This is to certify that the thesis entitled Present and Future Development of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland presented by Hsiang Hsien Chang has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Master of MINE—degree inwon ‘74?me Major professor Date September 2, 12142 Entitlllv ll! ll‘ill w‘ ‘ II PRESENT AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHINESE TIBETAN BORDERLAND By Hsiang Hsien Cheng A TIESIS Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE, Departlnent of Conservation Institute 1949 AC KN OWLED GMIN T The writer wishes to take this opportunity to express his sincerest appreciation to Professor Lee Roy A. Schoenmann, Director of Conservation Institute for his ever helpful guidance and criti- cisms which have made this study possible. Also, the writer wishes to thank Doctor Louis A. Wblfanger, Professor and.Research Professor in Land Use for his critical suggestions on preparing this manuscript. #*****$*** *******# ****** **** *1! * 8182.321 CONTENTS Page IntrOduCtioneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 1 Physical Characteristics of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland............................................... 5 Cultural Backgrounds..................................... 18 Natural Resources........................................ 25 Present Conditions of Land Use........................... 32 Programs of Readjustment and Development................. 54 Conclusions.............................................. 65 Bibliography.....ooouo........o...o....................o 67 1. 2. 3. 5. 6. 7. FIGURES Location of the Region....................... Showing Location.Mentioned in the Text....... Land Forms................................... Soil Groups.................................. Mineral Resources............................ Surface Transportation Routes................ Economic-Geographic Areas.................... Page 14 26 49 52 INTRODUCTION The region "Chinese Tibetan Borderland" as indicated here refers to the lands between approximately 93° and 106° n. and 26° and 38° N, it embraces principally the watershed of Yangtze and a part of Yellow River. Both of them.are the main rivers in China and have affected the life of the Chinese for many thousands of years. The region covers an area of 525,000 square miles or about the total area of Texas, hew'Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma in the United States. it lies between the Szechuan Basin, which has an elevation of 1,500 feet and the lofty Tibetan Plateau, more than 15,000 feet above sea level. It is an area of complex and rug- ged relief. High.mountains tower above deep gorges at an elevation of about 6,500 feet. In such rugged country there is of course a consider- able diversity of natural characteristics. The significant characteristic of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland lies in the fact that the land form of this region varies greatly. It consists of plains, basins, mountains, and plateaus. In the southern part of these plateaus, the Yangtze, Mekong, and Salween Rivers have carved some of the deepest and.most inaccessible canyons in the world, parts of which have a depth of over two miles.1 Due to this great dif- ference of relief, the distribution of natural vegetation is vertical in character; dry steeppes in the valley bottoms form a striking contrast to the luxuriant primeval forests of the mountain slopes. Obviously, the region is located between agricultural China on the east and the nomadic Tibetans on the west. It is a fact that China was in contact 1 Cressey, G. 0., China's Geographic Foundations, New York, McCrawbHill, 1954 ' P. 384 O LOCATION OF THE REGION r .0. ’0' w. o 1 e s . , . fl 0 , I ' 1‘0 I'll?" W-K ” 3:1 I ~l’-"'\. ') 1‘ \‘t" 30° “’1' \‘ “J. E Irkutfk/{f/ '1. _ L 52,. gr.» \ \ - :r/l i "i. gem-h fw‘?‘ I! ‘. . /'\ is“. X‘ .va \.’,.-.‘ ./ \‘I‘\. 2 \ ‘2‘ ’.I .\‘ I'J ‘AN6 3 3' .\ ,' 1...... "- " HalLUNg’K‘M 3‘ : ,' "'v‘ ' I'll-isst'tm l'laufidtor ‘9 m ‘ 3' I. .- .‘ f' . e e ‘.. \( ‘u“ \‘u‘ ‘N \- f . \ .;\T‘ ‘\“ a\\n“°lo’“ [:1 . OUTER MONGOLIA 3.110 “4.. N: .< M me. “AR 4 I (1' "With“ ‘CHA OL . H ['0' "an" ' AN ‘ J :9.“ so I Y U (h- ' SmmNG car m... are» SLIM...- NINGSlA ( Pantow WIS "A“? -...\ K ‘ SU . , SHANSI “.03in . Unncsla Telyl an H09” ‘3. . ' . I “E“ j CH'NGHA' Q m? ' ‘ . l 3’ " ' used!“ ” . ' \ "I: R ,. usage: PARTNER , ‘ 1 sum HON‘N' T ‘ BET .. ' ‘-. m . "\__ thng J '~ . . . i ' ' ‘ _. , \ —- “.3, h." [’1 until“:- . “0““qu ' so- . SZECHWA nun "‘3 . ‘3“ "g x. ' w» N” r"; Lb?“ s | K A N G CHEW" “‘1'" .rul'firihch “:3“... ; “q“;fifimol‘“ ' ° , .' f .5 fl . 457; WWW“ v (lyuflu it y ‘ .g‘tllll-"N‘, \‘n‘u ltd“ I Changsha , ‘t ‘ 8| {ml "1:- “[ANGSI _t," l K .CHOW ”UNA" ‘Y i“ "l 4 no. lune ‘0. ‘ FUKIEN WW KW. I\ .mQ .7 p, “.4" in: Karma -,. g . no ‘- ” mu“. W Ami-(flu FORMOSA 1 \ n ‘I. 4 l ‘4‘ l‘ \(7. ; scan I 30,000,000 . . o zoo 400 000 000 /....- ,- l 1 an L’- n. MILES FIG. urns ounmso REGION us me camess TIBETAN soaosauuo -2- 'with the western world through land traffic as early as the Tang Dynasty (618 A.D.), and the well-known "Silk Road" 31:11). plays an important part in communication in northwestern China. However, China has had very limited contacts with her backbone, Tibet, and its borderland. The reason is inaccessibility, along with rugged topography to which the agricultural Chinese can hardly adjust themselves, The Tibetan Border- land embraces these marginal districts next to historic China, where all human activities are strictly adjusted to demands of a rigorous mountain environment. Although there is available literature concerning the Chinese Tibetan Borderland both in the Chinese and western languages, for systematic studies and detailed investigations have been made. The writer had an opportunity of work in.this region during 1939-1940, and would interpret some of his direct observations in this paper. THE CHINESE TIBETAN BORDERLAND \ ' noc' \ / ‘. \ / _ r “\ \\ r’\ \ oruuu Iago S6'—- \\ ‘\ \”\- x W I _..-< . A‘ \ \ \~ \ ‘ O .\ I \ \ 1 \ i g _ ‘ new, \ \ \ N f v _, —‘ s- 52". ' \ \ ‘19, \ \ \To . r - \ \ a: - s I I ‘ ~ . owns ,v . ,2 \ —» a , \ I? \/ _” 7" O \ . P SICHUNG " ‘1 CIWIDC J. ‘ ‘ «museum 0 \ ‘ t a E OTAOFU ' " _ . . museums ‘.‘2 I r. r -. . ;\ “‘ _ 9045mm I: a "a o .,.- . I f . TAINING .2 ; ‘KIANGPEI . \ on»: I' 0' oz 1" O.” \ '- ' O '. Tm ‘ _ ‘ xmetme mm 335“ 0'6le ‘ 0K5“ orzeuursme cautious ~. h . I glue" 1/\ ,I x “v . / ' (I‘M ." \ a, J, ‘ at \\ ” 2°. . *0 \ / x" I A _/ / ( KWEICHOW , \ I \ I / / ILH. _ _J .00 c uoo our. ELL—w". ‘1 SCALE. FIG. 2.'SHOWIN6 THE LOCATIONS KNTIONED IN TIE TEXT PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS or THE CHINESE TIBETAN BORDERIJJID A. Extent and Boundaries Politically, the Chinese Tibetan Borderland comprises Sikang, Chinghai, southwestern Kansu, western Szechuan, northern Yunnan, and northwestern corner of Kweichow Province. Its eastern limits have been fixed by the 1,000 foot contour line. On the west no precise boundary can be drawn. In general it coincides with the watershed of the Yangtze River. Its northern bomdary follows closely along Nan Shan and the upper Yellow River. 0n the south the upper Yangtze River lies west of Chungking forming its natural boundary. It is interesting that no place in this region is less than 800 miles from sea, and most of the lands are primarily occupied by non-Chinese, except Szechuan, and Kansu. 3. Land Forms The Chinese Tibetan Borderland is unique among the other regions of China in its configuration. Comparatively little is known concerning the very complex ge010gic structure along the border of the plateau adjoining to old China. There are, however, five physiographio types that may be distinguished in order to analyse the land form of the region. 1. Plateau The Chinese Tibetan Borderland contains a considerable part of the highest body of land anywhere on earth. Geographically, the area west of the mighty Ta Hsueh Shan or the Great Snowy Range in the eastern Sikang Province, is a lofty plateau some 15,000 feet in average elevatim .2 2Hanson-Love, J ., ”Notes on the Pleistocene Glaciation of the South Chinese Tibetan Borderland", GeOgraphical Review, Vol. DOWII No. I, p.70, (1947),. -5- LAND FORMS ___._-___h‘>__s i “‘ -‘ ‘0 ' \‘§ ‘\ .- .-,- 1-. -. -““\ \ \‘\ . . ‘ '- ‘. \\I\ I. '. ~-" s\\§- av.- . Ks \\\\ . ‘\ ‘ \ ..‘ I00 U .00 d4 l'. ' mm— . fl SCALE FIG. 3.-THE LANDFORN TYPES OF THE OHIPESE TIBETAN ”MRLAM) LEGEND PLATEAU a sasms AND PLAINS MOUNTAINS 7/////, CANYONS AND RIDGE-VALLEYS cucuens It extends further west at about 93° E. where the upper Yangtze follows an almost meridional course, with the relatively little dissected plateau of central Tibet rising to the west. Its northern territory includes the lower elevated Koko Nor and Chinghai Plateau. Its southern boundary is fixed by latitude 28° N. Although within the area there is a series of sheer snow-clad mountains, which have broken the uniform peneplain- like land, this area lacks the deep gorges characteristic of the trunk streams in its southern parts. 2. Mountains The Fan Shan, of which the Richthofen Mountains form the outer range, with elevation touching 20,000 feet, is located in the northern Chinese Tibetan Borderland. The Annie Machin, with a continuous series of peaks of 20,000 feet lying in the southeastern part of Chinghai, is the eastern extension of Kuen Lun Mountains. The Ta Hsueh Shan of eatern Sikang Province possesses numerous peaks which exceed 20,000 feet, and are glacier clad. The highest of these peaks is Minya Gonka, southwest of Kangting. The granite batholith culminates in a pyramid of 24,000 feet above sea level, and forms the highest mountain of the region. I In the southern borderland, rugged mountains and deep gorges dominate the landscape" The structural trend is north and south in Sikang and Yunnan, turning to east and west in Kweichow. The average height of the mountains is about 15,000 feet. 3. Basins and Plains There are two kinds of basins in this area: the wet basin of -75; Szechuan and the dry basin of Tsaidam. The Szechuan Basin comprises a great structural basin of the synclinorium.type. Except for a few small areas, the region is thoroughly hilly. The term."basin" refers to topo- graphic relations with the high encircling mountains rather than to the nature of the detailed topography. The surface of the basin contains alternating sandstones and clay-shale which formed in early Cretaceous to early Tertiary. Beneath the basin lies a great thickness of soft red and yellow Tertiary sandstones underlaid by Carboniferous coal- bearing formations and limestone. The central part of the basin has undergone advanced erosion, and a great many low mesas and cuestas of resistant rocks are found. The average elevation of the Szechuan Basin ranges from 900 to 1,500 feet. The-Tsaidam is a large desert basin with salt marsh on its rims. Its central part is arid, and the land is barren. Other small basins are feund in the area around Sichang, Sining, and Lanchow. Chengtu Plain is the only extensive plain in this region. The plain has an elevation of 1,800 feet and covers an area of approximateky 1,730 square miles. It is a huge alluvial plain formed by coalescence of many alluvial fans, among which the Min River fan is the largest, constituting two-thirds of the area of Chengtu Plain. While most of they plain is a monotonous flat land with a distinct slope toward south, low and gentle hills of 30-150 feet are frequently encountered in the ril.of the plain. 4. Canyons and Ridge-Valleyg Southern Sikang and northern Innnan have been greatly dissected into canyons and intervening high ridges, with a general northwest to southeast orientation. Here are the upper course of the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween Rivers, and their tributaries. 'Although the rivers flow at an elevation of slighyly over a mile, there is very little level land in the valleys. The altitude between high ridges and valleys varies from 6,500 to 10,000 feet. In the eastern half of the Szeohuan Basin is a series of folded parallel anticlines trending generally northeast-southwest.4 Anticlinal ridges usually rise l,200-2,000 feet above synclinal valleys. 