<P> The Nanling Mountains, the southernmost of the east--west mountain ranges, overlook areas in China with a tropical climate . The climate allows two crops of rice to be grown per year . Southeast of the mountains lies a coastal, hilly region of small deltas and narrow valley plains . The drainage area of the Pearl River and its associated network of rivers occupies much of the region to the south . West of the Nanling, the Yunnan - Guizhou Plateau rises in two steps, averaging 1,200 and 1,800 m in elevation, respectively, toward the precipitous mountain regions of the eastern Qingzang Plateau . </P> <P> China has substantial mineral reserves and is the world's largest producer of antimony, natural graphite, tungsten, and zinc . Other major minerals are aluminum, bauxite, coal, crude petroleum, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, magnetite, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, phosphate rock, tin, uranium, and vanadium . China's hydropower potential is the largest in the world . </P> <P> Based on 2005 estimates, 14.86% (about 1,400,000 km (540,000 sq mi)) of China's total land area is arable . About 1.3% (some 116,580 km2) is planted to permanent crops and the rest planted to temporary crops . With comparatively little land planted to permanent crops, intensive agricultural techniques are used to reap harvests that are sufficient to feed the world's largest population and still have surplus for export . An estimated 544,784 km2 of land were irrigated in 2004 . 42.9% of total land area was used as pasture, and 17.5% was forest . </P> <P> China lies in two of the world's major ecozones, the Palearctic and the Indomalaya . In the Palearctic zone mammals such as the horse, camel, and jerboa are found . Among the species found in the Indomalaya region are the leopard cat, bamboo rat, treeshrew, and various other species of monkeys and apes . Some overlap exists between the two regions because of natural dispersal and migration, and deer or antelope, bears, wolves, pigs, and rodents are found in all of the diverse climatic and geological environments . The famous giant panda is found only in a limited area along the Yangtze . There is a continuing problem with trade in endangered species, although there are now laws to prohibit such activities . </P>

The desert that dominates northern china is the