in-shan and the Kiu-lung (or Po-meng) ranges, which, entering China
in 102 deg. E., extend in a general easterly course as far as 112 deg. E. in
the province of Hu-peh. These ranges have an average elevation of 8000
and 11,000 ft. respectively. In the south a number of parallel ranges
spread from the Yun-nan plateau in an easterly direction as far as the
province of Kwang-tung. Then turning north-eastward they run in lines
often parallel with the coast, and cover large areas of the provinces
of Fu-kien, Kiang-si, Cheh-kiang, Hu-nan and southern Ngan-hui, until
they reach the Yangtsze-kiang; the valley of that river from the
Tung-ting Lake to Chin-kiang Fu forming their northern boundary. In
Fu-kien these hills attain the character of a true mountain range with
heights of from 6500 to nearly 10,000 ft. Besides the chief ranges
there are the Tai-hang Mountains in Shan-si, and many others, among
which may be mentioned the ranges--part of the escarpment of the
Mongolian plateau--which form the northern frontier of Chih-li. Here
the highest peak is Ta-kuang-ting-tzu (6500 ft.), about 300 m. N.N.E.
of Peking and immediately north of Wei Ch'ang (the imperial hunting
grounds).

The Yellow River.

_Rivers and Canals._--The rivers of China are very numerous and there
are many canals. In the north the rivers are only navigable by small
craft; elsewhere they form some of the most frequented highways in the
country. The two largest rivers, the Yangtsze-kiang and the Hwang-ho
(Yellow river), are separately noticed. The Hwang-ho (length about
2400 m.) has only one important tributary in China, the Wei-ho, which
rises in Kan-suh and flows through the centre of Shen-si. Below the
confluence the Hwang-ho enters the plains. According to the Chinese
records this portion of the river has changed its course nine times
during 2500 years, and has emptied itself into the sea at different
mouths, the most northerly of which is represented as having been in
about 39 deg. N., or in the neighbourhood of the present mouth of the
Peiho, and the most southerly being that which existed before the
change in 1851-1853, in 34 deg. N. Owing to its small value as a navigable
highway and to its propensity to inundate the regions in its
neighbourhood, there are no considerable towns on its lower course.

The Yangtsze-kiang.

The Yangtsze-kiang is the chief waterway of China. Th