5. Glaciers Observations of glaciation are thought to suggest Quarternary ice action at lower altitudes in east and central China, but the matter is still unsettled. Of ice action in the higher ranges of Tibetan.Bor- derland, there is no’question about it. Live glaciers still gouge the flanks of hinya Gonka and other peaks of the Borderland. Although there is an absence of glacial ponds and the relative paucity of drift, river gorges are narrow, and moraines give place to fluvioglacial action below 13,000 feet. Richardson puts the extreme lower limit of ice action.in this region at 10,000 feet.5 C. Drainage There are three different drainage basins in this region: the Yangtze, the Yellow River and the inland basin.6 It is interesting that 4 Lee, J. 3., The Geology of China, London, Thomas Murby, 1939, p. 86. 5 Richardson, H. L., ”The Ice Age in west China”, Jounnal‘gf'the west Chins Border Research Society, Vol. XIV, No. I, P. 5, (194377 6 Hung, F., A Preliminary Study of Demarcation of Geographic Regions of China, Journal Geographic Society 22 China, Vol. I, No. 2, p.6, (1934). -9- in Sikang Province where the Mekong, Salween, Yangtze, and their trib- utaries, flowing from northwest to southeast, approach within 100 miles of each other, diverge when leaving the Borderland so that their mouths are 4,000 miles apart. Kansu and southeast Chinghai lie in the drain- age basin of the Yellow River. It possesses very limited tributaries. The inland basin is a large part of Chinghai and northwest Kansu. Rivers are either intermittent or flow into salt lakes. Koko Nor is a beautifUI salt lake at height of 9,648 feet. Extensive swamps are found in the desert region of Tsaidam whose area is also a part of inland drainage. D. Climate The climate is temperate and moist. Despite the distance from.the Pacific, the region lies within the influence of the southeast monsoon that surges in fro-.the South China Sea in summer. The isotherms of both January and July in this region.form.a sharp curve following the border of higher lands as the topography affects the temperature. The mean temperature of this region is indicated by the following records (temperature in Centigrade):7 Station J P M A H J J A S 0 H D Yr. Chengtu 5.5 8.7 12.2 17.1 22.1 24.6 26.3 26.2 22.1 17.8 12.0 8.2 16.9 Chungking 7.8 9.7 14.2 18.8 22.6 25.1 28.9 29.2 24.1 18.9 14.2 10.3 18.7 Kangting 06 1e]. 4e? 8e0 11s? 13.2 16e9 16e5 1205 9e? 4e5 101 804 Taining - 8 -3 .6 2.9 8.0 10.6 13.1 12.8 10.6 5.6 -1.2 ~3.4 4.1 1511011" " 7e1-1e2 5s]. 1.106 17.2 2005 2207 21e3 1601 9e9 1e]. 4e4 9e6 Tulan "' 9e1‘5e1 e1 4e5 10e3 14s? 17e6 15e6 10e8 4e8 4e5 "8e3 4e3 The above data shows that Ssechuan Basin has an unusually'mild and short winter, protected from the continental air by the high mountain barriers of its north and northwest borders. Summers are long and hot. 5 Climatologic Data: Air Temperature, Academia Sinica, National Research Institute of Meteorology, 1944, pp. 35-68. -10- The extreme maximum temperature of Chungking has been recorded at 44°C. in.August. The stations of Taining and Tulan on the plateaus indicate cool short summers but long severe'winters. Temperature there changes extremely. The minimum.January temperature of Taining and Tulan'were -26°C. and -32°C. respectively. Lanchow and Kangting represent transi- tional temperature between cold, long winters of the west and short-mild ‘winters of the east.‘ Data on the canyons are lacking but most of the deep valleys are characterized by remarkably mild climatic conditions, considering their high elevation. Rice is even grown at Paan in Sikang, and wild citrus fruits are found further south of the canyons. In regard to precipitation.Szechuan Basin receives more rain than any other place in this region. Snowfall is rare in Szechuan but appears in great amount in the high altitudes. Kansu and Chinghai are the driest areas in this region, especially the Tsaidam which is dry at all times and only receives a little rain.during summer months. The following are rainfall data from.se1ected stations (Precipitation in m.):8 Stations J FHA 11.! J AS ONDYr. Chengtu 18 20 37 96 145 186 137 125 145 109' 49 20 1096 Chungking 13 21 42 49 120 133 319 373 149 63 19 10 1311 Taining .6 16 18 72 76 166 101 76 173 36 5 2 736 Kangting 4 13 46 80 131 113 97 102 44 15 6 5 835 Lanchow 1 3 5 9 27 34 63 99 47 12 3 2 307 1 410 Tulan 2 5 9 21 42 54 72 107 67 20 11 It is necessary to mention that orographic rain is of paramount 8ClimatelOgic Data: Precipitation, Academia Sinica, National Research i§3titute of Meteorology, 1943, pp. 44-85. ~11- importance in this region. The relatively heavy rainfall of'mountain masses, in contrast with that of the surrounding lowlands, is to be accounted for by the upward deflection of winds by the mountains. Omei Shan rises at the western edge of the Szechuan Basin with a bold cliff 10,070 feet high, and the annual rain fall is 2546 mm. According to Koppen,9 the region comprises Cwa, th, Dwa, ow, Bskw, and.E types of climate. Central Szechuan Basin belongs to Cwa and Cwb climate, which is characterized by warm humid weather with 325 days free from frost. The relative humidity is high, especially during the 'winter months when clouds and mist are common. Dwa and ow are the climates of northwest Szechuan, eastern and southeast Sikang, where the growing season ranges from.90 to 135 days. Part of Chinghai and northwest Kansu is located within Bskw climate, where high daily temper- ature range and less rainfall reliability is characteristic. Sikang and most part of Chinghai are located in E climate where the growing season is less than 90 days. E. Vegetation Wilson10 recognized the Chinese Tibetan Borderland affording wide altitudinal extremes, a great diversity in climate, and a copious rainfall, so that it would naturally be expected to support a rich and varied flora. According to his description the distribution of vegetation is vertical in character. Generally speaking, the great part of 9 Koppen, 1",, Die Klimate der Erde, map. Berlin, 1923. 1°w11eon, E. 3., g Naturlist 33 Western China, London: Methuen, 1915, pp. 45-140- -12- Szechuan Basin, excluding the higher mountains and plateaus of its north- eastern and.northwestern parts, is covered by subtropical vegetation. Pines, palme, bamboo, cypress, ficus and some evergreen broadleafed trees are predominant. One of the noticeable evergreen trees is the Chinese banyans (ficus infectoria) which grow abundantly on the top or slope of the uncultivated hills. Deciduous trees include oaks, tung oil, insect whitedwax,'with oaks dominating. The flora of western Szechuan and Sikang is greatly affected by altitude and direction of slopes. Conifer- Hans and deciduous vegetation is found on heights, grass at middle and lower altitudes, grasses on the south slopes, and forests on the norther- ly slopes. Rhododendrons are common in the southern parts of the area. The canyons of southern Sikang are either bare of vegetation or forested with oak, spruce, fir and pines, and the smoother parts of the uplands have a thick sod of avena and festuca. Balophutes and salt-tolerant vegetations are found in the vast area of western Chinghai. Tall-bunch and short grasses and tall and short grass sods are the dominant vegeta- tion in east Chinghai and west Kansu. Of course, there are conifers on the high mountains of the area. The response of soils to the influence of’climatic factors is strikingly apparent in the Chinses Tibetan Borderland. Both pedocal and pedalfer are found in this region and each of the great soil groups has a personality acquired from.its environment. Twelve soil groups were recognized in this study by Throp,11 four of which are distributed in large areas. 11 Throp, J., Generalized Soil Map__ of C__h__i___na, Chungking, The National Geological Survey of China, 1941. -13- \ SOIL GROUPS v00 L.—1_' 1.. 1:17—— SCALE 'OOGJ ‘3 no 4. -suowmc LOCATION OF THE ancmu. SOIL cam OF THE CHINESE TIBETAN sosDEwLauD LEGEND - IMPERPEOTLV DEVELOPED CHERNOZEI E3 DARK cuesmm EARTH m mmcru DEVELOPED DARK-CESTNUT EARTH m nuPssrecTLV DEVELOPED LIGHT-CHESTNUT new — GRAY DESERT SOIL AND snows DESERT SOIL m SALINE ALLUVIUN .I'III-I.l.'.;’l GRAY MN POOZOLIC SOIL PURPLE COLORED SOIL NON-OALOAREOUS ALLUVIAL SOIL NOUNTAIN HAD" SOIL MOUNTAIN TUNDRA SOIL MOUNTAIN STONY SOIL 1. Purple-brown Soils The purple-brown soils are by far the predominant agricultural soils in the Szechuan Basin. The soils consist of slightly acid or neutral, purplish brown, or reddish surface soils, underlain.by purple clay or clay loam soils. The color varies depending upon the parental materials. In the western and southern part of Szechuan Basin the soils of this group are frequently reddish purple or reddish brown in color following the color of their parent rocks. The soils are moderately rich in mineral plant foods, and are particularly tillable. One of the most interesting physical properties of this group of soils is the rapid rate of absorbing and losing water. Most of the purple-brown soils occur on undulating to rolling topography. On the higher and rougher hills and low mountains, the soils are frequently very thin.or have been washed entirely'nway, leaving bare shale or sandstone at the surface. 2. Non-calcareous Alluvial Soils The most extensive non-calcareous alluvial soils are found in Chengtu Plain, where there is a gradualaccumulation of silts, clays, and sands from the Min River. In other parts of Szechuan, sandy deposits occur chiefly in narrow strips along the rivers. These recent alluvial soils which remain in.the Szechuan Basin have been sufficiently'modified by rice culture and are very productive under fertilization. 3. Brown and Grgyhbrown Podzolic Soils These soils are developed extensively in the lower Yangtze IRiver of Central China under subhumid-temperate climate. In the Chinese Tibetan Borderland, these soils are found in northern Szechuan, southern Kansu, southern Sikang, northern.Iunnan, and northwestern Kweichow. Soils of this type are normally forested, but most Of the brown and gray- grown.podzolic soils which occur on gentle slopes of nearly flat uplands have long since been terraced and planted to rice, and the profiles have been altered to the rice paddy podzolic types. 4. The Chestnut Colored Soils These include the soilegroups of dark-chestnut earth, imper- fectly developed dark-chestnut earth, and imperfectly developed light- chestnut earth. These groups of soils occur in.Kansu and Chinghai, and are derived chiefly from the same parent material-loess. The dark-chestnut earth is found in the area where soil moisture is not so high, and where there is a mixture of short and tall grasses. A typical dark-chestnut earth comprises from.8 to 40 inches of dark brown soil ranging in texture from sandy to clay loan. The imperfectly developed dark-chestnut earth appears on the higher hills and on the upper slopes of the mountain ranges because the climate is cooler and more moist, and the grass more dense. The distribution of this soil is relatively narrow. The imperfectly developed light-chestnut earth differs from.normal types in having no well-defined accumulation of lime in the profile. All of the material is calcareous from.the surface downward except in cases 'where there are buried soils, which were formally leached free of lime 'when they were exposed at the surface. 5. The Imperfectly;Developed Chernozmm This soil is essentially like the imperfectly developed dark- chestnut earth, and occupies a very limited area in this region. .w. I. a 6. Saline Alluvium Saline alluvium is extensively found in Tsaidam Basin of Chinghai Province. Due to the fact that most of the rivers in this area capty into the Basin from which the water evaporates, the area is largely covered by salt marshes, which have little agricultural value. 