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Guangdong is high in the north and low in the south, with wide areas of hills and mountains. Of its total area, mountains make up 33 per cent, hills 25 per cent, plains 23 per cent, and tablelands 19 per cent. Guangdong may be divided into six zones according to its complicated terrain: 1) The Zhujiang Delta near the outlet to the sea in the lower Zhujiang River is the general name for the Xijiang, Beijiang and Dongjiang river deltas and their neighboring islands. Formed of the alluvial deposits of the Zhujiang River, it has many waterways and a fertile soft and is known as a "land of affluence". 2) The Northeastern Guangdong Mountain Area and the Southeastern Guangdong Hilly Region include mainly the Qingyun, Jiulian, Luofou, Lianhua and Haian ranges mostly 1,000 meters in elevation. Xingning and Meixian are the larger of the numerous intermontane basins. There are narrow plains along the sea coast, the largest being the Chaosban (Chaozhou-Shantou) Plain in the lower reaches of the Hanjiang River. 3) The Northern Guangdong Mountain Area consists mainly of the Dayuling and Qitianling mountains of the Nanling range 1,000-1,500 meters in elevation. Flatlands are few and far between here. 4) The Western Guangdong Mountainous Tableland covers the vast areas west of the Zhujiang Delta, and the Leizhou Peninsula, comprising the Yunkaidashan and Yunwu mountains 1,000 meters above sea level. 5) Hainan, China's second largest island, consists of hills, mountains arid tablelands. 6) The South China Sea islands are composed of the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups. Zengmu Reef in the Nansha island group is the southernmost territory of China.
The numerous rivers in Guangdong have huge volumes of flow, little silt content, long high-water seasons and wide hydroelectric power potentials. The larger ones are the Zhujiang, Hanjiang, Nandu, Moyang and Jianjiang rivers. The Zhujiang, the general name of the Xijiang, Dongjiang and Beijiang after their confluence, drains half of Guangdong's total area. Its large flow (eight times that of the Huanghe) and long high-water seasons (six months) facilitate navigation, irrigation and power-generation. The Hanjiang in eastern Guangdong is the second largest river in the province.
(china.org.cn)
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