CHINA: Agriculture

Much of China has harsh environments. Nature has compensated for these unforgiving climates [chclimat] by providing fertile soils, from glacial deposits and from the many rivers [chrivers] that originate in the massive Tibetan Plateau [eatibpla]. 

The fine wind-blown soil glacial soil material is called Huang-Tu (“Yellow Earth”) by the Chinese people.  We call it loess. This loess is common not only in northern China but also in North America (including Illinois) and Europe and is associated with past glacial activity. 

In China glacial deposition was so extensive that it is as much as 500 feet deep in some places.  Over time the Huang He (Yellow) River [chrivers] has carried off much of this material and redeposited it as alluvium on the North China Plain [chproper].  The climate of North China [chclimat] is characterized by dry cold winters and hot summers.  Prior to the summer wet season (year round precipitation [eaprecip] is generally only 10 – 20 inches on the Loess Plateau, 16-30 inches on the North China Plain), dry winds pick up this loess and sand and dust storms are common.  South of the 30 inch rainfall line, near the Chang Jiang River Basin, no loess soil is found.  The early Chinese [chempire] developed agriculture on the Loess Plateau because these soils were fertile, porous and easy to work.

[The text of the above was written by Scott Girhard, San Antonio College from his online course GEOG 1301 World Geography. Used with permission.]