China is the third largest country. A country that large has a wide range of geography that leads to its culture, economy, and history. China is made up of 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct controlled municipalities, and two special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital and Shanghai is the largest city, both are direct controlled municipalities. Macau and Hong Kong are the two special administrative regions. Mandarin is the official Chinese language dialect, but there are many regional dialects. China also only has one time zone.
In the north, China has two deserts, the Gobi and Taklamakan. The Taklamakan is in the northwest and the smaller of the two. The Gobi Desert is in the north along China’s border with Mongolia. The Gobi Desert is high in elevation which causes low temperatures. In the southeast China has subtropical forests. In the south, China is separated from south Asia by mountain ranges, notably the Himalayas. China is also home to the third and sixth largest rivers in the world. The Yangtze and Yellow rivers flow from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated east. These rivers have historically been major routes for trade and cultural spread. China has no major geographic obstacles in the west, allowing for major trade routes such as the Silk Road.
Chinas climate is mainly made up of dry seasons and monsoons. This causes great temperature changes in the winter and summer months. Because of the climate, China is also suitable for growing many types of crops.