Seas in China

East China Sea

East China Sea, arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.480,000 sq mi (1,243,200 sq km), bounded on the E by the Kyushu and Ryukyu islands, on the S by Taiwan, and on the W by China. It is connected with the South China Sea by the Taiwan Strait and with the Sea of Japan by the Korea Strait; it opens in the N to the Yellow Sea. The Chang River empties into the sea, whose main ports are Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Fuzhou, China; and Chilung, Taiwan.

The South China Sea region is the world's second busiest international sea lane. More than half of the world's supertanker traffic passes through the region's waters. In addition, the South China Sea region contains oil and gas resources strategically located near large energy-consuming countries.
Information contained in this report is the best available as of September 2003 and is subject to change.

The South China Sea is rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas. These resources have garnered attention throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Asia's economic growth rates have been among the highest in the world, and this economic growth will be accompanied by an increasing demand for energy. Between now and 2025, oil consumption in developing Asian countries is expected to rise by 3.0% annually on average, with more than one-third of this increase coming from China alone. If this growth rate is maintained, oil demand for these nations will increase from about 14.5 million barrels per day in 2000 to nearly 29.8 million barrels per day by 2025.

Much of this additional demand will need to be imported from the Middle East and Africa. Excluding cargoes bound for South Asia, most of this volume would need to pass through the strategic Strait of Malacca into the South China Sea (see Figure 1). Countries in the Asia-Pacific region depend on seaborne trade to fuel their economic growth, and this has led to the sea's transformation into one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Over half of the world's merchant fleet (by tonnage) sails through the South China Sea every year. The economic potential and geopolitical importance of the South China Sea region has resulted in jockeying between the surrounding nations to claim this sea and its resources for themselves

The South China Sea encompasses a portion of the Pacific Ocean stretching roughly from Singapore and the Strait of Malacca in the southwest, to the Strait of Taiwan (between Taiwan and China) in the northeast (see the footnote for a more precise definition). The area includes more than 200 small islands, rocks, and reefs, with the majority located in the Paracel and Spratly Island chains. Many of these islands are partially submerged islets, rocks, and reefs that are little more than shipping hazards not suitable for habitation; the total land area of the Spratly Islands is less than 3 square miles. The islands are important, however, for strategic and political reasons, because ownership claims to them are used to bolster claims to the surrounding sea and its resources.

The Yellow Sea, also called the West Sea in North and South Korea (??, or ??, meaning yellow sea), is the northern part of the East China Sea, which in turn is a part of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between Mainland China and the Korean peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles that color its water, originating from the yellow river, Huang He.

In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation, less than 200 mm per year.. Deserts have a reputation for supporting very little life. Compared to wetter regions this may be true, although upon closer examination, deserts often harbor a wealth of life that usually remains hidden (especially during the daylight) to preserve moisture. Approximately one-third of Earth's land surface is desert.

Desert landscapes have certain common features. Desert soil is often composed mostly of sand and sand dunes may be present. Exposures of rocky terrain are typical, and reflect minimal soil development and sparseness of vegetation. Bottom lands may be salt-covered flats. Eolian (wind-driven) processes are major factors in shaping desert landscapes.

Deserts sometimes contain valuable mineral deposits that were formed in the arid environment or that were exposed by erosion. Because deserts are dry, they are ideal places for human artifacts and fossils to be preserved.

Bohai was a kingdom in Manchuria and northern Korea, from AD 698 to 926.

Geography
The gulf is formed by the Liaodong Peninsula (Historically: Liaotung) to the northeast and the Shandong Peninsula (Historically: Shantung) to the south. Bo Hai consists of three bays: Laizhou Bay (Liazhou Wan) to the south, Liaodong Bay (Liaodong Wan) to the north, and Bohai Bay (Bohai Wan) to the west. The rivers Huang He, Liao He, and Hai He empty into Bo Hai.

