The distance from Beijing to Guangzhou as the crow flies is 1,150 miles, or much the same as from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in north-east England, to Gibraltar. From Kashgar, in the far west of Xinjiang (Sinkiang) province, to Shanghai is 2,555 miles, or roughly what it is from Seattle to Tampa (Florida). Soil and rivers remain frozen for much of the year in the provinces of the north-east, while the southern island of Hainan enjoys permanently sub-tropical temperatures. Seventy million people live in the east coast province of Jiangsu, most of which is less than 50 metres above sea level.

Traditional China identified five directions, east, south, west, north, and centre. Exactly why the centre should receive a separate nomination is not certain, although in ancient times the Chinese liked to group things in fives, such as the Five Elements, the Five Senses, the Five Colours, the Five [musical] Tones, the Five Flavours , etc. Perhaps the importance of the centre was connected with the very ancient practice of archery as part of religious ritual activity, hitting the centre marking the ultimate goal of human activity.

Eastern China comprises two quite distinct regions, (1) the coastal provinces of Hebei, Shandong, and Jiangsu, distinguished by the location at their extremities of two capital cities, Beijing and Nanjing. For the south-east region, which is equally separate from the above, see under the heading of South China.

In traditional China north was felt to be the least favourable of the cardinal directions. Its mythic guardian spirit was the black-green tortoise, frighteningly entwined with a snake in a coiled embrace. It was the imagined location of the Yellow Springs, the subterranean region where spirits of the human dead dwelt under the frozen winter soil while awaiting re-birth. North was also the direction from which barbarian invaders were most likely to come and ruin the idealised peace and prosperity of the Middle Kingdom.

The Yangzi Jiang is often known in Chinese simply as Jiang ('The River'), or as Changjiang, ('Long River'). Above Chongqing its name changes to Golden Sand (Jinsha) River, and as it crosses the lofty Tibetan plateau and nears its source in Qinghai province it is known as the Way to Heaven (Tongtian) River. 3,964 miles from source to mouth, it is one of the world's longest rivers. Together with its hundreds of feeder rivers it has been of enormous value to the agricultural economy of central China and to water-borne communication, mainly between west and east.

The physical map indicates that western China comprises the great Tibetan plateau and the vast area of mainly desert and mountain to its north. The plateau is divided into the Autonomous People's Region of Tibet (in Chinese, Xizang) and the province of Qinghai.

• Political Map of Bangladesh, 1996
• India in 1760
• India in 1882
• Political map of India, 2001
• Map of India's religions, 1987
• Political Map of Pakistan, 2002
• Map of Southern Asia