China

This review evaluates The New Map of the Republic of China, planned by Ding Wenjiang, assisted by Weng Wenhao, and edited and supervised by Zeng Shiying. Its purpose is both to establish the atlas’s cartographic and scholarly significance and to identify problems requiring correction or supplementation. Drawing on the history of Chinese cartography, projection theory, geodetic positioning, terrain representation, climatology, and human geography, the reviewer conducts a systematic examination of the atlas’s methods and contents. The atlas synthesizes more than two centuries of Chinese and foreign surveys. It employs the Albers equal-area conic projection for general maps and polyconic projections for detailed sheets, critically consolidates reliable latitude and longitude records for over one thousand locations, and depicts national relief through contour and bathymetric lines with layered coloring. It also contains physical, administrative, urban, climatic, agricultural, mineral, and transportation maps, together with a gazetteer of approximately 37,000 place names. These features make it an unprecedented achievement in Chinese-produced cartography and an important research instrument for its time. The review nevertheless identifies substantial limitations. Its account of the origins of modern Chinese mapping underestimates Matteo Ricci’s earlier introduction of geometric projections and astronomical position measurement. Ordinary polyconic projection is unsuitable for highly precise area calculations, while several provincial boundaries and reported area figures imply a degree of certainty unsupported by available surveys. The atlas also risks equating low elevation with plains, agricultural suitability, or fertile soils and associating topographic divisions too directly with economic regions, thereby reproducing environmental determinism. Its climatic maps suffer from crowded graphics, insufficient documentation of sources, excessive interpolation in sparsely observed regions, reliance on temperatures theoretically reduced to sea level, and inadequate attention to seasonal rainfall, frost-free periods, and growing seasons. Additional weaknesses include inconsistent scales, missing legends, outdated human and transportation information, imprecise terminology, limited bathymetric detail, and failure to show the continental shelf or the varying reliability of regional surveys. The reviewer recommends clearer source criticism, explicit indications of data quality, improved thematic classification, and periodically issued corrections. Finally, by comparing the French and Russian texts of the Treaty of Aigun with the history of taxation and administration, the article argues that the Sixty-Four Villages East of the Amur should not be represented as Russian territory. Overall, the review recognizes the atlas as foundational to the modernization and public dissemination of Chinese cartography while insisting that scientific mapping must respect data precision, theoretical limits, temporal change, and legal-historical evidence.

The article describes the 1934 Zhonghua Minguo Xin Ditu, issued to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the Shenbao, as a 53-map atlas with seven general maps, forty-four regional maps, and a place-name index containing more than 36,200 entries. Its regional sheets distinguish human-geographic maps emphasizing settlements, transport routes, towns, and county boundaries from physical maps centered on relief and drainage; a graticule-based sheet system reduces duplication and allows adjacent maps to be joined. The reviewer praises its use of the latest available sources, including large-scale topographic surveys, and judges its copperplate engraving and hypsometric coloring exceptionally refined for its time. The atlas reportedly received strong scholarly acclaim at home and abroad, contributed positively to science and education in Republican-era China, and later provided the basis for the repeatedly reprinted Zhongguo Fensheng Tuji.

The first three volumes of the planned five-volume Chinese National Atlas have been published, covering Taiwan, Tibet, Sinkiang, Mongolia, and North China, with Volumes IV (South China) and V (general maps) expected by October 1962. Edited by Dr. Chi-yun Chang of the Institute of Geography in Taipei, the atlas provides bilingual place names in Chinese and English. U.S. inquiries may be directed to Dr. Jen-hu Chang in Hawaii. Following completion, the institute will focus on a Southeast Asian atlas and research on water resources, agricultural planning, China's resources, Oriental urbanization, and Southeast Asia's economic potential.

