Geographic Influences Upon the Economic Activities of the Kansu Corridor of Northwest China

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GEOGMPHIC INFDUMCI5 UPON THE ECOHOMXO ACTIVITIES OF THE KANSU CORHIDOE OF N G H T H M T CHINA

by

Chong-rwen Kao

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in the Department of Geography in the Graduate College of the State University of Iowa June, 19^0

ProQuest Number: 10902176

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uest ProQuest 10902176 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). C opyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C o d e M icroform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346

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ii

ACKKOWLEDGMOT The -writer wishes to express his sincerest gratitude to Dr* Harold Hull McCarty for kind suggestions, conscientious encouragement, and valuable guidance In the selection and the direction of this study. The writer also desires to extend his gratitude to the Institute of the Chinese National Industrialization Plan which chose him as one of the sixteen members of the Northwest China Investigation Group,

With this group the writer traveled mainly

in the Provinces of Kansu and Sinteiang from March, 191*3 to July, 19U1*. The writer appreciates the encouragement given by the faculty of the Department of Geography of the State University of Iowa,

Through the spontaneous and constant help from the

librarians and the warm fellowship of hi© departmental colleagues, his work has been made easier.

«

lii

tabus of G o m m m Chapter X II XII IF

Page Introduction - China as a Whole # « » • The Kansu Corridor * location and Physical Setting

12

Historical and Cultural Factors in the Kansu Corridor * .............. . .

39

Land Utilisation and Economic Develop­ ment . ♦ . . . .....................

hh

Land Utilization

.........

•

$1

Agriculture

S3

. . . . . . . . . . . . •

Urban Occupation . . . . . . . . . .

VI

hk

Economic Development , • • • * • * •

Mining * . * ..................

7

1

Population and Settlement •

Appendix

81

........

Conclusion

. * . . .........

Mbliography

....................

30

9h 108 Ill 11!?

iv

TABLE 0? TABLES Table

X

Page

Statistics of Papulation of the Fifteen Districts of the Kansu Corridor » « # # * • • • • # • » • • •

18

IX

Mean Monthly and Annual Temperatures (C°) • • . . .

27

III

Mian Monthly and Annual Precipitation (mm*) • • • •

28

X?

V VI VXX VIII

Percentage of Workers Who are Farmers and Classes of Farmers in the Various Districts of the Kansu Corridor • . * ...................... Total Production of Various Main Crops in the Kansu Corridor* by Districts, 19U5 ...............

X XX

5b

Amount of Land Weed and Production of the Main Crops of the Kansu Corridor «••«•**•*•*

56

A Comparison of Wheat Production In the Eastern and the Western Portions of the Kansu Corridor * • * *

59

Areas Occupied and Production of the Main Crops in

the Districts of Chang~yeh XX

52

• . .

61

..............

Members and Percentages of Domestic Animals of the Kansu Corridor » * » • » • * • • • » • * • « • • «

68

The Muabers of Domestic Animals of the Kansu Corridor* by Districts* 19b5 • » # • • » • • • • •

76

Area and Population of the Eastern and the Western Portions of the Kansu Corridor * * * * « • * • • «

98

V

TABLE OF FIGURES Figure

Page

1

The Geographic Location of Ohina • . . . ........... .

3

2

Belief* Map of China

$

3

Agricultural Regions of C h i n a .........

8

b

Population Density of China

10

$

Location of the Area

13

6

Physiographic Diagram of Northwest Ch in a............

lb

?

Physiographic Diagram of the Are&wi&nlargement

. . . .

1$

8

Index of Districts of the Kansu Corridor............

17

9

Desert Shrubs

2b

10

..........

...........

Monthly Teirperatur® and Rainfall of the Four Stations of the Kansu Corridor * « • • • • * » • • * . • • • *

30

Tegetational Zones of the Chi-lien Mountains........

31

12

Soil Groups of the Kansu Corridor

36

23

Minority Population in the Nan-shan Showing their Characteristic Dress . » »»«•«

b3

lb

Land Utilization of the Kansu Corridor « • * « « • • •

b?

1$

Average production and Acreage of Various Crops

58

.H

................

• • .

vi TABLE OF FIGURES (cont*cU) Page

H gur©

16

Location of Production of Various Main Crop© In the Kansu Corridor - iSheat......... ...

67

1?

