GEOGRAPHY
Location:
Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow
Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total area: 9,596,960 sq km (approximately 3.7 million
sq. mi.)
land area: 9,326,410 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than the US
Land boundaries:
total: 22,143.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma
2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakstan 1,533 km,
North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34
km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia
(northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414
km, Vietnam 1,281 km
Cities: Capital--Beijing. Other major cities--Shanghai,
Tianjin, Shenyang, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Harbin, Chengdu.
Coastline: 14,500 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: claim to shallow areas of East China
Sea and Yellow Sea
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic
in north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west;
plains, deltas, and hills in east
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,848 m
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury,
tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite,
aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)
