequence Number: 156
• Publication Date: December 30, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD NO.
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIACONFIDENTIAL 50X1-HUM
REPORT
COUNTRY China
SUBJECT Economic - Forestry, timber industry
HOW
PUBLISHED Monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED Jul 1950
LANGUAGE
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DLFINSI
Of TNI UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF ESPIONAGE ACT IO
V. G. C.. SI AND SE, Al AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION
PRON OITED, IS PRO'
MINITE DC ST TLANSIR RN000CTIOI SON M OF TNI. FORM.AuTNO S1Z1D
L?esnaya Fro. hlennost', No 7, 1950
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1950
DATE DIST. Dec 1950
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
TIMBER RESOURCES AND TIMBER INDUSTRY OF CHINA
Resources
Some parts of China are rich in timber-, but most populated and industrially
developed areas have little. In the course of time, China's forests were destroyed
and she was forced to import a very considerable amount of her timber supply from
other countries.
China's forested areas total about 90 million hectares, or 9 percent of her
total area. This low percentage is explained partly by the fact that a large part
of China is desert, but mostly by the fact that the forests were depleted over the
centuries.
Large forests are to be found only in Manchuria, in the Chin-ling Shan, in
the Nan Shan, and in the provinces cf Kiangsi, Hunan, and Szechwan; there is some
timber in Tibet, in Sinkiang, and on Taiwan.
In eastern China, all timberland consists of replanted forests. These forests
are made up of such quickly growing species as poplar (Populus), willow (Salix), aca-
cia (Acacia); and others.
According to area, the timber resources of China are distributed as follows:
Province Forested Area Percent of Total Area
million ha
Central China 40.5 7.5
35.5 36.0
Manchuria
Sinkiang 8.2 5.0
2.6 72.0
Taiwan
2.0
Tibet 1.8
NTIAi
CDNF~DE
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CONFIDENTIAL
A peculiarity of Chinese forests is the diversity of species in them; these.
include coniferous,, deciduous, and tropical trees. Tropical trees grow mainly
s,-..`h of the Y7,ngtze and in Szechwan and southern Kiangsi.
Manchuria is the most heavily forested region in China. The vegetation of
thl:i region approximates that of Siberia. Eastern Manchuria has the richest and
most. d1-er_ifi.ed forest growth, intertwined with liana (a thick Manchurian grape).
Manc;iriri.ar, trees include cedar (Cedras), fir (Abies), spruce (Picea), poplar (Pop.
ulna;, Amur cork tree (Phe.ilodendron amurense), oak (Quercus), maple (Ater), ash
(F.raxinus), birch (Betuia), aspen (Populus tremula), walnut (Juglans), linden
Luxes iar_? meadows with numerous flowers grow in the valleys. Thel
;e_'. sawmills and wccdwcrk;.ng enterprises in China are located in Manchuria.
Deciduous species predominate in Central China. Central China has three main
forest regions,
The Chin-ling region (Ch?in-ling Shan Ming Shan, and Ta-pa Shan) has
the following main. species. pine (Pinus), cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), China
fir (Cunninghamia), cherry laurel(Prunus laurocerasuc), oak, beech (Fagus), ash,
and tang oil tree (Aleurites fordii). On the southern slopes of the mountains,
there is much bamboo growth.
2. In the Nan Shan region (Nan Shan and Paman Shan), the best forests are
located in the mountainous basin of the Min River (Fukien Province); from there
timber goes to many points in China through Foochow, Wenchow, and partly through
F,irkow. Such coniferous species as China fir, Japan cedar (Cryptomeria japonica),
_- press. and pine. predominate; deciduous trees include cherry laurel, tung oil
tree, mulberry (Morus), camphor: tree (Cinnamonum camphora), walnut, oak, maple,
plane Tree (Platanus orientali.s), and others. Bamboo (Bambusa) grows especially
profusely there,
3. The southern region is the most heavily forested area of China proper,
but its importance up to now has been purely local in nature because of poor trans-
porta.ticr, facilities and the high costs of moving timber out. The best forests are
found. in the basin of the Yuan River, which with its tributaries flows through'the
heavily forested southwestern part of Yunnan Province and the forested adjoining
part of Kweichow Province, Species include China fir, cypress, larch (Larix), pine,
oak, camphor tree;, tung oil tree, mulberry, cherry (Litsea sebifera), dhak tree
(Butea frondosa), magnolia (Magnolia), camellia (Camellia japonica), rhododendron
(Rhododendron), and rosewood.
Taiwan is a mountainous province. At 2,900 and more meters above sea level,
coniferous, especially fir, trees predominate, while at 1,500-2,900 meters such
conifers as cypress, Japan cedar (several kinds), and hemlock (Tsuga) occur almost
exclusively. At 800-1,500 meters above sea level, subtropical and tropical decid-
uous trees include the camphor tree.
In Tibet, only the mountain foothills are forested; in these forests, conifers
predominate. Cedar, pine, birch, tamari,.c, poplar, willow, and other trees grow
on the banks of streams.
In Sinkiang, which is largely desert, forests are also found only in the foot-
hills and river valleys. Spruce is the principal conifer, while deciduous trees are
birch, poplar, saxaul, and others. The Tien Shan are covered with dense forests in
which oak,, conifers, and cedar grow profusely and poplar and birch are encountered.
At present a planting program is being undertaken in China. In 1950, it is
planned to plant 130 million trees in Hopeh, Shansi, Chahar, and Suiyuan provinces.
The people's governments of these provinces have created special committees to super-
vise planting and caring for these trees.
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C FIDE 1141
Tne wovawvrniub . 111- -?-
enterprise: but, only small shops with primitive equipment for making things out
of wood. The most important branches of the Chinese woodworking industry are
sawmilling, boxmaking, match manufacture, and furniture production.
Sawmills are located mostly in the cities. Shanghai has 11, Tsingtao six;
others are located in Tientsin, Dairen, :`i-tan-chiang, Tung-hua, and elsewhere.
There are box factories and shops in many cities, especially the port cities.
In addition to boxes, they make oak barrels for transporting Lung oil and spruce
barrels for transporting cement.
There are more than 100 match factories in China: 20 of these are in Man-
churia, 80 in China proper. Shanghai has 15, Tsingtao 13: Canton 1C, and Tient-
sin 6.
The furniture factories are mostly small enterprises; there are no large
establishments. Shanghai has three, and Tientsin, Tsingtao, and Harbin one each.
The Shanghai and Tientsin factories produce furniture from domestic woods; only
an insignificant part of their product is made of imported wood.
At present the woodworking industry of China, heavily damaged by the civil
wa:' and by the Japanese, is being restored with the aid of the Soviet Union.
Among the large consumers of wood products are the coal which great quanti-
ties China. Likewise, a huge railroad-construction program, for
ties of ties and lumber are needed, is now being developed in China.
According to customs figures, China imported the following quantities of
timber products for the years indicated (in 1,000 cubic meters):
1913 1929 1936 1937 1947 1948
Type.
Lumber
Coniferious 380 1,260 370 200 . 130
70
Deciduous 80 145 20 20 6
9
125 70 155 115 196
Ties
. 239
d other types 715 90 495 35-0 2111
411
Saw logs an
Total 1,300 2,380 1,0110 685 573
729
Before World War II, imports came mostly from the US, Canada, and Japan. The
main entrance ports for umber shipmeneS themselves, These
ports are large consumers of timber products
ters for transshipment by rail and, especially by inland waterway.
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