China has superior natural conditions, as is evi- dent in its climate and topography.

It is one of the countries that straddle the great- est number of climatic zones. From north to south, the country covers six climatic zones: frigid-tem- perate, temperate, warm-temperate, subtropical, tropical and equatorial. That is to say, China has all the earth's climatic zones except tundra and permafrost zones that are located close to the po- lar region. It is worth mentioning that the bulk of the Chinese territory is in the temperate, warm- temperate and subtropical zones. A warm climate with distinct four seasons makes the country an ideal place for mankind to live and develop.

The vastness of the country brings about great regional differences in precipitation. For many years, China's annual precipitation averages 629 mm and a year's total rainfall exceeds six trillion cubic meters. However, owing to different degrees to which different regions of the country are af- fected by the summer monsoon, precipitation dif- fers sharply in different regions, the general trend being a progressive drop from the southeast to the northwest. With strong monsoon influence, south- ern China receives an abundance of rainfall. This is particularly true in coastal areas in southeast China, where annual precipitation exceeds 1,000 mm. A national record of 8,408 mm of annual rain- fall was set up in the Huoshaoliao area at the north- eastern tip of Taiwan. Rainfall is scarce in north- west China located in the heart of Eurasia where the summer monsoon has little influence. Except for a few high mountains, the bulk of the area that receives less than 200 mm of precipitation a year, is desert and semi-desert. Annual precipitation in Ruoqiang area in the heart of the Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang is as little as less than 10 mm to become the driest place in China.

The east Asian monsoon has a far-reaching in- fluence over climate in China. In summer, when a southeastern wind dominates, the weather becomes hot and rainy with temperatures higher than those in other countries of the same latitudes. In winter, when a northern wind holds sway, it becomes cold and dry with temperatures lower than those in other countries of the same latitudes. High temperatures in summer allow people in vast areas in north China to grow rice, cotton and other heat-loving plants; furthermore, heat is usually accompanied by plenty of rainfall, providing good conditions for the growth of summer crops.

China's landform is varied, encompassing mountains, plateaus, basins, plains and hilly ar- eas. Each type of landform presents a particular natural landscape. China is a mountainous coun- try: mountains, plateaus and hilly areas make up about 65% of its total land area. Many tall and long mountain ranges constitute the framework of the country's landform. They crisscross one another to form geographical "networks" which, encom- passing plateaus, plains and basins of different shapes and sizes, present different landforms.

The Chinese landmass descends in height from west to east, dropping in a stair fashion. From low to high elevations, the country can be divided into three stairs. The first stair lies east of a straight line stretching from the Greater Hinggan Moun- tains in northeast China to the Taihang-Wushan- Xuefeng ranges in the south.

On this stair are mostly plains and hilly areas less than 500 meters above sea level, including the country's three great plains -- the Northeast China Plain, the North China Plain and the Plain of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River -- as well as its largest hilly area, the Southeast China Hilly Land.

The second stair lies west of a straight line from the Greater Hinggan Mountains to the Taihang-Wushan-Xuefeng ranges. On this stair are plateaus and basins with elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level, including three of China's four plateaus -- the Inner Mongolia Plateau, the Loess Plateau and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and its four great basins -- the Sichuan Basin, the Tarim Basin, the Junggar Basin and the Qaidam Basin.

The third stair is the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau consisting of highlands and mountain ranges with elevations of 4,000 meters and 5,000-6,000 meters above sea level respectively. Along the ranges are scattered more than 10 peaks of more than 8,000 meters above sea level. Mount Qomolangma of the Himalayas along the Chinese-Nepalese border has a height of 8,848.13 meters above sea level, the tallest peak in the world. That is why the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is also known as "the roof of the world."

This sloping topography allows humid air currents above the sea to penetrate deep into China's interior areas; at the same time, big rivers flow invariably eastward into the sea as transportation arteries between inland and coastal areas, and their big flow drops contain huge hydropower resources. Taking advantage of its topography, China has built numerous hydroelectric stations on the gorges of the Yangtze and the Yellow River, in a "stair- by-stair" way of development.