Chengde Uplands

Chengde Uplands, region of extremely complex and rugged topography in northeastern China. It encompasses portions of southwestern Liaoning province, northeastern Hubei province, and southeastern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The area is mostly composed of Precambrian granites, gneiss, and crystalline shales (older than about 540 million years), with some later (Mesozoic) sedimentary rocks that are some 65 to 250 million years old. Extensively folded along a northeast to southwest axis, the area is also extensively faulted along the same general structural lines, resulting in relatively recent outpourings of basalts and lavas, particularly in the upper part of the region.

Generally, the upland descends in steplike formations from the high plateau area near Weichang (Hopeh) and from the ranges forming the watershed of the interior drainage areas of Inner Mongolia (which reach elevations of some 5,900 to 6,500 feet [1,800 to 2,000 metres]), down to the Qiliaotu and Nulu’erhu mountain ranges (about 4,000 feet [1,200 metres] in height), and finally to the Song Range, running parallel to the coast of the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) at an average elevation of 1,600 to 1,700 feet (490 to 520 metres). This general structure is complicated, especially in the southwest, by a number of minor ranges with a northwest to southeast orientation, and the whole area is deeply dissected by a complex river system.

The topography is extremely rugged. Apart from the coastal region, the area falls into the drainage area of either the Luan River or its western tributaries (the Liao, Laoha, and Daling rivers). Originally the area—which is rather dry, especially in the northwest—had a cover of mixed deciduous and coniferous forest gradually merging into steppe (grassy plains) in the northwest. Most of the forest cover, however, was long ago destroyed, leaving a barren landscape of grassland and scrub.