7. Gray and Brown Desert Soils . In those parts of the desert having soil cover, the commonest color of this area is light gray or pale yellowish-gray. Soil texture varies from sandy to clayey, and where the surface soil is pure sand, there is no crust even after rain. 8. ypuntain fleadow Soil and Its Related SoilAs_ These include the momtain meadow, mountain tundra, and mountain stony soil groups. They are typicil lithosols which are extensively distributed over the entire high plateau area of this region. The soils are predominately very shallow, and in many places consist largely of a thin layer of dark-brown organic mixed material with small fragments of stones. CULTURAL BACKGROUNIB A. Historical Development Eccept Szechuan and southeastern Kansu, the Chinese Tibetan Borderland is ehtkely inhabitedby non-Chinese and has always been recognized as part of real Tibet. Its early history-is vague._ How- ever, it was not until, the Chin dynasty (221-209 13.0.) that western Szechuan was incorporated with the Chinese Enpire, and began to re-' ceive Chinese. During the succeeding Han dynasty (206 3.6. to 25 A.D.) the whole Szechuan 'Basin was settled by agricultural Chinese, but its . northwestern and western rim have beenalways occupied by non-Chinese. Kansu was settled by Chinese during the early Chin chrnasty but a great part of that province was occupied-and is still occupiednby Mohammedans and Mongolians. Chinghai became a province and Sikang a special possession of China separate from Tibet in 1928. In 1936 Sikang was formally elevated to the status of a regular province of China. later, several districts of southwestern Szechuan were transferred to Sikang. Isolation has ‘re- tarded developmentin the past. Now industrialization is beginning. Yaan, for instance, is said to have a tanning factory, a paper mill, and atea'factory. Taining in the northwest of Kangting, has an animal husbandry station. B. Population So far as population is concerned, the Chinese Tibetan Borderland contains oneof China's most densely settled and one of its most. sparsely populated areas. Its pattern of distribution is conspicuous and. closely related with topography. climte, soils, and accessibilf ity, being strongly concentrated in lower altitudes and river basins. Szechuan, forinstance, is one of China's five areas of dense settle- ment.12 The population of Szechuan is not distributed evenly over the basis but it is concentrated in three clusters: ‘the Kialing River valley above Chungking, and'Iping (Suifu) area up the Yangtze River from Chungking, and the Chengtu Plain which is one of the most densely set- tled rural regions in China with an average density‘of 950 persons per squareumile.“ The total population of Szechuan Province-is estimted to be 45,000,000. Sikang ht. a total population of 2,153,500, which is'83 per cent of the people concmtrated in eastern Ta Iisueh Shan, and another loper cent in the valleys east of the upper Yangtze River. The rest is scattered in the high plateau, west ofthe uppmf Yangtze. River, living as nomads. Their density is about 2.5 per squaremile. Kansu is the only province of! this region where population is more or less evenly distributed. Its total population is 3,489,187, with a density of 90-125 per square mile. Chinaghai has a total population of 1,313,584 and 70 per cent of them‘are distributed in the eastern part of Koko Nor with a density of 40 per square miles The rest live in the west of Koko Nor where their density is about 2.5 per square mile. 12 Alexander, J. W. ,' ”The Prewar Population of China: Distribution and Dmsity," Annals'AssOciation of American Geographers, Vol. mun, at. 1"“, p73, (1948). ""' ' ' 13 Jen, M. 'N., ”Agricultural Landscape of southeastern China," Economic Geography, Vol.'XXIV, no. 3, pp. 161, (1948). Despite the fact that the maj ority of the population of this region consists of Chinese immigrants from other provinces who are chiefly found in the lower lands and more accessible valleys from which theyhave driven theoriginal inhabitants, a great variety of primitive people still occupy a huge section of high plateau and rug- ged mountains. The main raceeof these non-Chinese tribes are Shan, Misc, Lolo, Chungchia, Tibetan, Moslem, Sifan and Mongolian. hch group has its own language or dialect, habit, and leads a semi-inde- pendent political emistence. These people are simple and ignorant but cheerful and kindly. The Mohammedans are concentrated in Kansu and eastern Chinghai. Mongolians are confined to northwestern Chinghai. Kuolos live in northwestern Szechuan. Tibetans and Sifans occupy a huge area of high plateau of Chinghai and Sikang. Miao predominate among non-Chinese in Kwiechow. Southern Sikang and northern Yunnan show a vertical distribution of different tribes in the human nuke-up. Broadly speaking, the Khan people are acclimated to a warm, low coun- try below_2,500 feet above sea level; the Chungchia group is found between 2,600 and 5,000 feet; while the Lolos and Mosos are at alti- tudes of 5,090 to 8,000 feet.14 Lamaism, a variety of Buddhism, is the predauinant'religion in .the Chinese Tibetan Borderland. Except for the Moslems, non-religious Chinese, Miao, andLolo, Iamaism holds absolute domination over the people in Chinghai, Sikang, and northwestern Szechuan. As a rule, at least one son from each family must become a Lama priest, often being H Chang, 0. 7ft, "Climate And'lQn In China“, Annals of The'Association 2: American GeOgrapheLs, Vol. 36, no. 1., p. 53, U916). ~20- sent to the monastery while yet a child. Abundant signs of Lamaism are everywhere apparent in the area. Prayer-flags flutter from the housetops, mountain-peaks, across streams, and over cairns of rocks. Mani-stones are heaped by the wayside; prayerdwheels, turned either by hand, by the wind, or by the current of streams, occur on all sides. Practically 80 per cent of the population of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland is engaged in farming. It is only in Szechuan and other agricultural areas of the region that people have a diversified occupa- tion. merchant and operators of small industries comprise a large pro- portion of population in cities and.marketing towns. In addition, public service, transportation, mining, lumbering, etc., are other occupations besides farming.. Nomadic grazing is perhaps the main oc- cupation in Chinghai, Sikang, and northwestern.Szechuan with the except- ion of a feW'primitive subsistence farms. Of course, Lama priests con- stitute a considerable percentage in.the nomadic area. C e S Ottl emetnts Just like other regions of China, the Chinese Tibetan Borderland is predominately populated by rural settlements.‘ By:a rough estimae tion about 80 per cent of the total population in.this region live in the scattered rural areas. 1. Urban Settlements I Only in eastern part of the region where natural environment favors a diversity of economic activity, are urban settlements consequently developed. There are two foremost important cities in Szechuan each with a half million population: Chengtu and Chungking. The former is -21- located in the richest agricultural center of Chengtu Plain and has long functioned as political center of that province. The latter serves as an importantcommercial port which links the eastern China through the Yangtze River. Chungking also functioned as the capital of China during World War II, and had a population of 1,266,464 in 1944. In addition there are about 16 cities in Szechuan with a popula- tion of 60,000 or more, and 90 per cent ofthem are located on rivers. or at river junctions which provide transportation‘for local business. Although there is no city with a population of 100,000 in the plateau area of Chinghai or Sikangpthere‘are a few urban settlunmts of either strategic orcomnercial significance. Among than Kangting is the gate way to Tibet, and-Sining is the trading settlement of Chinghai. Aside fromthese cities, the Iamaseries are thechief centers of settled activity in the nomadic area. There are scores which have thousands or priest, while small ones are found in every important vallq. 2 . Rural Settlanents The predominance of dispersed rural settlanents in the Szechuan Basin. is the most marked contrast with the other part of China. Appar- ently, the rural settlanents in this basin comprise four principal types, which are the single farmsteads, shop-keeper hamlets, smll vil- lages or towns without a fairday, and market towns. The single farm- steads'prevail throughout both the flat Chengtu Plain and the rest of the rough and rolling hilly areas. There are usually two or three households living together intone farmstead, with their fields around it or scattered, but seldom over a _quarter mileaway. The shop-keeper hamlets are groups of residmces in a compact form, averaging about ten -22- to twenty households, usually close together.- They always have an elongated form along the main road or valleys. The inhabitants of these hamlets are composed of part-time farmers andmercharrts. The small villages or towns are found in areas which have more extensive arable land, route convergence and/or stream junctions. There are shopsin the village or town carrying very limited goods such as groc- eries, pork dealers, inn: and tea shops. These smallvillages or towns apparently form a transitional commznity which has a tendmcy toward urban function, but'which is also closelyrelated to the economic life of rural population. The market‘towns possess urban characteristics, but are smller in size and transact business only on fair days. Tents are the characteristic habitation of the nomads of Changhai, Sikang and northwestern Szechuan. They appear in places where water and pastureare available. The tents are nude of course black cloth woven from yak hair, which soon becomes impregnated with grease and _ dirt. As a result these cloth tents shed rain excellaitly. Bach tent houses one or two families usually with three to'five persons. e Other non-Chinese rural settlements in southern'Sikang, northern Yunnan, and northwestern Szechuanare primitive fame. They dwell either in bamboo huts, logs, wood and stone houses or thatched lmts of one or two storiee. D. Trade and Connnerce Tradekstatistics of this regicm are not available. However, trade and commerce are quite important in human activities. As a matter of fact, the ChineseflTibetan Borderland possesses a great number of econom- ic areas which depend upon the supply and demand of the people for -23.. existence. Chungking is the most outstanding export and importcity in the whole region. Other cmmnercial centerssuoh as Chengtu, Yaan,. Kangting, Sichang, Danchow, and Sining are places of transshipment. During the summer months trading caravans from the west of these cities and pack animals from the east, converge for business. There are also. fairs held several time annually for trade. In addition, the lemser- ice are the chief centers of business in the nomadic as well as primi- tive agricultural areas.‘ Barter-trade is prevalent in such areas. Tea is the all-important medium.employed. This commodity and a few'odd . sundries are taken in exchange by the tribes-men for their medicines, skins, wool, bones, and musk. ’In prosperous Szechuan, trade is not con- fined to cities, but also takes pLace in a great number of towns which hold fairdays. The fairs are run on the old lunar calendar, and there has grown up a definite sequence of dates and frequencies which are de- pendent upon thepvolume of business the towns can command. In the ord- inary case a frequency of threerfairs per tenrday period is found, mak- ing nine fairs every month.15 15 Spencer, J. E., "The Szechuan‘VillageTFair," Ebonomic Geography, Vol. XVI, no. 1, p. 52, (1940). -24- NATURAL RESOURCES A. Mineral The Chinese Tibetan Borderland is richly supplied with a variety of mineral resources. Iron and coal are widely distributed and the pro- duction of salt dates back to a period prior to the Christian era. The mountains of the west are rich in metals, but owing to their remote location as well as lack of systemtic investigation little is known in detail. Coal, China's greatest potential source of power, ranks fourth in the world's reserves. But this region possessed only 2.5 per cent of China's total reserves}6 Thus Szechuan possesses 5,761 million tons of bituminous, Kansu has 1,500 million tons, Chinghai and Sikang have 500 million tons each. Oil and gas have been long produced from the brine wells of Szechuan. Six oil sand areas have been discovered in the formations ranging frcun Triassic to Cretaceous. Szechuan has many prominent anti- clines and synolines favorable for oil accumulation. North Kansu was the most important oil producing area during World War II and is still being explored. Other possible oil-bearing areas of this region are Tsaidsn and south Kansu. This brings this region to the position of al- most a half of the estimated oil reserves in China. Although this region stands third in reserves of iron ore in China, its tonnage is small. It has only 8 per cent of China's total iron ore. T6 Juan, V. 0., nineral Resources of China, Economic Geolo , Vol. m1, June-July, pp. 400-401, (1946). " MINERAL REWS r— ____._._\, \ \ I ‘5 \ ‘ _- _ s f \. “h“ .1 “— ‘ ,I 2 \ l/I ‘— \ 7,, ha“— ci “M n a \, \\\ _ _’ i O 3 I _4\ (I \ / ~ A \ “ ‘ .. \ p Q \ . /’ , 0 e. I \ j A \ w ' ’ .' O \ ‘_ O o \. . \ x 0 \\~ - 1p \ I I /,' .149, / ) \ 7 ', II: A I I V f ‘ i r r I D a? in)?” \. \l . . 