China has a varied topography with a higher landscape in the west and a lower one in the east. The difference in height is obvious and gradual from the west to the east: the average height on the Qing Zang Plateau is 4,000 meters above sea - level on which there are mountain ranges and valleys stretching in the same direction and there are numerous lakes. The world' s highest peak, Mount Qomolangma, 8848 meters above sea - level, stands here between the border of China and Nepal. East and north of the Qing Zang Plateau, down at the height of 2,000 to 1,000 meters above sea - level and lower, vast highlands and basins spread out including the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang in which the lowest point is 154 meters below sea- level, also the

lowest point of land in China. The Bigger Xing An Mountain, Taihang Mountain, Wushan Mountain and the Yun Gui Plateau and east onward has a average height of 500 meters above sea - level and lower, where there are hills and plains. The coastal plains are only 50 meters above sea-level or lower. To the southeast of the mainland are China's inner sea Bohai Sea and marginal seas the Yellow Sea, the East Sea and South China Sea. The long stretching coast line is linked by the large continental shelf. There are countless islands on the vast sea, numbering over 5,000, the largest of which is the Taiwan Island, followed by the Hainan Island and the third is the Zongming Island.