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South China Sea

(Encyclopedia)South China Sea, western arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.1,000,000 sq mi (2,590,000 sq km), between the SE Asian mainland and Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo. It is connected with the East China Sea b...

Tai, lake, China

(Encyclopedia)Tai tī [key], lake, c.1,300 sq mi (3,370 sq km), on the border between Jiangsu prov. and Zhejiang prov., E China; second largest freshwater lake in China. Dotted with islands, it is one of China's mo...

Wei, river, China

(Encyclopedia)Wei wā [key], river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in SE Gansu prov. and flowing E through Gansu and Shaanxi provs. to the Huang He. Its wide, alluvial valley was the site of some of the earliest ce...

Opium Wars

(Encyclopedia)Opium Wars, 1839–42 and 1856–60, two wars between China and Western countries that marked the shift of wealth and power from East to West. The first was between Great Britain and China. Early in t...

Spratly Islands

(Encyclopedia)Spratly Islands, group of about 100 low islands and coral reefs in the central South China Sea, intersecting busy shipping lanes. The whole group is claimed by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, and parts ar...
 

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