Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/533

LEFT CHINA 467 CHINA the world. Following are the areas and Poyang-hu, the Hung-tseu-hu, in Kiang- population of the divisions in 1919 : su ; the Tsau-hu, between Nganking-f u Sq. M. Pop. ^""^ Nanking; and the Tai-hu. There China (proper).. .1,532,420 302,110,000 are four great mountain ranges and six Manchuria 363,610 2,000.000 ^^ ^^Sht of lesser elevation; the Hima- Mongolia 1,367,600 1,800,000 ^^yas, Tian-Shan, Kuen-Lun and Altai. Tibet 463,200 2,000,000 "^^^ Kin-gan in the N., and the Peh- Hsinchiang 550,340 2,000,000 ""^ ^" north China, and Nan-king in ^,, J J. _ ,. ^,. south China, are prolongations of the Other dependencies are Fengtien, Ki- Altai and Himalayas. The Grand Canal rin, and Heilungchiang These have a has very greatly facilitated the internal population of about 13,000,000. navigation of the country. Until lately P^^<^^P(^.lCthes— These are Peking the great annual grain-fleet, with its (cap.), with 1,000,000 or more popula- 430,000 tons of rice for the use of the tion; Canton, Tien-Tsin, Hankow, Nan- capital, passed from the S. to the neigh- kmg, Shanghai, Nmg - po, Foochow, borhood of Peking by this great water- Amoy, Swatow, and 30 or 40 more with way, thus avoiding the storms and pi- a population from 800,000 to 1,500,000. rates of the coast. It connects Tien-Tsin No census figures based upon official re- in Chi-li with Hang-chow in Che-kiang, turns are obtainable, but estimates in though the canal proper begins in Shan- 1900 give the following as the popula- tung, and its total length is about 650 tion of the leading ports of entry: miles. Canton 2,500,000 Climate. — In a country of such vast Tien-Tsin 950,000 area, extending from 18° to 40° N. lat., Hang-Chau 700,000 the climate must vary greatly, and ac- Hankau, 800,000 cordingly we meet the most violent ex- Fu-Chau 650,000 tremes. The heat of summer is greater Su-Chau. . 500,000 than that at Cairo, and the cold of winter These are all treaty ports, accessible ^^^^ severe than that of Sweden, and open to commerce. Productions. — Most famous among the Physical Features. — A world-famous minerals of China is jade, or yu-stone, structure is the Great Wall, called Wan- obtained chiefly in Yun-nan. Coal, lime, li-chang-Cheng (myriad-mile- wall) by and porcelain clays are abundant. Pre- the Chinese, which was built by the first cious stones are said to be met with in emperor of the Tsin dynasty about 220 some districts. In Yun-nan gold is B. c, as a protection against the Tartar washed from the sands of the rivers, and tribes. It traverses the N. boundary of in the same province silver mines are China, extending from 3%° E. to 15° W. worked; here, too, is obtained the cele- of Peking and is carried over the highest brated pe-tung, or white copper. All the hills, through the deepest valleys, across commoner metals are likewise found in rivers and every other natural obstacle. China. Near the city of Ning-po are •H The length of this great barrier is, ac- extensive stone-quarries. The tea-plant cording to McCulloch, 1,250 miles. The {Thea viridis and Thea bohea) is the magnificent river-system of China is most important vegetable production of represented by the twin streams, the China. The tallow-tree (Stillingia sebif- Hoang-ho, or Yellow river, and the era), the Dryandra cordata, or vanish- Yang-tze-kiang, which, springing from tree, the camphor-tree {Laurus Cam- the water-shed, the mountains of Tibet, phora), the China pine (^Pinus Sinensis) , are widely separated in their mid-course, the China banyan (Ficus nitida), the but enter the sea within 2° of each other, funeral cypress, and the mulberry are The former is a "mighty, impracticable, among the most important trees of furious stream" for the most part, and China. The cocoanut and other palms little adapted for navigation. But the flourish on the S. coast. Of the bamboo river most beloved by the Chinese is the there are 63 principal varieties; and it Yang-tze-kiang, or "son of the ocean," is said that the bamboos of China are more correctly translated "the son that more valuable than her mines and, next spreads," which name is only applied to to rice and silk, yield the greatest rev- it by the natives below the beginning of enue. The various uses to which they the delta; for above that it is called are applied is truly astonishing. The simply Ta-kiang, or Great river. The fruits of both the tropical and temperate basin drained by it is estimated at zones, apples, grapes, pomegranates, 750,000 square miles. Of the other mangoes, pineapples, three species of rivers that water the country, the Peiho, orange, the lichi, etc., are found in the in the N. and the Choo-kiang in the S. country; and camellias, azaleas, and gar- are the most noteworthy. The principal denias are natives of the "Flowery lakes of China are the Tung-ting-hu, the Land."