This bibliographic review assesses the National Atlas of China, edited by Dr. Chang Chi-yun and published in five volumes in Taipei between 1960 and 1963. It details the contents of each volume, the use of the Lambert conformal projection, principal scales, and the administrative divisions based on the 1947 promulgation, with place names romanized in the Wade-Giles system. The reviewer contends that while the atlas does not surpass the 1934 'New Atlas of the Republic of China' by Ting, Weng, and Zeng in cartographic technique, it adds valuable soil, forest, and vegetation distribution maps, enriches frontier data, and facilitates an overview of Taiwan's physical, human, and economic geography through large-scale maps, reflecting post-WWII developments in Chinese geographical research.

Frederick Hung reviews the five-volume National Atlas of China as a major postwar successor to earlier Chinese national atlases. He emphasizes that it presents the Chinese Nationalist position on international boundaries and administrative geography, including claims to Outer Mongolia, Tannu Urianhai, disputed Sino-Indian territories, and much of the South China Sea. Because it does not incorporate administrative changes made by the People’s Republic, he considers its political maps of limited value for studying contemporary China. He describes its paired political and topographic regional maps, varied scales, bilingual apparatus, and comparatively accessible English index, while particularly praising the major-languages map in Volume V and the fifty-seven Taiwan maps in Volume I; he also singles out Volume IV’s Hainan map for its geopolitical interest.

The authors describe the Physical Geographical Atlas of China as a published volume of the planned four-volume national atlas, containing more than 220 maps and 360,000 Chinese characters of accompanying text. They praise its concise but comprehensive treatment of China’s physical conditions and natural resources, highlighting its integrated system of natural-region maps, separate oceanographic series, inclusion of emerging scientific subjects, use of historical and archaeological evidence to depict environmental change, and combination of nationwide coverage with detailed regional studies. In their assessment, this design accommodates uneven source materials while incorporating intensive regional research, and the atlas achieved a high standard through sustained experimentation, collective compilation, and varied technical measures.

The article presents the 1965 Natural Atlas and the 1969 provincial atlas as the two substantially completed products of a planned four-volume national atlas. It describes the provincial atlas as a detailed set of 27 provincial and municipal general maps, supplemented by a national administrative map, designed to show settlements, transport networks, terrain, and their spatial relationships for planning, research, and education. The Natural Atlas organizes closely related material into eight thematic groups covering overview maps, geology, landforms, climate, hydrology, soils, biology, and oceans. The reviewer calls it one of China’s finest cartographic works, praising its synthesis of contemporary natural-geography research, expert and cartographic collaboration, thoughtful design, and high production quality; an accompanying explanatory volume of about 350,000 Chinese characters is also valued as an independent geographical work.

The article notes that compilation of the 1965 Natural Atlas of the People’s Republic of China was led by Chen Shupeng. Completed ahead of the other planned national-atlas volumes in 1965 and internally printed and distributed in 1967, it was widely praised and regarded as internationally advanced.

The editors present the National Agricultural Atlas of the People’s Republic of China as the first volume completed in a five-part national atlas project revived in 1981 after an earlier interruption. Edited by geographer Zhou Lisan and containing 300 maps of various sizes, it is said to provide a systematic account of China’s agricultural conditions, characteristics, spatial patterns, achievements, and scientific results, while serving planning, resource management, research, education, international exchange, and public understanding of the country’s agricultural circumstances.

This paper introduces the background, compilation process, main features, and international impact of the "National Economic Atlas of the People's Republic of China and Its Electronic Version." The project was led by the State Planning Commission, with the Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences as the chief editor, and was completed over six years, with the Chinese edition published in 1993 and the English edition in 1994. The atlas contains 265 maps and 250,000 characters of explanatory text, comprehensively reflecting China's resources, population, economy, agriculture, industry, transportation, and other sectors, characterized by scientific completeness, systematicity, and spatial analysis. The electronic version, developed based on EA-ward software, is user-friendly, content-rich, and reaches a world-leading level, receiving high praise from the international cartographic community. The atlas is not only a significant achievement in China's economic geography research but also provides valuable materials for the international community to understand China's economy.