2‘. f , ' I I00' I ‘65°._.J loo 0 I00 um. I'- r_—tL_J_ [If ‘ bCALE HEEEP FIG. 5.‘DISTIIIUTIM 0' TI! PRINCIPAL MINERAL arms 0' 1" ms: TIKTM mass RESERVES 0' GOAL FIELDS ARISE". W M (I! 0 LESS THAN 50 BILLION TN! 0 ISO-250 IILLM TM! OW! w mg 0 oven 250 IILLION TM ”.0 on. Cancun screens cm OIL mooucme me on. sesame sees . amen sci-ours [:3 POSSIBLE OIL "‘RINO WA OWL ’ SALT -25- Due to the great handicap of transportation, particularly in Sikang, little iron ore has been exploited. Copper, lead, zinc, and salts are the minor mineral resources here. However, they are important from the local consumption point of view. One can not conclude the mineral resources of this region without spec- ial mention of gold and nickel. Nickel deposits of China are so far only known in Sikang. The reserves of the deposit have been estimated at 320,000 tons of ore of 0.5 per cent nickel content. Before the war, Heilungkiang was the leading gold producer of the country. 'Under the impetus of war, the production of gold in Chinese Tibetan Borderland has been greatly increased. Placer mining is the method used. The up- per Yangtse River in Sikang is named "Chingsha' which means "river of golden sand” in Chinese. Except in Hanchuria, large forests are very rare in China. The reason is twofold: first, practically all of the formerly forested lands are in the heavily populated areas now under cultivation and leave no roan for forest 3 second, due to the great demands on vcod for domestic purposes, forest has been long over out. In the Borderland, on the other hand, using to its favorable climate in the east and rugged mountains and deep valleys in the west, considerable forests exist. In central Szechuan, lands have been intensively cultivated and there is practically no waste land. However, the steeper and rougher country is covered with small woods of oak, ash, banyon, pine, and cypress. Else- where trees or bamboo are confined to the vicinity of streams, farmsteads, -27- temple grounds, wayside shrines and graveyards. Bamboo grows widely in farmsteads, river bottoms, swamps, and less productive upland in the subtrOpical climate of Szechuan. It is used in a multitude of ways and is very important as a wood substitute. htensive forests of this region are found in the following areas: (1) Northwest Szechuan Forest, which is distributed extensively along the Kin River and its tributaries. Black and white pine, silver fir, hem- lock spruce, larch, ash, birch, poplar, oak, and hornbeam are the prin- cipal tree associations. Some of the species are fine trees, and the hemlock spruce in many cases is over 100 feet tall, with a girth of 12 to 15 feet. Due to over-cutting and lack of care, the stand is visibly diminishing. (2) Southeast Sikang Forest, which includes the Tadtu and Anning River basins and contains both deciduous and coniferous species. The “Chianchung wood” of pine and fir is outstanding in the market. (3) South Sikang and North Iunnan Forest, which is perhaps one of the most important and extensive forests in China except for Manchurianat the present time. Its inaccessible location along with rough terrain keeps the forest away from cutting and maintains its virgin character- istic. There are three recognised altitude forest zones: pine, spruce, and larch-fir. In general, below 10,000 feet Yunnan pine and hemlock are the predasinating species, while the Chinese white pine is of less importance. Betwun 10,000 and 12,000 feet the Likiang Spruce predasi- nates and prickly oak also reaches its best growth. From 12,000 feet up to the timber 111:. (about 15,000 feet), pure stands of £1:- and larch are found. (4) Han Shan Forest, spruce andfir are distributed fron -28- 7,500 to 12,000 feet in the mountains. Because of continuous cutting, forest in this area is meager. C. Grassland Grasslands in this region differ by terrain and climate. In parts of eastern Chinghai and Kansu lands are covered by tall bunch grass, short grasses, and shrubs. Further south are both tall and short grasses on southerly slopes and flat areas. In addition to the grasses there are many small flowering plants including pedicularis, longiflora and pedi- cularis shinonthoides. There are also several species of sages. Much of Chinghai, as well as part of northwestern Kansu have a mixed short and tall grass association, and many of the shady slopes have a dense cover of brush. West of Ta Hsueh Shan in Sikang where higher grassland is found, TSAUTE is the general local term for landscape. Except snow-clad mountains, northerly forest slopes and bottans of canyons, most of the middle altitude lands are practically good pastures. Stipa splendens is the predominant grass association in the area below 12,000 or 14,000 feet. Above that and still higher on the southern slopes are alpine neadows of short grasses, “cushion plants", and small flowers. Grasslands in Szechuan Basin are limited to the northwestern corner where scrub and tall grasses are the cannon cover at the altitude of 11,000 feet. A great part of the land is peopled with pastoral tribes .17 D. inimls The chief animal of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland is the ya]: and its varieties. They are a shaggy-haired variety of on which is particularly 17 Wilson, E. 3., China-Mother g Gardens, Boston, Stratford Co., 1929, p. 159. -29- suited to the bitter cold and dampness of these highlands. Other import- ant animals are sheep in the short grasslands of northeastern Chinghai and Kansu. Goats are widely distributed throughout the region. Chinghai is famous for producing horses and wild donkeys. Musk deer, wild yellow goats, wapiti, white deer, and black bear are common in Sikang and north- western Sscohuan. Panda, the most precious animal, survives only in the high mountains of the Borderland. Due to excessive trapping, this animal is badly in need of conservation. In the grass and scrub, pheasants are very plentiful and also a long-cared, light-gray hare. E. on: Yangtze River is the principal outlet of this region. In addition, the azure inland lake of Koko Nor, at an elevation of 9,684 feet and covering an area of 2,300 square miles is the largest lake in China. Although the Yangtze River and its tributaries in this region comrises a length of 4,000 miles, its navigable distance is rather short. There are at most not more than 400 miles which are suitable for steamboats of 500 tons. The rest of the water-ways are too steep to; permit navigation ex- cept by native dunks or rafts which allow some utilisation of the high gradient rivers. Water power in this region is potentially high, because more than half of the rivers possess a slope of 9.5 feet per mile and flow throughout the year. Hydroelectric power ruins undeveloped, however. Irrigation projects were undertaken as far back as 2,000 years ago, especially in Chengtu Plain. The upper Yellow River has neither naviga- tional value nor irrigation possibilities. It seems that Hoke Nor is a remarkable water-way, but due to its location in a sparsely populated -30- area and winter freezing, it has never been used for navigation. Koko Na- , on the other hand, has riches in salt, potash, and fish (shisopygopsissp). -31- I’RESENT CONDITIONS OF LAND USE A. Agriculture Agriculture is the predominant human activity in the eastern Chinese Tibetan Borderland and especially in the Szechuan Basin. As' previously mentioned both physical and cultural characteristics of this region are sharply contrasted with other regions of China. So are its agricultural conditions. 1. Agricultural Characteristics The extreme diversity of crops is one of the remarkable characteris- tics of agriculture in this region. Nowhere in the world are such com- plcx crop combinations to be found as in the Szechuan Basin, where many of the factors affecting types of farming favor a variety of crops. It is true that rise is the most outstanding product among them, but there are more than forty crops grown thriftily for food as well as for in- dustrial uses. Those combined crops occupy about fifty-five per cent of the total crop land. But this complex crop combination is only character- istic of the upland fields, in striking contrast to most of the paddy fields, which are merely devoted to one crop throughout the year. One reason for this cmplex land use is the long growing season along with high humidity offering fair advantage for winter-growing crOps such as wheat, bread beans, peas, rapeseed and various vegetables. The location of the Basin, is at a point of transition from the high plateau to the eastern lowland. Therefore, it possesses varieties of climatic types which also affect the great diversity of crops. Almost any crops grown in other parts of China can be found within the Basin. it grows wheat, -32- barley, corn, healing, and soybeans of the North, and rice, rapeseeds, sweet potatoes, and sugar cane of the South. Another cause of the diver- sity of crops is the people themselves. At present most of the Szechuan- ese are the decendants of immigrants who have come from other provinces to the north or south since the end of the seventeenth century. When they settled in the Basin they brought their agricultural practices as 'well as the crops of their native districts. The high intensity of land use is the second characteristic of agri- culture in this region. \Szechuan Basin is by far the most important area in China where land has been intensively tilled by man. The combination of high rural population density, providing plenty of cheap labor, and highly productive land, both hilly slopes and.va11eys, leave almost no piece of land to be wasted. The farmers did their best to utilize all the land they owned, to cultivate as many crops as they could. 0n the average farm, 80 per cent of the land is devoted to crepe. The high intensity of agricultural land use also can be measured by the agricul- tural practices, namely the index of double cropping, complicated.inter- culture, high fertilization,and systemtic irrigation. The higher the index of double cropping, the more intensive the agricultural use of land. The average index of double cropping for the Basin is 165. Sev- eral districts in Chengtu Plain rate as 190. With the exception of most of the paddy fields, nearly all uplands are fields used fer double crop- jping or even.triple cropping through.interculture practice. In the usual case, the corn field is interplanted with sweet potatoes or beans. In cotton culture, the interplanted crops are beans, corn, and red peppers. ~33- To keep soil constantly producing high fertilization is essential. The methods used by farmers are quite effective, although management is not very scientific. The materials used for fertilizers are numerous, such as night soil, animal manure, vegetable wastes, straw, ashes, oil-seed cakes and other green manure crops. Terracing practice is the third agricultural characteristic of this region. Rice is by far the most important crop in the Szechuan Basin where the natural condition is so highly favorable. The limited level land is the only handicap to the extension of rice cultivation. Fortunately, most bed rocks of the Basin are relatively soft and always have horizon- tal strata which make it rather easy to build the terrace fields. The areas of rice terraces are widely distributed in South China, but else- where there is less intensification than in this area. Winter-flooded fields is the fourth agricultural characteristic in this area. In spite of the favorable climatic condition and extremely intensive land utilization, about one-half to two-thirds of the paddy