Page:China historical and descriptive.djvu/28

16 islands, bluff headlands, and sheltered inlets, lurking-places for pirate junks. From the mouths of the Yang-tse-kiang northward to the Shan-tung promontory the land is low, and continues so beyond the promontory until the mountains east of the Gulf of Liaotong are reached. The general appearance of the southern coast is barren and uninviting, being destitute of vegetation, and the same may be said of the Shan-tung promontory; but the islands of the Chusan Archipelago are decked with green, and forests line the shore near the Corean boundary. China proper contains eighteen Provinces, named as follows:—

From the above list it will be seen that in naming their Provinces the Chinese have recognised the geographical position, and particularly the water-supply, of each.