*• Potatoes* • « • • » * • • • * . *

67

18

- Foxtail M i l l e t ............. . . •

67

19

20

21

67

- Itye *****

m m

- Barley

* ................

22

- Peaa

* . * » . * * . #

23

«* Hioe

. * . *

67 67

2$

Distribution of Domestic Animals in the Kansu ................ •. Corridor - Sheep

27

67 67

*

«**•»**•••**•« - Cotton

- Goats

• . •

.........

2h

26

67

............. - M i l l e t .........................

. . . .

.»•.... - Cows and Oxen ....... *

.

7k

.

7h

..............

7h

26

- Donkeys............. .......... .

7h

29

- Horse©

* . « » . » * * * « . . • • . » •

7k

30

- Mules

......... . . . . . . . . . . . .

?U

31

Animal Power Used for Plowing

. . . . . . . . . . .

77

32

Camel as a Major Animal Transportationin the Desert

76

33

Sketch Map of the Kansu Petroleum Administration, Oil Fields District ...........

82

Principal Transportation Pattern of the Kansu Corridor •

90

3h

vii

TABLS OF FIOUBES (oont'd.) Figure 35

37 38 39 liO

Page Main Highway - Katural Qrav»l~3urfeced Hoad aa the Major Haute far Both Anlaal-Dr«wn and Motor Tehlelee ................... ....... . . . . . .

91

Distribution of Population In tha Kansu Corridor • • •

9$

loeatlon of tho Main Cltlas of tha Kansu Corridor Chawing tha Importance of Streams

100

Sketch Hap of City Showing its Arrangements and Settlement Pattern

102

Piatura Showing a City Oats

103

Plan of Housas (A and B ) ..........

. . * . . * * •

10$

1

Chapter 1 IOTRODUGTIQB * C M

AS A WHOLE

Importance of tfoe Area The isrpartance of Chism is only disdy appreciated fey the m odem Occident*

Her© live approximately four hundred forty million

people, the largest fairly homogenous group of mankind*

Hearly one-

fourth of the human race, the Chines© outnumber the entire population of the Western Hemisphere * Although these people have many common characteristics* there is a great deal of diversity of economic develop­ ment within the area they occupy*

It was with the hope of clarifying

some of the reasons for this geographic diversity that the present study of the economic development of a small section of northwest China was undertaken.

Specifically, the purpose of the study is to describe

and account for the existone© of the ©oonamLc development of the Kansu Corridor*

Since that area is a part of the larger Chinese

nation, however, it would be unwise to begin the investigation without a brief summary of the environment, economic development and population of China as a whole# Location and Access With respect to major physical features, China has her east face to the pacific Ocean and the south and southwest are largely bordered fey high plateaus and lofty mountain ranges.

On the north,

2 along & frontier of o w

throe thousand miles there is practically no

natural boundary, especially along the northwestern border*

This

frontier has been a source of invasion for China for many centuries# It is also important to know China*® position with respect to the principal world avenues of comunieation and transportation# Eastern China, the portion that faces the Pacific Ocean, is most accessible in these respects.

Here the major seaports and other

commercial centers have developed.

Interior areas are less accessible.

It may b® noted that about one-ninth of Chinese territory is in a littoral position#

The continentality of most of the remainder is

conspicuous (Figure l). Surface Features Broadly speaking, China Is composed of two plains in the northeast, and of mountainous zones in the west and southwest.

The

larger of these two plains extends from Hang-chow Bay to the mountains north of Peiping, a total length of about ?00 miles#

The small plain

is that drained by the middle Yangtze and the lower Baa, and includes all the laic© districts of the region of the great zigzag of the Yangtze between I-chang and Kiu-klang.

It Is about IhO miles in both length

and in breadth, The southwestern section of Ciiina is very mountainous, except for the Canton and Cheng-tu plains, ’which have mi area of between 3000 and UOOO square miles each#

The rest of the southwest is made up

almost entirely of hills and valleys#

The mountains in the eastern

h part of this section ar© seldom over 3,000 feet high, but those near the Tibetan frontier h a w an altitude of 10,000 feet or more. In northern China, Manchuria, with an area of nearly 500,000 square miles, is surrounded by mountains on three sides and opens on the south to the Gulf of Po-hai. Mongolia Is closely associated with China although it is presently cut off from China, politically.