fields are fallow all winter. These fields are kept flooded after the rice is harvested, and are prepared for planting with the same crop late in the next spring. The reasons for winter-flooded fields are complex, such as, the flooding checks rice stem-borer, some other pests and dis- eases, stores water, maintains soil fertility, avoids reduced yield re- sulting from winter planting of the next rice crop, and insufficient capital. Primitive subsistence farming is the fifth characteristic in this region. In contrast to the high intensity of land use in Szechuan, -34- southeastern Sikang, northwestern Szechuan, and a part of southwestern Kansu, primitive subsistence farming prevails in the agricultural margin land or the high plateau and is often associated with non-Chinese tribes. Due to unfavorable physical environment and poor management, varieties of crop are few. Crop consists mainly of corn, oats, and hulless barley. Their yields are very low. 2. Distribution of Principal Food Crop: Although there are more than twenty food crops in this region, the following are considered as principal cropsa Rice is by far the most important crap in this region. It is evenly distributed in Szechuan Basin and southeastern Sikang, but the most import- ant concentration is in the Chengtu Plain where both flat land and intri- cate irrigation making the area one of China's rice producing centers .18 Yieldsgare high, ranging from 70 to 100 bushel per acre. Other rice con- centrations follow the pattern of river valleys such as Yangtze and its tributaries in Szechuan; Ta-tu and An-ning Rivers in Sikang; and Wei River in Kansu. The demarcation of rice distribution is about 3,000 feet above sea level in Kansu, 4,500 feet in Szechuan, and 6,000 feet in southeastern Sikang. Corn is the second important food crop. It has a wide distribution. However, Szechuan Basin possesses the highest acreage. Within the Basin, where irrigation water cannot be obtained, sloping terraces are construc- ted and the lands are devoted mainly to corn or that crop interplanted with sweet potatoes. In the rims of the Basin, southern Ksnsu, and 18 Aggioultural Statistiég, Ranking, Bureau of Statistics, National Government of China, 1935. p. 42. -35- mountain slopes of southeastern Sikang, corn is one of the chief food crops because most of the land is not suitable for production of rice in the summer. In the primitive agricultural areas of northwestern Szechuan, southern Kansu, southeastern Sikang, and northern Yunnan corn grows up to 9,000 feet above sea level, and is the main food crop for the non—Chinese tribes such as Shan, Miao, Sifan, and Lola. Wheat and millet are the master crops in North China. They are grown in this region too. Both winter and spring wheat are grown here with the former predominating in acreage. Spring wheat is limited to northwestern Kansu and eastern Chinghai. Southern Kansu is the princi- pal winter wheat and millet area, but cotton and kaoling are also im- portant in the rotation crops. Winter wheat is widely distributed in Szechuan. However, it shows a concentration in Chengtu Plain, northern Szechuan Basin, and a little in the rims of the Basin. Winter wheat is cultivated alternately with rice in some areas in Szechuan to provide two crops a year. The sweet potato is the most important sinner crop in Szechuan Basin. It covers most of the hilly lands of the Basin with the exception of the northwestern plateau where the growing season is too short for the crop to nature. The distribution of sweet potatoes, in the Basin is less in the northern and southern rims where its plate is taken by corn. Its cultivation seems to be concentrated in the central and south central areas of the Basin and is especially associated with the purple-brown soils. The sweet potato is a particularly valuable crop from mny view points. First, it has high yield and high food value. Second, it grows on the hilly land which does not compete with rice. Third, it is planted in "May or June and is harvested in September or October, making an effi- cient use of rain in the fall. Fourth, sweet potatoes are less likely to promote erosion than corn because of their procumbent habit. While hulless barley is a minor acreage crop, it is significant in the primitive agricultural land of the nomadic area. It grows in the lower valleys of the high plateau between 7,680 to 9,900 feet above sea level. Bulless barley requires even less than 90 days of growing season and is the best frost-resisting crop in the area. Due to the fact that the natives are poor farmers, the yield is very low, usually only produc- ing five to seven times the amount of seed sown. 3. Production of Staple Crops Since the region possesses diversified terrain, climte, and soils, many staple crops are produced. Cotton is not well suited to this region due to climatic handicaps. Yet it does produce a considerable amount of cotton because of local de- mands, and especially during World War II when the region was almost en- tirely cut off from cotton supplies from outside. Central and south- central Szechuan Basin are the chief cotton producing areas, because there is less rain in September. A limited quantity of cotton is also produced in southern Kansu and southeastern Sikang. Sugar cane is widely grown in Szechuan and southeastern Sinng, al- though most places grow only small mounts. Its intensive cultivation is restricted to the rich alluvial terraces along the To River valley where more than half of the cultivated land is often devoted to cane. Easy transportation is another reason for the concentration of cane-grow- ing along the river.19 Mg-oil trees are found all over the Szechuan Basin and Eastern Sikang, but they are most abundant in the east and southeast of Szechuan Province. The trees are generally grown on steep sides of rocky unculti- vated hills, and at the edges of terraces, with both paddy and upland cul- tivation. In both positions they are valuable from the point of view of soil conservation. According to the report of Inspector General of Customs, Shanghai, 1938, the production of tung oil in Szechuan was 430,000 quintals .20 This oil is one of the important exports of the prov- ince, while the seedeake is used as fertiliser. Mulberry trees are, of course, associated with sericulture, and they are most cannon where silk production is most important. Mulberries are scattered all over Szechuan Basin and southeastern Sikang, on terrace edges or between fields as well as in definite plantations. At the pres- ent time the trees are most abundant near Kiating, around Nanchung and Sichung, and north of Chungking. Tea is found both in Szechuan and eastern Sikang. Yaan, Sikang is a particularly important area producing brick tea for the Tibetan trade. It has an annual producing capacity of 4,000 quintels.“ 19 Richardson, H. L., Soils and agriculture 31:, Szechuan, Chungking, China, 1942e Po 52c 20 Inspector General of Customs, China, Trade 23 China, Vol. I, Part I, 1938. p. 114. 21 Cheng, H. 3., "Tea Industry of Teen, Sikang," Geo ra , China Institute of Geography, Chungking, China, Vol. , no. 3, p. 262, 1940 . White Wax is a particularly interesting product because the trees producing it are grown in the neighborhood of (loci, south of Chengtu in Szechuan, and Yaan, Sikang, whereas the insects which cause the secretion of the wax are not native there but have to be brought each year from Sichang, Sikang. The insect is a scale-insect (coccus pela), which flou- rishes around Sichang on a species of privet (ligustrum lucidum). The most usual wax-tree near Omei and Yaan is a common ash, which is grown as a pollarded tree with young branches shooting out from a stmpy trunk. The wax is very pure and is used for coating candles, glazing paper, coating pills and in other ways. Fruits of both tree and vine varieties are well produced in this region. Small fruits such as berries and others are not unknown in the region, but so far they have been of little importance agriculturally. Wild strawberries, for ample, grow well at an elevation around 7,000 feet and numerous wild brambles, blackberries, and raspberries have been found in the mountains. Among the tree-fruits, citrus fruits are the most important, Szechuan being famous for its oranges and tengerines. The distribution of citrus fruits in Ssechuan is mainly along the lower river valleys, up the Yangtze and Min River, the To River, and the Kiel- ing River. Cheap transportation is an important factor for citrus fruit plantations. Peaches and pears are widely distributed in the region. However, these are usually of poor quality as compared with other regions of China. The areas around Lenchow of Kansu are outstanding for the produc- tion of dates and melons. It is interesting that both excellent watermelons .459- and musk melons are planted on the pebble-strewn fields to reduce high ‘evaporation during the growing period. B. Livestock The term "livestock" refers to domestic animals and poultry in the agricultural area of Szechuan, Kansu, and Sikang. The pure grazing herds will be discussed in the following paragraph. Although the agri- cultural areas of this region possess very little pastoral land, it has quite a high animal population amounting probably to over ten million head of animals, in addition to poultry. About one-half of these are working animals, such as water buffaloes, oxen, and other cattle, while the other half are productive animals, chiefly pigs, goats and sheep. In the absence of extensive areas of grazing land, these animals are fed largely on farm by-products including straw, weeds, broad bean leaves, vetch, etc., and on food crops such as barley. They also get a little rough grazing on field dykes and terrace edges, gravelands, and waste land. Statistics of the population of farm animals are not available: for one thing, some of them, such as pigs and ducks, are produced in seasonal fashion. Pigs are often raised with a view to killing them at the Chinese New Year 3 ducks are raised in large flocks, at least on the Chengtu and Sichang Plains, during the time of rice harvest, but mach mller numbers are kept the rest of the year. Small numbers of horses, mules, and donkeys are raised but ninly for draft purposes. Sichang is famous for producing ponies. Sheep are found in herds in Kansu, while Szechuan and Sikang pro- duce more goats. There are about two million goats in the neighborhood of Sichang.” Ce Grazing Due to the fact that grassland occupies more than a half of the total area in the Chinese Tibetan Borderland, the grazing industry is of course significant. However, at the present time a huge area is still used for nomadic herding, as commercial grazing has not yet start- ed. 1. Chief Animls Yak, Pien Niu, Calaba, horses, and sheep are the main animals raised in this region. Yak, Pien Niu, and Calaba are interesting animals, which look like a cow with a horse's tail and a bear's pelt. They are import- ant animals in the economy of the grassland at high altitudes. Their lowest limitation of distribution is 7,600 feet above sea level. They are resistant to cold and low pressure and snow and are used for a number of purposes by the nomads. They carry burdens, furnish meat and milk, as their long hair i. used for mking tents and clothing. 211.11- skin also is used for clothing and for river rafts. The Pien Niu are the first cross of yellow native bulls on yak cows. They are big robust animals and command a good price as work oxen. The males are castrated and are used for draft purposes, and the females are used for milk pro- duction. They produce much more milk than the yaks, average about 15 to 20 pounds a day during the summer months. The calaba are the backcross 1 Chang, H. H., "The livestock of Sichang District, Sikang," Chinese Frontier Affairs, Vol. N, no. 5, p. 13, (1944). -ii- of Pien Niu cows to yellow bulls and are used for milk purposes. Horses are the next important animals in the nomadic grassland. There are two types of horses. The name, "Sining horse" is applied to a type of Mongolian horse found in southwestern Kansu and eastern Chinghai. These horses are a little larger than horses of surrounding areas and are much prised as saddle and pack animals. Many of them are used along the pack trails into Tibet. The "Sikang horses” are the second type of horses in this region. These horses are similar in con- formation to the Sichang ponies but usually somewhat larger in size. Moreover, they are quite variable in size. Because of their location it is possible that they are the result of interbreeding of Sining horses and South China ponies. Sheep are another important animal in the nomdic area. Here are found in Chinghai, northwestern Kansu, and less in Sikang. Carpet wool is the most important export commodity in this region. 