The “National Natural Atlas of China” (1999 edition) contains 540 maps in eight series of general, natural environment (geology and geophysics, geomorphology, climate, hydrology, soil, biology, and oceanography), natural resources, natural disasters and the utilization and protection of nature as well as 300 000 words of notes to the maps.

The National Physical Atlas of China is a large-scale comprehensive scientific reference atlas that systematically presents the overall picture of China's natural environment and resources. This paper introduces the compilation background, main contents, and innovative characteristics of the atlas. Based on extensive scientific surveys and observational data accumulated during the 20th century, particularly the past 50 years, the atlas comprehensively reflects China's natural environment, natural resources, natural disasters, and the utilization and conservation of nature. Its innovations include: the first application of fully digital computer-aided design and plate-making technology, marking a revolutionary transition from conventional cartographic techniques; the addition of thematic content reflecting the latest progress in geoscience research; and the systematic presentation of biodiversity research findings. The publication has received high international acclaim and provides an important information foundation for the construction of Digital China.

Qi presents the second edition of the National Atlases of China as an integrated series of independently edited general, physical, economic, agricultural, and historical volumes. He concentrates on the economic and physical atlases and their electronic manifestations, describing their data, thematic organization, digital production, visualization, querying, statistical analysis, animation, and three-dimensional displays. In the editor’s account, compiling these works advanced comprehensive and statistical mapping, computer-assisted cartography, multidimensional data models, and the integration of heterogeneous spatial data, while providing tools for research, education, planning, and decision-making.

This review evaluates The National Economic Atlas of China (1994), a landmark reference work created through collaboration among major Chinese planning, geography, statistics, and information agencies. Originating in the national atlas project proposed in 1958, the volume represents the most comprehensive English-language cartographic account of China’s economy then available. It contains 265 full-color maps, supported by four handbooks, and organizes its material into ten sections covering resources, population, the general economy, agriculture, industry, transportation and communications, construction and environmental protection, commerce and finance, social services, and provincial economies. More than 500 variables are mapped for nearly 2,833 county-level units, providing unusually detailed evidence on China’s regional economic and social geography. The reviewer particularly commends the atlas’s production quality, cartographic clarity, interagency data integration, and innovative synthesis of multiple variables, as illustrated by maps of electricity networks, grain flows, port capacity, waste disposal, foreign trade, and coastal investment. Several limitations are also identified: sources for underlying statistics are often omitted; maps of overall or sectoral per capita income, poverty, and food relief are absent; some social indicators are presented as absolute totals rather than population-standardized measures; and a few variables lack adequate definitions. Despite these shortcomings and the practical risk of separating the accompanying booklets from the volume, the atlas is judged indispensable for research libraries. It offers both an authoritative overview of China’s economy and a powerful basis for investigating spatial inequality, uneven development, and coastal–interior tensions.

This is an academic review of The National Economic Atlas of China (Oxford University Press, 1994), compiled by the Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other agencies. The review notes that the atlas, a key volume in the National Atlas Series, utilizes approximately 100 million bytes of data from 1985-1990, processed with GIS techniques, to present 265 maps illustrating the spatial patterns of China's restructuring economy. Coverage includes resources, agriculture, industry, transportation, commerce, urban construction, environment, and education. The review praises its cartographic virtuosity and data accuracy, deeming it a definitive reference on China's economic geography. However, it also identifies flaws, including inconsistent mapping in sparsely populated western regions, overly complex multivariate maps, and the lack of post-1990 data.

The National General Atlas, published in 1995 as the first volume of the National Atlas Series of the People's Republic of China, marks a new milestone in China's cartographic achievements. This paper systematically reviews the atlas from aspects of binding design, content structure, and compilation features. The atlas comprises three sections—preliminary maps, regional maps, and provincial maps—totaling 180 pages, supplemented by a 99-page place-name index. It features rich information, harmonious color schemes, and a scientifically rigorous projection system. The author highlights the atlas's distinctive Chinese characteristics in provincial map organization, sea chart compilation, and drainage system representation, while objectively analyzing the social causes of temporal limitations in map currency. The publication elevates China's atlas compilation theory and technology to a new level.

