subject: Backpacking Information on China [print this page] China, an East Asian country on coordinates 35 00 N, 105 00 E, is the 4th largest country in the world after Russia, Canada, and the U.S. with a total area of 9,596,960 km. It has a terrain of mostly plains, hills, and deltas in the East, and mountains, plateaus, and deserts in the west, with rivers flowing from West to East, i.e. Yangtze and Huang Ho (main rivers), emptying into the Pacific Ocean. Elevation extremes comprise of Turpan Pendi, the lowest point (-154 m), and Qomolangma (Mount Everest), the highest point (8,850 m). China currently deals with ecological concerns of air and water pollution, water shortages, deforestation, and trade of endangered species.