2. Manner of Management Animal management in the region is very primitive. Nomadism not only involves horizontal movement but also vertical owing to the verti- cal characteristic of land form. The vertical nomadism is known as transhumance. Generally speaking, the nomads move gradually with their herds from the low valleys up to the mountain neadow, as high as 15,000 feet above sea level, in the summer months usually between June and July. About August, herds are driven down and graze in the middle of the moun- tain where they remain for a period of another two months. Then they move down to the warmer valleys for the winters. ~12- No supplementary feed is given during the summer when grass is ob- tainable, and no hay is put aside for winter use. In periods of heavy snowfall, especially during the late winter and early spring, losses are frequently heavy, since resistance is low and animals cannot survive many days without feed. In such periods, choice animals are sometimes fed dried casein or other products to keep them alive. ‘ Since nomadic grazing dominates this high plateau area, the mode of life of the nomads is of course very simple in order to adjust to the environment and the itinerant mode of living. Tents are the best shelter for this purpose. Each tent houses a family or two who usually can 20 to 40 yaks or Pien Niu, a few horses, and some sheep. In both Chinghai and Sikang most of the grazing lands belong to chiefs of different tribes. Grazing lands are entirely unfenced, but there are definite boundaries between the tribes, and the nomads are not allowed to cross the boundaries with their herds. There are five big tribes around the Koko Nor area, each of them with an average population of 2,500 and about 800 tents. In Sikang, there are more than fifty tribes, and about 6,000 tents. mm The great disruption caused by the Sine-Japanese War in 193? was followed by the westward movement of production. As a result, mining, one of the most important phases, has increased rapidly in the Chinese Tibetan Borderland because of high wartime demand. Coal is the leading mining industry. In 1939 the provinces of Szechuan, Yunnan, Kweichow, and Sikang produced more than 3,000,000 tons, 43- an increase of more than 300 per cent in six years .2:5 Five-sixths of the amount was mined in Szechuan. There are four coal mining centers in that province. The largest one is the Chungking district where coal is mined mainly in Kiangpei, 30 miles north of Chungking. This center produced 1,500,000 tons of coal in 1943.24 The Kialing River provides cheap transportation. Other coal mining centers are located in south- western Szechuan, Weiyuan, and eastern Szechuan. Sikang produces very limited coal because of inadequate market and transportation. South of Sichang, Hweili, is the main coal mining district with an annual produc- tion of 4,420 tons. In addition, Yenyuan, southwest of Sichang produces 15,000 tons of lignite annually, and this is used entirely for cooking the salt in that area. Coal is also mined in the Teen district, Sikang to meet the requirements of the small local blast furnace, but the pro- duction is meager. Chinghai and Kansu Provinces produce even less coal than Sikang because of less industrialisation. The former produces 40,000 tons annually in the district around Sining. The latter; produces 63,000 tons of coal annually in the neighborhood of Lanchow. Iron reserves in the Chinese Tibetan Borderland are low in tonnage as has been mentioned previously, and production is thus low. Szechuan produced 200,000 tons of iron in 1943, and one-third of it came from south of Chungking.25 Other iron is produced in the area east of Chung- king and Weiyuan. Considerable iron reserves are found in Sikang, and 23 Wang, K. P., "Mineral Resources of China, With Special Reference to Hon-ferrous Metals," Geographical Review, Vol. XXXIV, no. 3, 24 pp. 621-635, (1944). Pai, C. 0., General Statement 21; The m Indust _o_f_ China, Chungking, The Geological Survey of China, 1§45. pp. 172-182. 25 Ibid., p. 192. ~14- the ore is reported to be of high quality (64 per cent metallic content). It is found near Luku, north of Sichang in Sikang Province. The deposit at one time estimated at 100 million tons was later scaled down. At the present time it produces only 400 tons of iron per year. The main diffi- culty for develognent, however, is inaccessibility and the lack of near- by coal deposits. Yaan is the largest explored iron ore district in Sikang because the ore and coal are close together along with near-by markets. Its annual production is about 12,000 tons. Iron ore is also found in great amounts in Taofu, northwest of Kangting in Sikang but mining has never been carried on. Kansu is poor in iron ore deposits. Small amounts of iron ore have been mined in Chenghsien and Lanohaw. Chinghai may have iron ore deposits but no detailed report has been made. In Bsechuan oil has been assumed to be rich because of the presence of natural gas. This does not necessarily follow, and there is yet no evidence trmt Szechuan will become a large petroleum producer. Kansu is the only area producing oil in large quantity, and this is obtained especially in the northwestern part of that province. But little oil has been produced in eastern and southern parts of that province. Oil has been discovered both in Sikang and Tsaidam. However, none of the deposits have been brought into production. The Chinese Tibetan Borderland had a monopoly on China's gold pro- duction during the War. As a result of government encouragement and ris- ing prices the hidden gold deposits of this region gradually coming to light. In 1940 the Ministry of Finance created a gold-mining administra- tion to explore and develop gold mines in Szechuan, Sikang, Kansu, and «15- Chinghai. The area along Chingsha River of Sikang was found to be rich in gold, the output in 1940 being estimated at 125,000 ounces.26 The Provincial Sikang Gold Mining Bureau has also been developing the Tain- ing and Taofu districts. Moreoever, minor gold producing districts are found in Kangting, Kantse, Lihwa, Paan, Eenyuan, and etc., which are operated either under government control or by private investment. Chinghai is next to Sikang in production of gold. Its main producing center is located east of Koko Nor. In 1939 that province produced 81,084 ounces of gold.” Placer-gold mines are widely operated in Szechuan minly along the Ta-tu, Min, and Kialing Rivers. Southern Kansu also produces a considerable amount of gold. All the placer-gold mining in this region is carried on by crude methods without geological advice or engineering assistance. Accidents are frequent and mines often have to be abandoned owing to the inflow of water. Copper, lead and zinc are widely scattered in this region. The Szechuan and Sikang areas are two of the most promising areas for ex- ploitation of copper in China. Two smelters have an aggregate capacity of 2 ,000 tons of metal. They are located at Chungking and the neighbor- hood of Teen. Small amounts of copper are produced in Eweili and north- ern Sichang. Western Szechuan and southeastern Sikang are also centers of lead and sine production which are often associated with copper. Salt is fomd in two types of deposits in this region, namely well- salt and inland lake salt. Ssechuan is famous for salt wells which 26 Chang, H. 3., ”Gold Production of Sikang", Wen _H_wa_;_ Hcigg Pong, Vol. 111, no. 17, pp. 14-19, (1943). """ 2" Pai, c. c., op. cit., p. 271. -46- date back to ancient times. These wells penetrate to buried salt beds and a few of them are as much as two to three thousand feet deep, having been dug by very creditable native methods. There are twenty-six salt districts in the province, of which the most important are in the vicinity of Tzeliutsing and southeast of Kiating. 1,580 wells were in operation in 1942, when.the production reached.912 million pounds.28 Another pro- ducing center is located in the north central part of the Szechuan Basin with an annual product of 13 million pounds. Modern well-drilling meth- ods have been introduced in recent years and the output is increasing. The total number of wells which have been drilled for salt in Szechuan is estimated to reach ninety thousand. A number of the wells also yield natural gas which is used for evaporating the brine. Yenyuen is the only well-salt producing area in Sikang Province. It produces about ten million pounds of salt a year. Kansu and Chinghai Provinces are rich in inland lake salt. Kansu also yields well-salt but its production from this source is far less than from inland salt lakes. It produces 84 million pounds of salt annually. Chinghai possesses abun- dant reserves of inland lake salt but because of lack of market this source of supply has been drawn on to only a limited extent. It produces 13' million pounds of salt a year.29 E. Communication and Transportation The Chinese Tibetan Borderland has probably been more handicapped by inadequate communication than by any other single factor. The movement w—v 28 Pai, c. 0., op. cit., pp. 215-224. 29 Ibid., pp. 274. -47.. of agricultural and mineral products together with other commerce requires an abnormally large number of people engaged in these trades, for means of travel are slow and inefficient. Animals are rare, carts few, rail- roads mere dreams, canals impossible, and the rivers too swift. Trans- portation is largely dependent upon man power, especially in Szechuan, either to pull and shove small junks over the rapids, to push squeaking wheel-barrows along bumpy roads deep with ruts, to carry persons by seddan chairs, or to carry the burdens of the world on human shoulders. A small number of animals are used as means of transportation in the high lands of Kansu, Chinghai, and Sikang. However, a great change in communi- cation was made during the war. Modern transportation facilities such as air planes, automobiles, and steamboats are co-emistence with the old customs and equipment. Chunglcing, Chengtu, and Lanchow are the principal air stations and were linked with India when the eastern Chinese coasts were blockaded by the Japanese. Highways, both surfaced and msurfaced have been completed for a distance into Szechuan, Kansu, Yunnan, and Kweichow. Most of them are running south-north and connect with railroad terminals. Among them are three parallel lines from Chungking and Yaan to Kunmin where a narrow- gage railroad leads to Hanoi, French-Indo-China. Another one extends fran Chungking via Chengtu to Paoki, terminal of the Lunghai Railroad. Fran Paoki the highway runs northwest by way of Lanchow to Sinkiang. Caravan routes are very important in the area west of Ta Hsueh Shan and Koko Nor because they are the only means of transportation connecting SURFACE TRANSPORTATION ROUTES e'v .