Outer China

  

 

 

Outer China is the huge area to the north and west of China Proper. It ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 meters above sea level. The zone includes part of Northeast China (also known as Manchuria), Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, part of the Loess Plateau, and a stretch of mountains.
 

 

 

 

Among the domesticated animals in the Northeast are reindeer.  

Sleds pulled by reindeer in Inner Mongolia                        

SOURCE: Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan zongbianji weiyuanhui, ed., Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan, neimenggu (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 1986),  p. 106.

 

 

North of China Proper, the Inner Mongolian Plateau is a combination of prairie, mountain, and desert, much of it suitable for raising sheep.  

 

   

Sheep herding in Inner Mongolia       

SOURCE: Nongmuyu ye bu waishi si and Zhongguo nongxue hui, ed., Zhongguo nongye (Beijing: Nongye chuban she, 1983),  p. 146.

 

The Yili area of Xinjiang is famous for its horses.

 

 

MORE:  In contrast with the Mongol ponies, the Yili horses are of Arab stock.  During the Han dynasty (206BCE - 220CE), a tale circulated of horses so high-spirited that they would sweat blood (in reality, possibly caused by parasites), and it was for the possession of these horses that the costliest military campaign in the entire dynasty was waged.

Group of horses in Yili Valley in Xinjiang province        

SOURCE:  Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan zongbianji weiyuanhui, ed., Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan, xinjiang (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 1986), no page number available.

Northwestern China has extremely dry weather, which is good for growing such fruit as melons and grapes.

To the right is a picture of ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang province making raisins.

Producing raisins in Xinjiang province          

SOURCE: Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan zongbianji weiyuanhu, ed., Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan, xinjiang (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 1986), no page number available.

 

 

 

To the left is a picture of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the southwest.

 

Considering the sharp elevation, why do you think people went to such great effort to terrace the land?

HINT: Think of supply and demand.

Terraced fields, south of China       

SOURCE: Nongmuyu ye bu waishi si and Zhongguo nongxue hui, ed., Zhongguo nongye (Beijing: Nongye chuban she, 1983),  p. 18.

 

The Tibetan Plateau in Southwest China occupies about one-fourth of the land area of the PRC. It is composed of high and super-high mountains and massive highlands, averaging between 4,000 and 5,000 meters (13,000 to 15,000 feet) above the sea level.

The Tibetan Plateau as seen from a satellite  

SOURCE:  Zhao Songqiao, Physical Geography of China (Beijing: Science Press and New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1986), illustration 1. 

People on the Tibetan Plateau live mostly in the river valleys.

In the summer, herders move their tents to new pastures.

Summer camps in Tibet

SOURCE:  The Office of Research and Analysis Center, Security Department of H. H. the Dalai Lama Gangchen Kyishong Dharamshala-176215, ed., Tibet, An Enchanting Land (Kangra District, India: the Office of Research and Analysis Center, Security Department of H. H. the Dalai Lama Gangchen Kyishong Dharamshala-176215), no page number available. 

Yaks, depicted here, provide both milk used for butter and cheese and wool used for felt.

Yaks in Tibet                                             

SOURCE:  Nongmuyu ye bu waishi si and Zhongguo nongxue hui, ed., Zhongguo nongye (Beijing: Nongye chuban she, 1983),  p. 38.

The highest point along the Tibetan Plateau, Mount Everest (known in Chinese as Mount Zhumulangma) is also the highest mountain in the world. It is located on the Sino-Nepalese border and rises 8,848 meters (29,028 feet) above sea level.

The world's highest peak: Mt. Everest                                               

SOURCE:  China Pictorial, ed., Across China (Beijing: China Pictorial Publishing Company, 1985), p. 12.

 

 

Called the "roof of the world," the Himalayan Mountains along the Tibetan Plateau pose a great challenge to transportation and communication.

 

Why would it be worth building highways like this to link Tibet to the rest of China?

The highway from Tibet to Sichuan Province    

SOURCE:  Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan zongbianji weiyuanhui, ed., Zhongguo shaoshu minzu diqu huaji congkan, sichuan (Beijing: Minzu chubanshe, 1986), no page number available.

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