China Territory

China covers a total area of 9,571,300 square kilometers (3,695,500 sq mi). The country stretches across East Asia in a broad arc that has a maximum east-west extent of about 5,000 km (about 3,000 mi). From the country's northernmost point to the southern tip of Hainan Island, the north-south extent is about 4,000 km (about 2,500 mi).

China borders Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea on the north--Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan on the west--India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Vietnam on the south, and the Pacific Ocean and its extensions on the east.

China's vast territory encompasses a great diversity of landscapes. The land forms three giant steps that descend from high mountains, plateaus, and great basins in the west to a central band of lower mountains, hills, and plateaus, then to lowlands, plains, and foothills near the eastern coast. Deserts and steppes lie across the northwest and north central parts of China.