This is a list of the extreme points of China, compared both globally and within the country.
Global extreme points in China
Altitude
* The highest point on Earth measured from sea level is the summit of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
,
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
on the Sino-
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
border. While
measurements of its height vary slightly, the elevation of its peak is usually given as above sea level.
* The lowest point in Central Asia is below sea level at
Ayding Lake
Aydingkol ( Uyghur: , , ), Aydingkul (Mongol) or Ayding () is a lake in the Turpan Depression, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, PR China. At 154 m below sea level, it is the lowest point in China. This lake is now totally dried, and very mudd ...
within the
Turpan Depression
The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault (geology), fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city-oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about southeast of the regional capit ...
, near the oasis city of
Turpan Pendi,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
.
Highest attainable by transportation
The following are all located partially or completely in the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
.
*Road (mountain pass): Possibly
Semo La
Semo La''La'' means "pass" in Tibetan (; bo, བཟར་མོ་ལ) is a mountain pass situated in Coqên County, Ngari Prefecture in the central part of Tibet and gives access to the Changtang region. It is found on the so-called Northe ...
, depending on definition of "attainable by transportation". There may be higher motorable passes in Tibet in areas affected by lack of information and restricted access. See
Khardung La
Khardung La () or Khardung Pass is a mountain pass in the Leh district of the Indian union territory of Ladakh.
The pass is on the Ladakh Range, north of Leh, and connects the Indus river valley and the Shyok river valley. It also forms the ...
, for more information.
*Train:
Tanggula Mountain Pass
The Tanggu La, Tangla Pass, or Tanggu Pass (; bo, གདང་ལ) is a wide mountain pass in Southwest China over in elevation, which utilized by both the Qinghai–Tibet Highway and Qinghai–Tibet Railway to cross the Tanggula Mountains. Th ...
, in the
Tanggula Mountains
The Tanggula (Chinese: , p ''Tánggǔlāshān'', or , p ''Tánggǔlāshānmài''), Tangla, Tanglha, or Dangla Mountains (Tibetan: , w ''Gdang La'', z ''Dang La'') are a mountain range in the central part of the Q ...
, on the Qinghai–Tibet border
*Airport:
Daocheng Yading Airport
Daocheng Yading Airport ( zh, 稻城亚丁机场, bo, འདབ་པའི་ཉི་བརྟེན་གནམ་གྲུ་ཐང་, ) is an airport serving Daocheng County in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan province, ...
, Sichuan province
Highest geographical features
The following are all located partially or completely in the
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...
.
*Lake:
Lhagba Pool
The Lhagba Pool was a high altitude lake considered to exist, but an examination of evidence, including satellite photos leads to a conclusion that it has dried out. It was considered the highest lake in Tibet and the second highest lake in the wor ...
on the northeast slopes of
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
, at an altitude of .
*River: One candidate from among many possibilities is the Ating Ho (meaning Ho river), which flows into the
Aong Tso (Hagung Tso), a large lake about at its source at . A very large high river is the
Yarlung Tsangpo
The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra River located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The upper section is also called Dan ...
, the Tibetan section of the
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...
, whose main stem, the
Maquan River
Maquan River () or Dangque Zangbu (; ; ) is the upper section of Yarlung Tsangpo. It is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in the southwestern part of the country, about west of the regional capital Lhasa.
The average annual rainfall is . T ...
has its source at about above sea level at .
*Island: There are a number of islands in the
Orba Co
Orba Co, also Wo Erba or Wo Erbacuo (; ), is a lake in Rutog County in the Ngari Prefecture in the northwest of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies at an elevation of , to the southeast of Longmu Lake __NOTOC__
Longmu (; ), also Longmu ...
lake, which is located at an altitude of .
Remoteness
* The Eurasian
pole of inaccessibility
A pole of inaccessibility with respect to a geographical criterion of inaccessibility marks a location that is the most challenging to reach according to that criterion. Often it refers to the most distant point from the coastline, implying a ...
, the point on land farthest from any ocean, is located approximately from
Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
, at (in the
Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert). This position is at a distance of approximately from the nearest coastline.
Country extreme points
Altitude
* Maximum:
Mount Everest
Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heig ...
,
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
,
* Minimal:
Ayding Lake
Aydingkol ( Uyghur: , , ), Aydingkul (Mongol) or Ayding () is a lake in the Turpan Depression, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, PR China. At 154 m below sea level, it is the lowest point in China. This lake is now totally dried, and very mudd ...
,
Turfan Depression
The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault (geology), fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city-oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about southeast of the regional capit ...
,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
,
Latitude and longitude
Continent
* North:
Mohe County
Mohe () is a county-level city in Daxing'anling Prefecture, Heilongjiang province. It is the northernmost city in China.
Administrative divisions
Mohe City is divided into 6 towns:
Geography
Mohe is located in the far northwest of Heilon ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
* South:
Hai'an
Hai'an () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nantong, in eastern Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of ...
,
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
* West:
Akto County
Akto County (also known as Aqtu, Aktu, or Aketao; ) is a Counties of China, county in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The county borders Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has two Towns of Chin ...
