North China

The name of a region in northern China. Traditionally, the area covering the cities of Beijing and Tianjin and the four provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan was called North China, but after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Henan Province was included in the Central South Region, Shandong Province was included in the East China Region, and the remaining areas, including the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, were called North China.

Traditionally, North China was mainly composed of the Loess Plateau east of the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and the North China Plain (Huang-Huai-Hai Plain), which was formed by secondary deposition of loess carried by rivers such as the Yellow River and turned into land, with the Shandong Hills lying to the east. The plains produce wheat, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, tobacco, sesame, peanuts, and other crops, while the Loess Plateau produces miscellaneous grains and cotton. Coal is also abundant in each province, including Shanxi Province, which has the largest reserves in China. Furthermore, oil resources are abundant in the plains, such as Dagang, North China, Shengli, Zhongyuan, and Nanyang, and oil development is also progressing in Bohai. Iron deposits can be found in various places, and the production of various types of machinery, as well as steelmaking and petrochemical industries, is thriving. The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is located on the Mongolian Plateau and includes the Greater Khingan Mountains. Originally a nomadic area for the Mongolians, the Wuyuan region and the southeastern part of the region have now become agricultural areas. The region is also rich in underground resources, such as large coal mines at Huolinhe, Yiminhe, Dzungar, and Dongsheng, oil at Ellen, and iron at Bayin Obo. In addition to the chemical industry that uses salt from the salt lake and soda, heavy chemical industry, woolen spinning industry, and meat and dairy processing industries are also well developed. There are many historical cities, including the ancient capital of Beijing, Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Handan, and the area is also rich in ruins, such as the Yin Ruins in Anyang, the Shang Dynasty ruins in Zhengzhou, the Mancheng Han Tombs, the Epiphany Stones in Shandong, the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, and the Peking Man Cave in Zhoukoudian.

[Kono Michihiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国北部の地区名。従来は北京(ペキン)、天津(てんしん／ティエンチン)両市と河北(かほく／ホーペイ)、山西(さんせい／シャンシー)、山東(さんとう／シャントン)、河南(かなん／ホーナン)の4省にわたる地域を華北とよんだが、新中国成立後の六大地域区分では河南省は中南区に、山東省は華東区に含まれ、残余の地域に内モンゴル自治区を加えたものを華北区とよぶ。

　従来の華北は黄河(こうが／ホワンホー)中流部以東の黄土(こうど／ホワントゥー)高原と、黄河などの河川の運ぶ黄土が二次的に堆積(たいせき)（次成黄土）、陸化した華北平原（黄淮海(こうわいかい／ホワンホワイハイ)平原）を主体とし、東に山東丘陵が横たわる。平野部は小麦、ワタ、コウリャン、大豆、タバコ、ゴマ、ラッカセイなど、黄土高原上は雑穀とワタを産する。また埋蔵量では中国第1位の山西省をはじめ各省とも石炭が豊富である。さらに大港、華北、勝利、中原(ちゅうげん)、南陽など平野部では石油資源も豊富で、渤海(ぼっかい／ポーハイ)でも石油の開発が進んでいる。鉄の埋蔵も各地にみられ、製鉄、石油化学工業のほか各種機械の生産も盛んである。内モンゴル自治区はモンゴル高原上にあり、大興安嶺(だいこうあんれい／ターシンアンリン)を含む。もとはモンゴル族の遊牧地であったが、現在は五原地方や南東部は農業地域化し、また霍林河(かくりんが／フオリンホー)、伊敏河(いびんが)、ジュンガル、東勝などの大炭鉱やエレンの石油、バインオボの鉄など地下資源に富む。塩湖の塩、ソーダを利用する化学工業のほか重化学工業、毛紡織工業、肉・乳加工業などが発達。古都北京、洛陽(らくよう／ルオヤン)、開封(かいほう／カイフォン)をはじめ邯鄲(かんたん／ハンタン)など歴史的都市が多く、安陽の殷墟(いんきょ)、鄭州(ていしゅう)の商代遺跡、満城漢墓、山東の画像石、大同の雲崗石窟(うんこうせっくつ)、周口店(しゅうこうてん)の北京原人洞窟など遺跡にも富む。

［河野通博］

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