China: Great Dragon Rising - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 303

Agricultural China

Xinjiang is also noted for its tomatoes, Hami melons,
seedless T Turfan grapes, and Ili apples. Sheep and
horses are the principal livestock.
Unfortunately , the Chinese government has
deemed nomadic ways of life politically impractical
and economically inefficient. Consequently , it has
made every effort to sedentarize (settle) groups
such as the nomadic Kazakhs, many of whom have
resisted. Provision of electricity is one of the tactics
employed, as people are more likely to stay settled
in an electrified, permanent dwelling. Only by set-
tling down can the nomads “shake off poverty .”
However, since 1996, the government is focusing
more on tourism to engage the Kazakhs in the regu-
lar economy . Increasing levels of cultivated land,
encroachment by Han farmers, tourism, and other
entrepreneurial activities all ensure the decrease in
opportunity to pursue a nomadic lifestyle.
Similar to schemes of the eighteenth century , in
the 1950s, soldiers organized the Production and
Construction Corps. Continuing to the present day ,
this structure of state farms now known as the Bing-
tuan runs an empire of 2.2 million, mostly Han Chi-
nese with direct loyalties to Beijing. State farms are
complete entities with their own factories, oil refiner-
ies, processing plants, and marketing networks. As
many as one million migrants come to Xinjiang each
year for seasonal work and some decide to stay on
permanently . T Today, , one in seven residents is a mem-
ber of the Bingtuan. Bingtuan are heavily subsidized
by Beijing; Subsidies are considered necessary to keep
Han Chinese in this strategic region.
Xinjiang is rich in natural resources, especially
in the Junggar and Tarim basins with their wealth
of oil (Figure 11-7). The Junggar Basin is of partic-
ular significance because of its rail links to Kaza-
khstan and Central Asia' s oil and gas deposits.
Pipelines between the two regions are already under
construction.
Xinjiang is a potentially strategic region espe-
cially in light of its new connections with the
Central Asian Republics. Pan-Islamic movements
threaten stability , and historic Russian interests in
this region always weigh in the background. Xin-
jiang is also the heartland of China' is space pro-
gram and nuclear weapons development. This is
one of many regions of China worth keeping an
eye on.

Overall crop patterns have remained essentially the same
(Figure 11-8) but within this larger framework, land-
scapes are being notably transformed. Now , food needs
are not only aligned with an increasing population but
also with heightened consumption, including more
meat, eggs, and poultry .
As affluence increases, especially among urban pop-
ulations, the demand for meat and dairy products has
skyrocketed. In 1980, China had a mere 70 million head
of beef cattle. In 2005 it had 140 million. Dairy cattle
have increased from only 5 million in 1995 to close to
25 million in 2007. It is now reckoned that China will
become a beef importer in the coming decade.
Large-scale commodity production has become the
essence of Chinese agriculture. Double-cropping (grow-
ing two crops a year) is practiced almost everywhere
south of Beijing, where rice is the dominant crop. While
two rice crops are garnered in the south, in the Yangzi
valley rice is alternated with wheat. Wheat dominates the
north. On the North China Plain, where soils do not re-
tain water well, wheat is grown through the winter. It is
replaced by cotton, maize, millet, tobacco, or sweet pota-
toes in the summer. In the north and northeast, it is too
cold for winter wheat so maize and millet are single-
cropped. Vegetables are largely concentrated in market
gardens around settlements.
Crop yields are higher in the south than in the north
but in both areas diminish westward. Nevertheless, some
eastern provinces such as Shandong, Hebei, and Henan
have made spectacular gains under the new policies.

Chinese Pigs

China has the world' s largest agricultural economy
and one of the most varied. One of the most signifi-
cant elements is the pig. In 1955, China had an in-
ventory of 88 million pigs. This number had
increased to 508 million by 2005. More than
75 million pigs live in Sichuan Province alone, almost
three times as many as in the United States hog belt
of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri. T Today, ,
China has 126 of the 300 breeds of pigs in the
world and over half of the world' s pig population.
Of the world' s total meat increase in recent years,
China' s pork accounts for two-thirds.