,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
south-west of
Ulugqat
Ulugqat County (also known as Ulughchat County and Wuqia County; ) is a county in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is under the administration of the Kyrgyz autonomous prefecture of Kizilsu. The county has two towns, nine townships and ...
, on the
China–Tajikistan border
The China–Tajikistan border is in length and runs from the tripoint with Kyrgyzstan following a roughly north–south line across various mountain ridges and peaks of the Pamir range down to the tripoint with Afghanistan. The border divides ...
north of the Markansu River ()
* East:
Fuyuan County, Heilongjiang
Fuyuan (; Russian: Фуюань) is a county-level city of the province of Heilongjiang, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Jiamusi.
Geography
Fuyuan is located in the lowlands at the confluence of the Heilongji ...
, on the west bank of the
Ussuri River
The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the ...
Totality of the territory
* North:
Mohe County
Mohe () is a county-level city in Daxing'anling Prefecture, Heilongjiang province. It is the northernmost city in China.
Administrative divisions
Mohe City is divided into 6 towns:
Geography
Mohe is located in the far northwest of Heilon ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
* South:
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
's southernmost tip (, south-east of
Sanya
Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China.
According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
) is the undisputed southernmost point.
James Shoal
James Shoal is an underwater shoal (bank) in the South China Sea, with a depth of below the surface of the sea, located about off the Borneo coast of Malaysia. It is claimed by Malaysia, the People's Republic of China, and the Republic of China ...
() is the claimed southernmost point.
Cuarteron Reef
Cuarteron Reef, also known as Calderon Reef (Mandarin ; vi, Đá Châu Viên; ms, Terumbu Kalderon, lit=; Calderon Reef; tl, Bahura ng Calderon), is a reef at the east end of the London Reefs in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea. It i ...
() is the Chinese southernmost point with effective control.
* West:
Akto County
Akto County (also known as Aqtu, Aktu, or Aketao; ) is a Counties of China, county in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The county borders Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has two Towns of Chin ...
,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
south-west of
Ulugqat
Ulugqat County (also known as Ulughchat County and Wuqia County; ) is a county in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is under the administration of the Kyrgyz autonomous prefecture of Kizilsu. The county has two towns, nine townships and ...
, on the
China–Tajikistan border
The China–Tajikistan border is in length and runs from the tripoint with Kyrgyzstan following a roughly north–south line across various mountain ridges and peaks of the Pamir range down to the tripoint with Afghanistan. The border divides ...
north of the Markansu River ()
* East:
Fuyuan County, Heilongjiang
Fuyuan (; Russian: Фуюань) is a county-level city of the province of Heilongjiang, China. It is under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Jiamusi.
Geography
Fuyuan is located in the lowlands at the confluence of the Heilongji ...
, on the west bank of the
Ussuri River
The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the ...
Railway stations
* North:
Mohe railway station
Mohe railway station, (previous names include Mohe County Station and XilinJi station) is a railway station located in Xilinji Town, Mohe County, Heilongjiang Province. It is the north end of the Nenjiang–Greater Khingan Forest Railway
Nenji ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
* South: Old
Sanya
Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China.
According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
railway station,
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
(abandoned)
* West:
Kashgar railway station
Kashgar railway station (喀什站) is the main railway station of Kashgar, Xinjiang and the westernmost railway station in China. It is the western terminus for the Southern Xinjiang and Kashgar–Hotan Railways.
The station is located nort ...
,
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
* East:
Fuyuan railway station; On 19 December 2012, China extended rail service eastwards to Fuyuan, 17 hours northeast of Harbin.
Townships and villages
* West: considered to be Simhana (Simuhana)
Village in
Jigin
Jigin (Note: Jigin is not a county.) Township (جىغىن يېزىسى / Jigen ) is considered to be the westernmost township of China located in Ulugqat County (Wuqia), Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The t ...
(Jigen) Township, Ulugqat County (Wuqia), Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang
See also
*
Extreme points of Earth
This article lists extreme locations on Earth that hold geographical records or are otherwise known for their geophysical or meteorological superlatives. All of these locations are Earth-wide extremes; extremes of individual continents or coun ...
**
Extreme points of Afro-Eurasia
Afro-Eurasia (also Afroeurasia, Eurafrasia or the Old World) is a landmass comprising the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe. The terms are compound words of the names of its constituent parts. Its mainland is the largest and most populou ...
***
Extreme points of Eurasia
This is a list of the extreme points of Eurasia, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location on the continent. Some of these locations are open to debate, owing to the diverse definitions of Europe and Asia.
Mai ...
****
Extreme points of Asia
This is a list of the extreme points of Asia, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location on the continent.
''Asia''
* Northernmost Point — Cape Fligely, Prince Rudolf Island, Franz Josef Land, Russia (81 ...
*
Geography of China
China has great physical diversity. The eastern plains and southern coasts of the country consist of fertile lowlands and foothills. They are the location of most of China's agricultural output and human population. The southern areas of the ...
*
Geographic Information Systems in China
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an increasingly important component of business, healthcare, security, government, trade, media, transportation and tourism industries and operations in China. GIS software is playing an increasing role in ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Extreme Points Of China
Geography of China
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
C