Chapter 1
Physical Settings and Water Challenges
Abstract This chapter provides a general description, analysis, and summary of
geography, hydrology, and water resource development in China. The monsoon and
China’s variety of landscapes result in significant regional differences in terms of
the hydrological cycle, water resources, and related issues. The regional distribution of water resources is uneven and not compatible with the distribution of other
resources, such as population and land. The seasonal and inter-year variations are
great. Therefore, the natural endowment of water resources in China is insufficient,
with per capita and per unit of cultivated land totals lower than world averages; water
resources have become a key constraint in regional social and economic development.
More importantly, northern China, with its landscape impacted by human activities
and climate change, has had a significant decrease in water resources, intensifying
conflicts over water supply and demand.
Keywords Hydrology · Water resource · Uneven distribution · Water resource
development · Water shortage · Water pollution
1.1 Geographical Aspects
1.1.1 Topography
China, in the southeast of Eurasia, faces the Pacific Ocean on the southeast, stretches
northwestward to the interior of Asia, and borders the South Asia subcontinent on
the southwest. As the world’s third largest country in area, China has a vast territory,
which spans about 62° in longitude, from E135°5’ to E73°40’, and about 50° in
latitude, from N4°15’ to N53°31’. It covers an area of 9,600,000 km
2 , about 1/15 of
the total global land surface.
The general tendency of the topography of China is higher elevations in the west
and lower elevations in the east. China’s topography is divided into three terracing
The data on hydrology and water resources come from the national water resources comprehensive
plan, which was published by General Institute of Water and Power Planning (2014) Assessment
for Water Resources and its Development and Use. China Water and Power Publisher, Beijing.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. Shen, Water Resources Management of the People’s Republic of China,
Global Issues in Water Policy 26, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61931-2_1
1
Physical Settings and Water Challenges
Abstract This chapter provides a general description, analysis, and summary of
geography, hydrology, and water resource development in China. The monsoon and
China’s variety of landscapes result in significant regional differences in terms of
the hydrological cycle, water resources, and related issues. The regional distribution of water resources is uneven and not compatible with the distribution of other
resources, such as population and land. The seasonal and inter-year variations are
great. Therefore, the natural endowment of water resources in China is insufficient,
with per capita and per unit of cultivated land totals lower than world averages; water
resources have become a key constraint in regional social and economic development.
More importantly, northern China, with its landscape impacted by human activities
and climate change, has had a significant decrease in water resources, intensifying
conflicts over water supply and demand.
Keywords Hydrology · Water resource · Uneven distribution · Water resource
development · Water shortage · Water pollution
1.1 Geographical Aspects
1.1.1 Topography
China, in the southeast of Eurasia, faces the Pacific Ocean on the southeast, stretches
northwestward to the interior of Asia, and borders the South Asia subcontinent on
the southwest. As the world’s third largest country in area, China has a vast territory,
which spans about 62° in longitude, from E135°5’ to E73°40’, and about 50° in
latitude, from N4°15’ to N53°31’. It covers an area of 9,600,000 km
2 , about 1/15 of
the total global land surface.
The general tendency of the topography of China is higher elevations in the west
and lower elevations in the east. China’s topography is divided into three terracing
The data on hydrology and water resources come from the national water resources comprehensive
plan, which was published by General Institute of Water and Power Planning (2014) Assessment
for Water Resources and its Development and Use. China Water and Power Publisher, Beijing.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
D. Shen, Water Resources Management of the People’s Republic of China,
Global Issues in Water Policy 26, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61931-2_1
1