Zhongshan - Geography

Geography

Zhongshan is located along the west side of the mouth of the Pearl River, directly opposite Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Zhongshan is directly south of Guangzhou and Foshan's north-south alluvial plains, and just north of Zhuhai and Macau's hilly coastlines.

Geological evidence suggests that before the 2nd millennium BC, the area Zhongshan now occupies was mostly on the floor of the South China Sea. Like much of southern China, Zhongshan has many mountains and hills – most notably the Wugui Mountains (Chinese: 五桂山; Mandarin Pinyin: Wǔguī Shān; Jyutping: Ng5gwai3 Saan1) – and these formed a system of steep islands. Like most river delta systems, the Pearl River and its tributaries gradually deposited silt on the ocean floor, causing its alluvial plain to reach further and further out into the sea. Zhongshan's northern flatland appeared around 1100 AD, and was settled soon after. The city's current geography is typical of southern China: numerous steep mountains and hills with alluvial plains in between down to the coastline. The main peak of the Wugui Mountains is the highest point in the city, at 531 metres (1,742 ft) above sea level.

Like nearly all of southern China, Zhongshan's climate is warm and humid most of the year, with an average temperature of 22 °C (72 °F) and 175 centimetres (69 in) of rainfall each year. Southern China experiences fairly frequent typhoons and thunderstorms, and most rain falls between April and September.