- l6. ILOB' IoowJ' fl SCALE ”0.63m” MACE "AMTATION nouns N TUE ONIESE TIBETAN BORDERLANO LEGEND new or tsmssos'rmou \é. SYEAHSHIPS .1, wuss m RAILROAD! —— "WAYS — - -- CARAVAN MUTES ~49- eastern China and central Tibet. These caravans are the routes of the tribute-bearing embassies of the past two centuries. One of the routes leads from Tanger, via Jyekudo, to Lhasa, Tibet. Two other routes lead westward from Kangting to Lhasa. One goes directly to Paan by way of Lihwa, while the other and older route is a northern route through Kantze and Chamdo. The transportation animals of Sikang and Chinghai are horses, yaks, and camels. Lanohow and Sining are two main camel stations. All the caravan routes are open for traffic from spring to fall. Large quantities of brick tea are shipped from Sining and Kangting to western Chinghai and Lhasa, and the return camodities are composed mainly of wool and skins. River traffic is found in Szechuan only. Steamships of 500 tons reach Iping all the year, and reach 50 miles further west during the high water level by following the Yangtze River. The tributaries of Yangtze River are too swift for adequate navigation. However, due to the great demand for transportation, most of these rivers are used by dunks which are drawn by man when moved against the current. ban is the most economic machine of Ssechuan and eastern Sikang, and at the same time the cheapest means of transportation. Wheel-barrows are used in great numbers on the Chengtu Plain. Sedan chairs are common in hilly areas of Szechuan and Yunnan. Long lines of coolies laden with salt, tea, or cloth pass along the flagstone trails and cross hills and mountains in the district west of Chentu to Kangting. F. Economic-Geographic Areas According to the present land use development of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland fourteen economic-geographic areas can be defined. 1. Eastern Szechuan Farming: agricultural highly developed--tung- oil, rice, winter wheat. Population density 230-310 per square mile. 2. Chungking Farming Industry: farming highly developed--rice, sweet potatoes, citrus fruits, tung-oil, beans, and silk. Manufacturing and coal mining important. Population density 750 per square mile. 3. Northern Szechuan Agriculture: rice and mixed crops. Population density 260-390 per square mile. 4. Central Szechuan Diversified Agriculture and Industry: sweet potatoes, rice, cotton, sugar cane, beans and salt-industry. Population density 650-850 per square mile. 5. Chengtu Plain Farming Industry: rice is the predominate crop, winter wheat and rape-seeds second. Intricate irrigation. Silk indus- try highly developed. Eighty per cent of Szechuan salt production. High rural population density, 950 per square mile. 6. West and Southwest Szechuan Farming: rice, wheat, and sweet potatoes, population density 520 per square mile. 7. Yaan Farming: rice, tea, corn, sweet potatoes, and white wax, copper mining important, population density 300 per square mile. 8. Sichang Farming Forestry: rice, corn, winter wheat and cotton. Considerable forest land. One of the important lumber producing areas. Sichang is the largest city of this area. Population density 180 per square mile. -51- ECONOMIC -GEOGRAPHIC AREAS _ "N. \- \mr' .' HIOG. ' "I \ ,r- v \ I I x \ \ \ \ \ I n \«1 U,\ T a ‘ \-\ f 4" 3v /’ 1 l J 'I ,- \\' ,\ I 1 -_ . ‘ 4‘ \ / \ \. ‘ fl } A g I x I \ V l I I \\ I4 , ‘ f I \ i-{' s -‘ ~< \ -- I I ' ID 7‘ * \ \ - \ \ \ \ I . \ \ I\ , ' \ \ \ ‘I I . ’. _ I I , 1 c ‘ . r, I 5 \‘ v n / f ‘A' I I ‘ x i - ‘ \ , / ./ I 1 £- ‘7 " 32"- \‘\ {\ J ‘ I ‘ //>4v J I \ I \ .. ‘I . \I , ”‘7 \ \ \ t \ I . , I ‘ ‘ . I ‘ \ \ ’ ‘~'\ Iv ‘ l3 / k '4 \ \ ‘l \ 1_ / ‘ ‘ I I \ 4 N \ \ ta ’5 f i ‘c ’ \ I I \ \\ \_; ’lfrfl‘ I \\J . I \ I \ \ \ n '5", s ‘ ‘ 5' \ / ’ " 4' \ ,5 I R ‘ ' / ‘ 1" A x I {,‘w‘f \ A ,. I’A/ ‘ ' u '7” IV‘ 8 \ 7 ‘ . I / «i/ \_ / I , I 4“77~"’ \ \ ’2 I ' ' . . b I A n’ ‘ ~ / ' .f "" ) M) ‘ o / i '3 I I H‘ a, 3 V» \ ‘R u. /> 1 \ ' ‘ i i ‘I (‘,/ \‘.' . x \ .- . \ \ N ' | . y I T \ / \ I .. L\ J\. ‘ I I , ’ l \g ./ \ I «1 _" \ I, I’l‘" w/ \ /’/ L". .r”7 . \_L” . ,1 ‘ ‘ . - \ ‘J \r; . ' I \ I .. \ I I I ,, . : / 94' / fl . I " ' {’l ' . J I. tip—— «°°' " SCALE FIG. 7."SHONING LOCATIONOF THE EWB'OEOCRAPHIC AREAS W TIE mas TIKTAN WRLAND I. EASTERN SZECWAN FARMING 2. WING FARMING INDUSTRY 3. NMTIERN SZECHUAN AGRICULTURE 4. CENTRAL SZECHUAN DIVERSIFIED AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY 5. CHENGTU PLAIN FARMING INDUSTRY 6. WEST SIECHUAN AND NORTHWEST KIEICHOV FARMING T. YAAN FARMING -52- G. SICHANG FARMING FMESTRY S. NORTHWEST SZEONUAN PRIMITIVE FARMING WRESTRY IO. SWTH NANSU FARMING II. EAST CHINGHAI AND NMTHVEST NANSU FARMING I2. EAST SIKANG AW NORTH YUNNAN PRIMITIVE FARMING I3. CANYON FORESTRY AND PRIMITIVE FARMING IA. NOMADIC GRAZING 9. Northwest Szechuan Primitive Farming Forestry: corn is by far the most important subsistence crop. Some forest land. Lumber products are important. Population density 120 per square mile. 10. South Kansu Farming: winter wheat, millet, kialing, population density 90-250 per square mile. 11. East Chinghai and Northwest Kansu Farming: spring wheat and small grains, important oil producing area. Population density 65 per square mile. 12. Sikang and North Yunnan Primitive Farming: vertical distribution of farming and various tribes. Hulless barley, oats, and root crop. Population density 50-120 per square mile. 13. Canyon Forestry and Primitive Farming: forest remains intact, corn and hulless barley. Population density 10-20 per square mile. 14. Nomdic Grazing: yak, PIEN NIU, horse, and sheep are the most important animals. Horizontal and vertical movement of grazing. Gold mining important. Population density 2-5 per square mile. PROGRAMS OF READJUSTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT Beatch says "Man.notwithstanding his egotistic conceptions, is still a creature of his natural environment. By application of his intelligence, he has been able to overcome natural obstacles to some extent, but has never completely dominated his natural environment. Rational adjustment of the natural environmental factor of land therefore is imperative."30 The technological development of a nation is an important determin- ant of the extent to which physically adapted supply will be utilized for economic production. As Renne points out in China, only the better lands can.be worked because poorer land will not yield enough to sustain life, under handlabor methods, where animals are used as a source of energy because they use as feed a considerable portion of what they help to produce. Use of modern machinery reduces the amount of land required for read and feed production, so that a profitrmay'be made even'uhere less productive lands are utilised, while under hand-labor conditions there might not be a sufficient margin of yield.over and above that re- quired to support the hand laborer's family and working livestock.31 The Chinese Tibetan Borderland comprises large areas of both agri- cultural and grazing lands. Because this region has been fanned and grazed under less efficient methods the application of’modern techniques in.regard to future land.use development is essential. However, it is difficult to lay out a workable land use plan for any region without an 30 veatch, J. 0., égricultural Land Classification and Land Types‘gg Michigan, Special Bulletin 251, Michigan State College, 1941. p.3. 31 Renne, Roland.R., Land Economics, New Yerk, Harper & Brothers, 1947. pp. 21-22. -54- - r I I ‘--————‘_~. '1'_;3.- ,. —- "If—" 37": ' ' 7.": ;ié'T—r' ‘3‘3‘3'7 '71!!!“ -- man- V...‘_ w. ‘ . G ‘ S‘- m. 1 .- adequate inventory of its land and other resources as the basis for any plan as demonstrated by Schoenmann.32 The formulation of a precise or comprehensive program for the pos- sible future development of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland requires more detailed physical as well as cultural surveys than are now available. The following items are tentative recommendations, however, for improving the use of the natural resources of the region. A. ggricultural In the Chinese Tibetan Borderland the problems of agricultural imp provement and development differ considerably from those met within the other regions of China. The population on the agricultural land is much higher. Flt is also higher in proportion to the total land area than other regions. Thus the pressure on the agricultural land for means of subsistence is greater: there is less waste land and also less unculti- vated land. Some of the agricultural problems in this region are socio- logical ones, and to amend them.may be a slow process requiring genera- tions. Among these are the problems of land tenure (high percentage of tenant farmers); and the question of whether the population depending on the land for its living is too high. There is no doubt that the re- gion would become more prosperous if there were fewer people on the land and more people taking part in industrial production. Other agricul- tural problems of this region include some degree of changed land use: for example, soil conservation measures which will increase the produc- tivity of a part of the cropped area, while requiring other parts to be 32 Schoenmann, L. R. A., "Land Inventory For Rural Planning in.Alger County, Michigan," Michigan Acade of Science, Arts and Letters, Vol. XVI, pp. 329-3BI, (19315. -55- taken out of cultivation and put under grass, crop yielding trees, or wood commodity producing forest. In addition, agricultural improvement practices are essential to help farmers in this region obtain a larger return from their land and labor. Small machinery can be employed in some districts, especially in Chingtu Plain where lands are not so rugged. Chemical fertilizers, leguminous green manure, crops, pest and disease controls, together with the application of new and improved varieties of crops can definitely raise the crop yield per unit. The average yield per acre of all the crops grown, except rice, is much less in this region than in, for example, western Europe. It is quite possible to change some of the present types of agri- cultural land use in order to increase cultivated land or food crops. Take rice, as an example: this crop not only has by far the highest yield per unit area of land in this region, but it is one of the most effective cultivated crops for soil conservation. Every attempt sould be made therefore to increase the area of land growing paddy rice. The area under rice may be increased to some extent by new or improved irri- gation projects, and by installing small reservoirs or ponds to store water for irrigating the upland paddy fields. Pumping water up from local streams, by wheels and possibly by hydraulic dams, could also be extended. Moreover, the winter flooded fields which occupy one-half or more of the paddy fields in Szechuan can be used to grow winter crepe or green manure crops if more ponds or reservoirs were constructed. Finally, the advisory and extension work for agricultural develop- ment or improvement is by far the important task in enhancing the agricultural development of this region. It seems that demonstration farms can be particularly effective in educating farmers in new methods. B. Animal Industly The Chinese Tibetan Borderland is perhaps the only large region which China has for the expansion of an.anima1 industry in the future. Unlike Manchuria and Inner Mengoloia where the competition between the nomadic tribes and fanmers is serious, this region is fortunately free from that disadvantage because of its inaccessibility,along with high altitude, which hinders the expansion of arable agriculture. At the present time the entire pastoral land of this region is in primitive grazing. Except for wool, the animal products are all used within the region. Butter is even burned for light or worship purposes in the Lamaseries. ' There is good possibilities that this region can be easily developed to carry on a modern animal industry. First of all, the grazers of this region should change their old unaided and unmanaged."mother nature" nomadism to a system.of range‘management. So far as grassland is con- cerned the whole grazing area can reach at least the level of about 30 acres per cow'ae in the United States.53 C On range management, the primary problem is one of a year round sup- ply of feed. Nomads in.the Chinese Tibetan Borderland do not feed their livestock during the winter and thus suffer a loss just as the "early- day" livestock producer of the range lands of the western United States did. It might be worthwhile to reduce or abolish the primitive farming 33 The‘WesternrRange,'Washington, United.8tates Government Printing Office, 19360 P. 870 -57- of this region by replacing it with the forage crops and import food- stuffs from agricultural areas. One cannot expect great development of the grazing industry in this region without the adaptation of new methods of breeding with improved stock, because the livestock in the Chinese Tibetan Borderland is of the primitive, unimproved types. For example, improved stock might be used for crossing with yak to produce large and more productive PIER NIU. Other possible