"Land Within the Passes" (Ancient Qin)
This fertile valley of the Wei River, protected by the encircling rivers and mountains was a natural stronghold. It was said that twenty thousand men could hold the passes against a million. This was a traditional powerbase in which the conquest of the central plains would be launched from, or retreated to when threatened. However, many centuries of agriculture had thinned and eroded the soil and the region slowly lost it's strategic importance in the later dynasties.

The great dynasties of the Qin, Han and Tang all drew their power from this region.

Shandong Peninsula (Ancient Qi)
Protected by the sea, flanking rivers and Taihangshan, this was a natural stronghold and traditional power base for many kingdoms. Striking out westward into the Central Plains, this was the strategic counterweight to the "Land Within the Passes". This region was also economically important for its salt industry.

Lord Huan who became the first Hegemon was Duke of Qi situated in the Shandong peninsula.

Sichuan Plain (Ancient Shu)
Enclosed by mountains and only accessible via the Yangtze gorges or through the precarious "Gallery Road" across the mountains from the north, this region was a natural mountain fortress. The irrigated plain is fertile and self-sufficient and today, is the third great centre of population in China. Sparsely populated up until the Song dynasty, this region was the seat of power for independent powers though seldom succeeding in holding out against the rest of a unified empire.

This region was the powerbase for Shu (Han), one of the kingdoms of the Three Kingdoms Period. Chongqing in the Sichuan Plain became the seat of government for the Chinese Republic when the Japanese occupied Beijing, Nanjing and all the coastal areas.

Fujian (Ancient Min-Yueh)
This whole area was beyond the boundaries of Chinese civilisation in classical times. Protected by the Wu Yi mountains, this was a natural southern stronghold which was not brought under imperial control until late in the Han period. Even then, it remained remote and sparsely populated for many centuries and was considered a hardship posting for soldiers and officials from the north. This was because its southern climate was warm and the region infected with malaria and other tropical diseases. Only during the Southern Song dynasty did the population increase, supported by fishing and maritime trade.

This region was the base of operations for Ming loyalists fighting against the Manchu Qing dynasty.

Central Plains
This is the traditional heartland of the Chinese and in ancient times, was considered to be China proper before the incorporation of the outer regions. Rich in agricultural land, it has supported high densities of people since prehistoric times. Surrounded by the "Land Within the Passes" to the northwest, the Shandong Peninsula to the east, Sichuan Plain to the southwest and Fujian to the southeast, this central area was the crossroads of competing kingdoms.

Many successive dynasties established their capitals here, progressively moving eastward, in Luoyang, Kaifeng, Nanjing & Hangzhou.

Ordos Steppe
The Ordos Steppe is a dry grassy region just north of the Wei valley, bound within the great loop of the Huang He, which gradually merges into the grassy steppes of Central Asia. Often bitterly cold and dry from the Siberian winds blowing in from the Gobi desert in the north and northwest, this region is sparsely populated and throughout history, has been regarded as beyond the boundaries of civilisation, populated by fierce wild tribes like the Xiongnu and in later dynasties, the Mongols.

The Ordos often served as the advanced base for both Chinese launching northward and westward, as well as for non-Chinese Central Asian armies launching southward and eastward in their campaigns against each other. Control of this region usually meant security for the realm.

Huang He (Yellow River) Plains
The Huang He Plains formed by the Huang He delta saw the rise of the earliest Chinese civilisations. This fertile agricultural region helped support a large population early on in Chinese history. However, the frequent and unpredictable flooding of the Huang He as well as its proximity to northern "barbarian" tribes made the region untenable as a stable seat of power.

The Manchu Qing first gained a foothold into China by conquering this region. The Yuan dynasty made Dadu (Beijing) their Winter capital due to its proximity to the Mongolian steppes. The Ming dynasty moved their capital from Nanjing to Beijing probably to more easily defend the Great Wall from the northern Mongol threat. The Qing dynasty chose to keep the Ming capital of Beijing as it was already the seat of power for the last 360 years and it was nearer to their traditional lands in Manchuria.

Yangtze (Chang Jiang) Plains
The Yangtze Plains is formed by the Chang Jiang delta. The lower course of the Chang Jiang is a vital waterway and powers based in the Yangtze valley have maintained navies. Most of the naval engagements throughout Chinese history are in this region. Rich in agriculture due to the richness of the land, this region gradually overtook the north as the main food producing region for China, prompting the building of the Grand Canal to transport food northward to the traditional seats of power. Subsequent invasions by northern "barbarians" saw a slow but steady migration of Chinese southwards into the Yangtze Plains and beyond, to the coastal areas of the South China Sea.

The ancient kingdom of Wu of the Three Kingdoms Period is based in the Yangtze Plains and relied heavily on the strength of its navy.

Tong Pass
This was the main access road into the "Land Within the Passes". This area is probably the most fought-over battlefield in the whole of China, if not the world. Control of this pass was critical in the defence of the central plains against western armies as is the reverse, by the defence of the "Land Within the Passes" against armies of the central plains.

During the An Lushan Rebellion in A.D. 756, the Tang army bungled their defence of the pass, permitting the rebels to break through to sack Changan the capital.

