The Changing Geography of China

In this clear and carefully constructed text, Frank Leeming provides a superb introduction to the changing geography of China, which will be welcomed by students and teachers alike. By any criteria one of the most fascinating of nations, the People's Republic of China maintains around twenty-two per cent of the earth's human population in only seven per cent of its land area. No single human system has ever before attempted to manage so many people, placing massive demands upon water, land, mineral and energy resources on the one hand, and upon internal bureaucratic and political structures on the other. The success - or otherwise - of China in meeting this challenge forms one of the key themes of this study. Other themes examine the relationships among political, management and production systems, regional structures in this vast and immensely varied country, and the practical progress of the reforms which started in 1978.
In successive chapters, Frank Leeming covers: * resources and physical landscapes * the historic foundations of contemporary change * the structure of the People's Republic * rural development and rural problems * the industrial system and the state economy * urban China * features of regional change * the prospects for China. The text is supported throughout by current data from a wide range of sources, many otherwise inaccessible, and over forty maps and charts.