improvements can be made by the importation of foreign stock, such as the improved stock from the western grazing areas in the United States or from Canada, the dual—purpose water buffalo of India, and by teaching the people proper breeding methods. The livestock industry in the agricultural and marginal land of Szechuan, Kansu, and southeast Sikang needs improvement in many respects. In some places the numbers of livestock shluld be reduced, and in only a few places could any increases be made at present. Breeds of water buffalo from India that produce a considerable amount of milk should be useful for developing dual-purpose water buffalo in Szechuan. Good shear- ing equipment should be used in order to improve the quality of the wool. There are other critical problems awaiting solution for the develop- ment of animal industry in this region. First, the housing of livestock is urgently needed, especially in the nomadic areas where even temporary and inexpensive shelter for protection from winter stoma would reduce the animal losses. Secondly, the problem of veterinary medicine is above all important for the future development of animal grazing in this region. It was reported that the rinder diseases in 1942 in Chinghai caused the loss of a half million yaks. C. Forest and'Woodland Management Forests are important to this region not only for the value found in wood and wood products, but for their very significant use as watershed protection. This is particularly true as this region is the source of China's two most important rivers--the Yangtze and the Yellow River. The Chinese Tibetan Borderland is one of the most favorably situated regions in China for the development of a permanent forest industry. In the Szechuan Basin and southeast Sikang where the rainfall and temperature are high, the trees grow easily. This is the reason why land use in that area is so intensive; trees, shrubs, and bamboo can be systematically planted and replanted on the steep slopes, rugged mountains, and river bottoms. Forest lands in northwestern Szechuan, southeastern Sikang, southern Sikang, and northern Yunnan is estimated to be 25 million acres. Many problems are involved in forest management such as, forest policy, forest marketing, and above all, the problems of transporting forest products. Reforestation of Kansu and eastern Chinghai will be a slow and diffi- cult process, because the former forests have been destroyed by over-cut- ting and trees are difficult to regrow under semi-arid climate. D. irrigation and Water Power Development Irrigation, while extensively used throughout nearly 70 per cent of the rice-growing areas of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland should be fur- ther developed and expanded, especially in the areas of northeast and southwest Szechuan, southeast Sikang, and southwest Kansu where droubhts frequently cause crop failures. Large engineering projects of irrigation -59- can be set up in some districts such as the Chengtu Plain, Sichang, Lanchow, and south central Szechuan, in order to replace the older in- efficient installations. Furthermore the proposed irrigation projects or improvements should be analyzed to determine the possibilities of developing water power and water transportation, as well as the prtvisicn of irrigation water. Fortunately; this region lies in one of China's potentially rich water power areas which is available for future hydro- electric development. Many suitable power sites are found in this region. Sites near Kwanhsien, Yaan, Sichang, Chungking, Lanchow, and Sining are prominent examples. mania The present mineral production of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland offers little indication of the quantities of mineral products that may be secured in the future. In.no case is the output at a.maximum, being held back by inadequate methods, expensive transportation, lack of a cur- rent active demand, and political factors, all of which will change in time. It is clear that the region has reserves of gold, copper, oil, coal, salt, and of many'minor minerals which are adequate to care for any expansion which is likely to take place for decades or possibly can- turies. ' F. Transportation Transportation facilities are the key for the future development of the Chinese Tibetan Borderland. Railways should be constructed as soon as possible radiating from.Chungking by way of Kweichow to Kunmin and Canton, and from Chungking via Chengtu to Paoki. The present Lunhai -60- Railway should be extended from its terminal, Paoki, westward to Lanchow or further west to Sining. Well-built automobile highways must be con- structed to connect the centers of population and production. The cars-- van routes of Chinghai and Sikang could be converted into automobile routes without great engineering difficulties. In addition, the navig- able distance of thei Yangtze Riter and its tributaries could be extended for greater use by locks and channel improvements. Aviation is, of course, the most efficient means of transportation. It will be employed in this region for the sake of supplementary service and rapid transit. G. Resort and Recreational Land Use The Chinese Tibetan Borderland is richly endowed with natural beauty particularly in the Szechuan Basin and southeastern Sikang. Omei Shan, 30 miles southwest of Kiating, and Ching Cheng Shan, 40 miles north of Chengtu, are the two distinguished resort and recreational places. moi Shan is a gigantic upthrust of hard limestone rising sheerly from the plain at an altitude of 1,300 feet to a height of nearly 11,000 feet above sea level. The mountain is not only unique in climate, terrain, and vegetation, but also is one of China's sacred mountains of Buddhism. Many thousands of pilgrims coming from all parts of China visit the noun- tain annually. Ching Cheng Shan is specially scenic .for its vegetation and for the water of the Min River. The mountain is the site of one of China's Taoist centers. These two resort and recreational lands have been famous for centuries because of their closeness to big cities as well as for their natural attractions, and there will certainly be furtha' developdt in the future. Other undeveloped resort and recreational lands in this region are numerous. Thus, the neighborhood of Kiating, Sichang, Kangting, and east Koko Nor possess high potential resort and recreational use. Under better management, these resources will in- crease public revenue in this region. B. Resources Conservation While resource conservation is recOgnized as a single problem in re- gard to human welfare, soil conservation is the foremost problem.to be faded in the Chinese Tibetan Borderland especially in the highly rural populated areas of Szechuan and southeastern Sikang where land must be cultivated for food production. The problem of soil conservation is largely one of how to reduce erosion while continuing cropping. The factors influencing erosion in this region are many, besides the slope and.the utilization of the land. First is the distribution and intensity of rainfall. Rainfall records in this region have shown that the heaviest daily rainfall of the year is during the summer months. Thus erosion is most likely to occur in the summer cropping period. Parent material is another factor affecting erosion. In the mountain areas of Szechuan and southeastern Sikang, lost of the soils are derived from.hard sandstone or limestone, which are less rapidly weathered, and are poorer in available plant foods. Consequently, erosion is more ser- ious in this soil than in soil made up of other materials. The loose parent material like Loess in the Chestnut-colored soils of’Xansu and Chinghai permits extensive gullying erosion. Vegetative cover, cropping system, and farming methols are other important factors involved in soil erosion in this region. According to Tians4 Szechuan and southeast 34 Tien, r. 31., ”Soil Erosion In China," Geographical Review, Vol. mu, no. 3, p. 575. (1941). ' -52- Sikang suffers moderate water erosion, southwestern Kansu and Chinghai are moderately eroded by both wind and water. 'So far as soil conservation work is concerned, each area requires individual consideration, in relation to local land use, cultivation methods, topography, soils, and climate. Methods cannot be transplanted "wholesale" from one country to another; the principles of soil conserva- tion, however, remain the same everywhere. It is essential that the inter- planting of row crops, such as corn, with low-growing plants, such as beans, can be widely employed in this region. Bencheterracing and con- tour ridge-and-furrow cultivation can be successfully adapted.in the area of Szechuan and southeast Sikang. Methods of erosion control involving cropping systems, such as rotations, strip cropping, etc., are perhaps less easy to apply in this region than abroad, for here the summer crop is almmst always required for cash or food, and for alternative crops are available. However, it is possible in some districts that the use of green.manure crop will somewhat reduce erosion. In the Chestnut- colored soil area arable agricultural development must be limited and in some areas it should be entirely abandoned in favor of grass or forest culture. Water conservation should be paid special attention.in.ths mountain areas of this region. Because of their altitude, steepness, lack of for- ests or other dense protective cover in some places, and the high rain- fall, the runoff here is more rapid than elsewhere. Thus the rivers flowing from.the mountains are subject to violent flooding. There are rivers which are used for transportation and irrigation vithin.the region, so that what happens in the mountains is the concern of the whole region. For these and other reasons, "watershed projects" should be set up in.most mountains of this region. Forest and grassland conservation is needed in south.Kansu, Chinghai, and Sikang. Wildlife of.many kinds require good care, especially the musk deer and panda in Sikang. Complete sanctuaries urgently needed.in Sikang, Chinghai, and.northwest Szechuan. Although.mineral resources in this region have not been over-explor- ed, because of the many handicaps, systematic conservation programs for future conservative development are highly important. CONCLUSION S The Chinese Tibetan Borderland is unique among the other regions of China in its configuration, climate, soil, and vegetation. It comprises one of China's densest and at the same time one of the sparsest areas of population. At the present time, the development of this region is con- fined mainly to the surface land. Subsistence farming and nomadic graz- ing are the predominating occupations in which more than 83 per cent of the people are engaged. Agriculture in the Szechuan Basin and southeast Sikang is characterized by a high intensity of land utilization. No- where is there a greater diversity in products than here, and the use which is made of the land would seem to approach the absolute limit under the conditions now prevailing. Two crops a year are grown throughout most parts of the agricultural land, and some farmers grow a third. Livestock is widely raised in the agricultural areas, but is chiefly used for drafting or domestic purposes. Because of a shortage of grazing land in the agricultural areas, livestock takes a considerable amount of the farm products for feed. 0n the high plateau areas, human activities are limited to nomadic grazing. Yaks are the most important animl and are used for a number of purposes by the nomads. They carry burdens, furnish meat and milk, and their long hair is used for making tents and clothes. Other types of land utilization such as lumbering, mining, water resources development, and transportation have been developed to a certain degree to meet the nation-wide or local requirement, especially during World War II. Although the agricultural areas of Szechuan and southeast Sikang are already over-crowded, grazing lands of Chinghai, central and ‘western Sikang, and northwest Szechuan can support no more than their present population under present systems of use. Future development of this region is potentially promising, if modern techniques can be one ployed. 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