Bo Hai borders Shandong province, Liaoning province, Hebei province, and Tianjin municipality. Port cities on Bo Hai coast include:

Hebei: Qinhuangdao
Liaoning: Dalian, Jinzhou, Yingkou
Shandong: Longkou, Weihai, Yantai
Tianjin: Tanggu

Deserts in China

In geography, a desert is a landscape form or region that receives little precipitation, less than 200 mm per year.. Deserts have a reputation for supporting very little life. Compared to wetter regions this may be true, although upon closer examination, deserts often harbor a wealth of life that usually remains hidden (especially during the daylight) to preserve moisture. Approximately one-third of Earth's land surface is desert.

Desert landscapes have certain common features. Desert soil is often composed mostly of sand and sand dunes may be present. Exposures of rocky terrain are typical, and reflect minimal soil development and sparseness of vegetation. Bottom lands may be salt-covered flats. Eolian (wind-driven) processes are major factors in shaping desert landscapes.

Deserts sometimes contain valuable mineral deposits that were formed in the arid environment or that were exposed by erosion. Because deserts are dry, they are ideal places for human artifacts and fossils to be preserved.

The Taklamakan (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Some references state that Taklamakan means "if you go in, you won't come out" while others state that it means "Desert of Death" or "Place of no return." "Makan" is a Turkic word meaning "place".

It covers an area of 270,000 km2 of the Tarim Basin, extending between roughly 78° to 88° E longitude and 37° to 40° N latitude. It is crossed at its northern and at its southern edge by two branches of the Silk Road. The key oasis towns are Kashgar, Yarkand, and Khotan (Hetian) in the South-West, Kuqa and Turfan in the North, and Loulan and Dunhuang inthe East.
The White Jade River flows into the Taklamakan.

The archeological treasures found in its sand buried ruins point to Tocharian, early Hellenistic, and Indian/Buddhistic influences. Its treasures and dangers have been vividly described by Aurel Stein, Sven Hedin, Albert von Le Coq, and Paul Pelliot.

Numerous mummies, some 4000 years old, have been found in the region. They show the wide range of peoples who have passed through. Many of the mummies appear European and may have been members of the Tocharian people, who spoke an Indo-European language.

Later, the Taklamakan was inhabited by Turkic peoples. Starting with the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese periodically extended their control to the oasis cities of the Taklamakan in order to control the important silk route trade across Central Asia. Periods of Chinese rule were interspersed with rule by Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan peoples. The present population consists largely of Turkic Uyghur and Kazakh people in the countryside, while the population of the larger cities is predominantly Han Chinese.

The Badain Jaran Desert can be found in western Inner Mongolia. The desert covers 49,000 sq. kilometers (30, 000 sq. miles) spanning the provinces of Gansu and Ningxia in China as well as Inner Mongolia.

This desert is home to the tallest stationary dunes on Earth. Some of the dunes reach a height of 500 meters (1,600 ft.). The dunes are kept in place in the arid, windy region by an underground water source. Analyses of the ground water indicates that it snowmelt that flows through fractured rock from mountains hundreds of kilometers away.

The desert also features over 100 spring-fed lakes that lie between the dunes. These lakes give the desert its name which is Mongolian for "mysterious lakes"

The Ordos Desert (pinyin: E Er Du Si (Ordos) Sha Mo (Desert)) is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The soil of the Ordos is a mixture of clay and sand and, as a result, is poorly suited for agriculture. It extends over an area of approximately 90,650 km2.
The Ordos Desert is almost completely encircled by the great northern bend of the Huang He (Yellow River) in the west, north, and east. Mountain ranges separate the Ordos from the Gobi Desert north and east of the Huang He. The mountain chains separating the Ordos from the central Gobi in the north of the great bent of the Huang He are: the Kara-naryn-ula, the Sheitenula, and the In Shan (In Mountains), which link on to the south end of the Great Khingan Mountains. In the south and east, the Great Wall of China separates the Ordos from fertile loess lands. The Orodos covers the southern section of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, the Ningxia Autonomous Region, and Provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.