NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 7 



ing grasslands varying in altitude from 10,000 to nearly 16,000 feet, 

 Yunnan is mountainous and has a high average altitude. It has 

 plateaus, river valleys, and lake beds, some dry and some full of water, 

 while in the north are great stretches of limestone. Kweichow is 

 fairly mountainous, with some plateaus. The main soils of Szechwan 

 are the alluvium of the Chengtu plain and the red soil of the Red 

 Basin. Both of these are very rich, and there is sufficient rainfall and 

 water for irrigation, so that these soils are very productive. 



Coal, salt, and mineral deposits are found in varying degree in the 

 provinces of West China. No coal occurs in western Sikang and little 

 or none in the extreme west of Szechwan, but it abounds in the re- 

 mainder of Szechwan and in Kansu, Shensi, Kweichow, and Yunnan. 

 There are extensive salt deposits in Szechwan, and lesser deposits in 

 southern Sikang and in Yunnan. Copper is found in Yunnan, Kansu, 

 and Sinkiang, lead, iron, and zinc in Kweichow and Yunnan, tin in 

 northern Yunnan, silver, sulphur, and antimony in Yunnan, gold in 

 Szechwan, Sikang, Kansu, and Sinkiang, petroleum in Kansu, and 

 natural gas in Szechwan, northern Kansu, and northern Shensi. The 

 methods of extracting these materials from the earth were until re- 

 cently very primitive. 



The Ching-ling Shan range of mountains between Kansu and Shensi 

 on the north and Szechwan on the south, and its continuation eastward 

 toward the coast, divides Qiina into two distinct areas — north China 

 and south China. To the north the main crops are wheat, kaoliang, 

 and millet. Animal-drawn carts and wagons are used for transporta- 

 tion, the animals used being horses, camels, and mules. In the south 

 the main crops are rice, tea, mulberries, bamboo, maize, tobacco, sugar- 

 cane, and vegetables. Transport is generally by laborers using carry- 

 ing-poles, and the principal animal (aside from the pig, dog, and cat) 

 is the water buffalo. Szechwan is in south China, and Kansu and 

 Shensi are in north China, 



In Kansu and Shensi deforestation has resulted in very serious 

 erosion of the soil, which it may take centuries to reforest. In other 

 parts of West China, mountains and hillsides are often covered 

 with forests and shrubbery. In the Ch'iang and other regions where 

 there is much grazing by sheep and goats, much of the lower land is 

 destitute of trees, though higher altitudes are covered with forests. In 

 Yunnan and Kweichow fires have burned off some of the forest land, 

 while in several provinces overcultivation has led to deforestation. 



Of very great importance, of course, are the rivers and streams of 

 West China, especially the great Yangtse and its tributaries, which are 

 used for irrigation, travel, and transportation. 