This paper is an academic review of the National Ordinary Atlas of the People's Republic of China. The author traces the compilation background and historical origins of the atlas, noting its significant advancement over the 1930s Shenbao Atlas, exemplifying the developmental principle of "surpassing the master." The review highlights the atlas's merits in content richness, structural clarity, and printing quality, while also discussing the evolution of cartographic techniques from manual work to automation, multimedia, and expert systems, with an outlook on the full automation of future atlases.

The National General Atlas, published in 1995 as the first volume of the National Atlas series, represents a historic achievement in Chinese cartography and surveying. Grounded in spatial cognition theory, this paper systematically elaborates on the indispensable role of maps as tools for understanding the environment, establishing spatial concepts, discovering distribution patterns, integrating statistical information, and correcting erroneous mental images. It further analyzes the unique functions of atlases in constructing multidimensional environmental perspectives, deepening cognitive understanding, and enhancing readers' spatial literacy. The article also addresses whether atlases have become obsolete in the information age, arguing that as repositories of scientific achievement and cultural accumulation, their value remains undiminished by technological progress, and they continue to serve as the most effective tools for spatial data visualization. The publication of the National Atlas not only supports national development but also cultivates talent for China's cartographic informatization industry.

The National Atlas of the People's Republic of China (General Atlas) has been officially published, a long-awaited event in China's cartographic community. As the first volume of the national atlas series, it was compiled by over a hundred cartographers from multiple institutions and comprehensively presents China's geographic features and regional characteristics. The atlas adopts the latest field-survey data, 1:1,000,000 topographic maps, and satellite imagery, and draws on the national place-name survey results, ensuring authority and currency. Its compilation emphasizes both inheritance and innovation: the themes are complete and systematic, covering general maps, regional maps, provincial maps, sea-area maps, and city maps; the content is detailed and up-to-date, with information updated to the end of 1991; the design is novel, using coloured relief shading for sea areas for the first time, improving hypsometric tinting for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and adopting a three-step colour scheme based on China's three major topographic steps. Cartographers believe that this atlas breaks through traditional mapping modes, organically integrates scientific, ideological, practical and artistic values, and reaches an internationally advanced level. It is a historic contribution to national cartography and will play an important role in economic construction, national defence, scientific research and education.

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the National Physical Atlas of China, published in 1999 in both Chinese and English editions. As a key component of China's series of national atlases, the atlas was compiled under the leadership of the Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, involving nearly 40 institutions and over 300 scholars. Based on the concept of systematically studying the country's environment and its changes, protecting geographical systems and biodiversity, and ensuring sustainable development, the atlas extensively utilizes satellite remote sensing information. It comprises 225 pages containing 540 maps, organized into five sections: introductory maps, physical environment, natural resources, natural hazards, and nature utilization and protection. The review highlights the atlas's outstanding achievement in combining traditional cartography with computer-based mapping methods. The thematic map groups are rich in content and innovative, demonstrating high precision and practical utility. The atlas is regarded as a unique cartographic masterpiece and a model of excellence in atlas publishing over the past decade, holding significant value for economic development and scientific research.

The article recounts the revival and completion of China’s national atlas program after the project was restored as a key national research initiative in 1981. Conceived as an integrated series of relatively independent general, physical, agricultural, economic, and historical atlases, it drew on new data and production methods and involved hundreds of institutions, editors, and specialists. The agricultural, economic, general, and physical volumes appeared successively, with the economic and physical atlases also issued in English. The author presents the series as a comprehensive synthesis of Chinese knowledge about nature, population, the economy, society, and history, emphasizing its value for planning, research, education, and international scholarly exchange. Awards and favorable assessments from international cartographers are cited as evidence of its quality, while the project is also credited with stimulating atlas production and training a generation of Chinese cartographers. Overall, the author regards it as an unprecedented national scientific and cultural achievement and a milestone in modern Chinese cartography.