The Times. Atlas of China

It is with some diffidence that The Times presents this atlas to a world increasingly interested in China. Modern Chinese cartography has as yet provided nothing comparable to the maps and atlases available for most other countries. Despite the ancient origins of map-making in China, the People's Republic was initially poorly endowed with maps. Even if a great part of the archival material which did exist had not been removed to Taiwan, the quality and extent of coverage fell far short of what would be required by a modern, industrialised nation. By the tenth anniversary of the People's Republic, however, the more densely settled areas had been newly surveyed and mapped. Mapping the rest, including the outlying regions of Sinkiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia, which were virtually unmapped, will occupy cartographic staffs for decades to come. These remarkable achievements have, unfortunately, not resulted in the publication of general maps to satisfy the external demand for information...