Northern and southern China

'China's South')[note 1] are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.

They approximately coincide with the 0 degree Celsius isotherm in January, the 800 millimetres (31 in) isohyet, and the 2,000-hour sunshine duration contour.

[1] The Huai River basin serves a similar role,[2][3] and the course of the Huaihe has been used to set different policies to the north and the south.

Such stereotypes often appeared in historic chronicles and gazetteers and were based on geographic circumstances, historical and literary associations (e.g. people from Shandong, were considered upright and honest) and Chinese cosmology (as the south was associated with the fire element, Southerners were considered hot-tempered).

[8] These differences were reflected in Qing dynasty policies, such as the prohibition on local officials to serve their home areas, as well as conduct of personal and commercial relations.

[8] In 1730, the Kangxi Emperor made the observation in the Tingxun Geyan (庭訓格言):[8][9] The people of the North are strong; they must not copy the fancy diets of the Southerners, who are physically frail, live in a different environment, and have different stomachs and bowels.During the Republican period, Lu Xun, a major Chinese writer, wrote:[10] According to my observation, Northerners are sincere and honest; Southerners are skilled and quick-minded.

[16] Patrilineage organizations are larger and more integrated in rural southern regions, possibly due to merges and competition for territory.

[6] As China modernized, the north initially developed faster due to planned economic policies, Soviet aid, and its concentration of construction and resource extraction industries.

After market reforms, however, the south took the lead due to manufacturing and eventually high-tech industries, as well as continued internal migration into the region.

Tropical forests are larger and more numerous in southern regions of China compared to the north.
Northern regions often cultivate wheat , while rice is more prevalent in the south.
Northern regions are predominantly Mandarin-speaking, while southern regions speak southwestern Mandarin, Eastern Mandarin, and non-Mandarin. ("Mandarin" and "Southern" on this map refer to Sinitic languages, while other groups are not Sinitic.) [ 11 ] [ note 2 ]
GDP per capita in 2004. The disparity in terms of wealth runs in the east–west direction rather than the north–south direction. However, the southeast coast is still wealthier than the northeast coast in per capita terms.