Coastline of China

[2][3] The shape and features of the Chinese coast have been influenced dramatically by geology, climate, natural storms, tides, currents, sea level changes, winds, and tectonics.

Interglacial periods exposed vast continental shelves, such as those in the South China Sea, which were once land bridges supporting diverse prehistoric flora, fauna, and early human migrations.

Prehistoric volcanic activity also played a significant role, particularly during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras, creating islands, altering coastal topography, and depositing rich sedimented soils.

It is theorized that small asteroid impacts, such as the one thought to have occurred in the Bohai Sea region during prehistoric times, may have caused localized reshaping of coastal areas and contributed to mass extinctions that reshuffled marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

Archaeological evidence from sites such as Hemudu, Yangshao, and Longshan, near the Yangtze River Delta, reveals that these coastal societies were among the first in the world to cultivate rice and develop advanced pottery, establishing the region as a cradle of early East Asian civilisation.

[8] The development of shipbuilding technology and navigation during this time allowed for the expansion of trade networks, particularly in the South China Sea, where early maritime Silk Road routes began to emerge.

Shanghai and Hong Kong, treaty ports established during the Opium Wars, became epicenters of international trade, but also cultural symbols of foreign domination and economic exploitation.