China's Mountains (1)

China is a mountainous country, with two-thirds of its surface area covered with mountains or hilly areas. Of the world’s 19 mountains that exceed the 8,000 meters mark, seven are in China or on its borders.
China’s mountains fall into three groups according to the directions in which they run, namely, the eat-west, the northeast-southwest, and the north-south ranges.
The east-west ranges, mainly in the western part of China, include the Altay, Tianshan, Kunlun, Himalayas, Qinling, and Nanling.
The Himalayas, the highest and most majestic mountain range in the world, rise above the southern rim of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Mount Qomolangma, which means “Goddess Peak” in Tibetan, is the main peak of the Himalayas and the highest peak in the world.
The Qinling Mountain Range, extending about 1,500 kilometers across Central China, forms a natural dividing line between the Changjiang and Huanghe valleys.
The northeast-southwest ranges, composed of an eastern and a western chain, are located mainly in the eastern part of China. The eastern chain includes the Changbai Mountains in Northeast China. The western chain is composed of the Great Xing’an Range in Northeast China, the Taihang Mountains in North China, the heights along the Yangtzc River Gorges, and the Xuefeng Mountains in Hunan Province.
The south-north ranges include the Hengduan Mountains in Western Sichuan and Yunnan provinces and the mountains in Eastern Taiwan Province. The Hengduan Mountain Range blocks communication between east and west, hence its name, meaning “Barrier Mountains” in Chinese.
China’s three major topographic regions are clearly marked by its mountains. The first region contains the Tibetan Plateau, averaging well over 4,060 meters above sea level, and other less dramatic highlands, dropping off in steps eastward and southward. The central portion of the Tibetan Plateau, with an average height of more than 4,800 meters, is aptly called “the Roof of the World.” The Kunlun Mountains to the north and the Himalayas to the south have several peaks reaching between 7,000 and 7,930 meters above sea level. The world’s highest mountain, Mount Qomolangma, situated on the Sino-Nepal border, rises to 8,848 meters, challenging the world’s bravest adventurers and the most skillful mountain climbers.
The second region is a highland region marked by extensive basin areas. North of the Kunlun Mountain Range are China’s two major basins: the Tarim and Junggar, separated by the Tianshan Mountains. North of Qilian and Qinling lie the vast Loess Plateau and the Inner Mongolia Plateau stretching along China’s northern border. South of the Qinling Mountain Range and east of the Hengduan Mountains are the Sichuan Basin and the Yungui Plateau. Vast in area and diverse in land features, this region is also rich in cultural resources. Visitors may explore as many as 40 different kinds of customs observed by the ethnic minority groups living in this region.
The third region is the lowlands, east of the Great Xing’an, Taihang and Wushan mountains. Topographically, there is almost nothing to mention concerning mountain chains since the area seldom rises more than 450 meters above sea level, except for some scattered highlands. Yet, since the great central eastern plains were cradles of China’s early cicilization, xome of the highland peaks are equally well-known and more frequently traveled for their long-developed legendary history.