The geographic relation of

Mongolia to China is similar to that of tha Nin-hsia and Sui-yuan provinces. Here is a vast area containing the great desert of Gobi* In the northwest, Sinfciang is naturally divided into two sections by the Tien Shan Bang®, which separates the larger Tarim basin on the south from th© smaller Dzungarian Basin to the north. The area of Tibet is a high plateau, (Figure 2). Climate In general, eastern China has a humid continental climate with long summers in the south and short summers in the-north (Ofa, Owe, Bara and Bwb).

Interior areas are generally arid (B$, W ) although there

are many local variations in mountain areas.

The Monsoon has a

pronounced effect on the climate of China Proper, is the rainy season.

In general, sujmaer

The moist winds com® to an end in September*

October th© dry winds from the interior begin to blow.

th

Over all of

China proper, most of th© rain is brought by th© summer monsoon*

Th©

total rainfall for th© year is greatest in the south and the east, and diminishes toward the north and west.

6 northern China, has cold winters and hot summers $ central China has cool winters and hot swiersj and southern Oiina ha® warn winters and hot summers, Econondc Development Agriculture is by far th© most Important occupation of Chinese people*

It is estimated that between 80 and 8£ per cent of the people

are Tdiolly or partly engaged in agriculture*

The agricultural product©

include rice and sugar cane from th© hot, low swamps , wheat and millet from the drier lowlands, tea from th© warm, damp hill© and beans from Manchuria (Figure 3)* Although the whole of the northwestern China — thirds of th© entire country — ha© newer been developed#

about two-

is a pastoral land, the woolen industry

As in the case of cotton goods, China exports

much of the raw material, but is an importer of the finished product* The highland© of southern China are generally forested* Considerable areas hare been, cut over and agricultural pursuits are now followed in th© clearing®, but there are still extensive forests which supply valuable timber in th® Tuan River Basin of Hu-*nan and Ming River Basin of Fu-lden*

The Talu River Valleys of Manchuria are

another important lumbering region, a® far as exportation of timber is concerned# Population During the past few year® there have been no reliable

7

* 0

^»9+9WO|!M

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005

This map of th© agricultural regions of China was derived from the following sources* (1)

"Agricultural Regions of China*" by fi» X* Ha, Journal of the Geography Hoeiety of China* vol. 3, no,' 1, March 1936*

(2)

"The Agricultural Regions of China*" by C* X. Chang, Annals of th© Association of American Geographers* March 191*6.

In addition, the following changes were made by the authors (1)

The writer*s region "Oasis with short-growing season agriculture was named Just "Oasis Belt* by Chang. Th© writer*® title is more ©asplioit of the agricultural conditions.

(2)

Chang had an indefinite desert area including parts of the writer* s "northwest steppe" and "Oasis with shortgrowing season agriculture*" Th® writer believes the revised region* and their names show better the agricultural importance in each*

(3) Hu had areas of "Northwest Desert" and "Semi-desert" in th© Whole Northwest area* The same reasons apply fear changing these as applied to revising Chang*®* (h)

Th© "Northeast Agriculture" region of Figure 3 was named by Hu "Sungaria - Liao" which i® a physic region (based on river systems) and does act have much agricultural significance. The changes emphasize the agriculture of the area.

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9

16 longitude 93*5> to 102.8 degrees East. 188,7£9 square kilometers.

It includes approximately

Sine© the total area of the Province is

360,863 square kilometers, the Corridor occupies about one-half of the total provincial area. In the Kansu Corridor, there are fifteen districts with a total population of about 1,092,7^: persons (Figure 8 and Table 1

)*

In spite of the strategic importance of the area, the economic resources of the Corridor have been developed but little since the days of the Han Dynasty.

This study is mad© in order to ©how the type© and

locations of economic activities in the area, and to discover, as far as possible, the reasons for these developments.

Since the physical

environment is very important in such an area, it is necessary there­ fore, to examine it first.

¥© shall consider the natural features of

the Kansu Corridor under the following heads:

(1) surface features5

(2) vegetation^ (3) climate| and (b) hydrography and ©oils.

All of

these features will be examined for their relation to the population pattern and economic development of the area. Surface Features The Kansu Corridor consists essentially of a narrow, lowlevel trough between two ranges of mountains, namely, the CM-lien Shan or Kan-shan - South Mountains on the south, and Ho-lee Shan or the Harmonious multitude mountains on the north.

The southern mountains

are arranged as a natural wall on the south edge of the Corridor, form­ ing the boundary between the Kansu Frovino© on the north and Tsin-hal

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