China's land area, its staircase terrain and the Yangtze as its largest river
Background
China has a land area of about 9.6 million sq km and is the third largest country in the world, after Russia and Canada.
Its land boundary runs to some 22,800 km and its mainland coastline to approximately 18,000 km.
The terrain descends from west to east like a staircase; the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, averaging more than 4,000 m and called the roof of the world, forms the highest step.
Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest), 8,848 m above sea level, is the main peak of the Himalayas and the world's highest peak.
The Yangtze, 6,300 km long, is the largest river in China and the third largest in the world after the Nile and the Amazon; the Yellow River, 5,464 km, is the second largest in China.
The Tarim River, 2,179 km, is China's longest interior river, and the man-made Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou runs 1,801 km.
Poyang Lake, 3,583 sq km, is the largest freshwater lake, and Qinghai Lake, 4,583 sq km, the largest saltwater lake.
In plain words
Interior river — A river that drains into an inland lake, a desert or a salt marsh instead of reaching the sea.
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau — The highest step of China's terrain, averaging more than 4,000 m above sea level.
Grand Canal — A man-made waterway from Beijing to Hangzhou that links five major rivers.