Yangtze Gorges
The Three Gorges of the Chang Jiang total some 204 kilometers, starting from Baidicheng in Fengjie County, Sichuan in the west and ending at Nanjinguan in Yichang, Hubei in the east. The three gorges together, form some of the most magnificent and beautiful river scenes unrivalled in the world. Qutang Gorge in particular, is magnificent and precipitous. At Wuxia Gorge, grotesque peaks thrust themselves skyward creating some of the most dramatic and alluring of scenery while Xiling Gorge is full of beaches and swift currents.

The Yangtze Gorges form a natural barrier to river borne traffic and have often been further strengthened by fortifications. This area is usually the scene of heavy fighting throughout history between imperial fleets from the east and independent kingdoms in the Sichuan Plains.

Huang He (Yellow River)
The Huang He plays a central role in most of Chinese history. Thick with the yellowish silt that gives it a name, the Huang He falls out of the plateaus south of the Gobi desert, cutting a 5,464 kilometer swath through the land, bringing fertile loess from the western steppes to rejuvenate the Central Plains. However, the Huang He is also known as "China's Sorrow". Throughout history, the Huang He has been known to suddenly burst its banks, causing great floods as it sweeps north or south, changing its course to flow north of, or south of the Taihangshan massif. The course changes of A.D. 11 and 1194 caused heavy loss of life and seriously undermined the government of the times. Silted and unpredictable, the river is not navigable for most of its length and represents a barrier and obstacle, rather than an artery of communication. However, the need to control the Huang He through large scale public flood-control works probably seeded the rise of early Chinese civilisation.

The river flowed south to join the River Huai, south of Taihangshan during the time of Duke Huan of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period. However, during the time of Li Shimin, the second emperor of the Tang dynasty, the Huang He flowed north of Taihangshan close to the northern part of the Shandong Peninsula. At the time of Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming dynasty, the Huang He had shifted further north to flow closer to Manchuria.

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)
The Chang Jiang, the world’s third largest river (after the Amazon and the Nile), is fed by melting snow from the Tibetan alps, and falls dramatically from 4880 metres to sea level on a long 6,380 kilometer course before reaching the East China Sea. Three spectacular river gorges, numerous cities and an expansive network of tributaries that drain 1.6 million square kilometers of land define the Chang Jiang as much as its fast, muddy brown waters. Unlike the unpredictable Huang He, the Chang Jiang is navigable by ships all the way to the Yangtze gorges. This is mainly due to the moderating effects of lakes Dongting and Boyang which even out seasonal variations. Irrigating the lands of the Yangtze Plain this great river was both a transportation and communication conduit as well as the "Rice bowl" of the south, surpassing the north in food production in the later dynasties.

The Chang Jiang was the scene of most of the major naval engagements in Chinese history. Zhu Yuanzhang of Ming defeated his main rival Chen Yuliang of Han in a series of decisive naval battles up and down the Chang Jiang, cumulating in a final encounter on Lake Boyang.

Xi Jiang River (Sikiang)
The third of the three great rivers of China, the Xi Jiang was usually considered the extreme limit of Chinese civilisation and well outside the main sphere of activities. Most of this region remained wild and inhabited by southern Yueh tribes and was not fully incorporated into China proper until the Tang dynasty. Hot and humid, this subtropical region saw a gradual migration of Chinese away from the turbulent north. Mercantile and sea trading links with southeast asian kingdoms slowly increased the wealth of this region.

This southern-most region of China was the focal point of any Chinese excursion southward, especially into Annam (North Vietnam) which was on and off a part of China, depending on the strength of the dynasty.

The Grand Canal
This artificial waterway links Beijing in the north, Changan in the west and Hangzhou in the South. It is almost 1800 kilometers long and was constructed over a period of centuries between the Sui and Ming dynasties though like the Great Wall, was probably originally constructed by joining smaller canals built by earlier dynasties and kingdoms. The canal allowed agricultural produce of the south to be transported to the seat of government in the north without risking the dangerous sea route around the Shandong Peninsula. Because of its importance, it was a strategic prize and control over it was heavily fought over.

The Ming civil war of A.D. 1399 to 1402 took place mainly along the line of the canal.

The Great Wall
The original Great Wall was built by the Qin dynasty from the joining of shorter defensive walls built by the various border kingdoms of the preceding Warring States Period. Various dynasties upgraded the wall to defend against invasions from the north, especially during a brief but intense period of upgrading by the short-lived Sui dynasty. The Ming dynasty also extensively upgraded the Great Wall, rebuilding the eastern length of the wall in a more southerly course to contain the Mongol and Jurchen threats.

Varying success is obtained with the wall with major incursions by northern "barbarians" throughout Chinese history. However, successive dynasties continued to rely on the defensive potential of the wall, cumulating in the inward "walled" mentality of the mid to late Ming dynasty. The Qing dynasty easily captured Beijing and subsequently the rest of China after they were allowed through the Great Wall by the Ming General Wu Sangui. The Qing dynasty like the Yuan, placed very little emphasis on the Great Wall as the dynasties were established by the Manchus and the Mongols respectively from the lands north of the Great Wall. Moreover, beginning in the Song dynasty, the wall's defensive capability was slowly eroded due to the introduction and the subsequent wide-spread use of firearms.