Chinese geography vocabulary: cities, mountains, rivers

Chinese place names are easier than they look, because most of them are built from a small set of everyday characters: north, south, east, west, mountain, river, lake, sea. Learn about twenty of these and a map of China starts to read like a set of descriptions.

The tables below give Traditional characters first, Simplified in brackets where they differ, then Pinyin with tone marks. The word for geography itself is 地理 dìlǐ, and a map is a 地圖 (地图) dìtú.

Directions and the building blocks of place names

Compass points in Chinese put east or west first: southeast is 東南, "east-south", and northwest is 西北, "west-north".

Characters	Pinyin	English
東 (东)	dōng	east
南	nán	south
西	xī	west
北	běi	north
中	zhōng	middle, central
東北 (东北)	dōngběi	northeast
東南 (东南)	dōngnán	southeast
西北	xīběi	northwest
西南	xīnán	southwest
山	shān	mountain
山脈 (山脉)	shānmài	mountain range
峰	fēng	peak
河	hé	river
江	jiāng	large river
湖	hú	lake
海	hǎi	sea
洋	yáng	ocean
島 (岛)	dǎo	island
高原	gāoyuán	plateau
平原	píngyuán	plain
盆地	péndì	basin
沙漠	shāmò	desert
省	shěng	province
市	shì	city
縣 (县)	xiàn	county
首都	shǒudū	capital city
京	jīng	capital (in names)
州	zhōu	prefecture (in old city names)

Districts, streets and alleys

Below the city (市, shì) comes the district (區, qū), and below that the street grid. These are the characters on every address and every street sign.

Characters	Pinyin	English
市	shì	city
區 (区)	qū	district
路	lù	road
街	jiē	street
段	duàn	section of a long road (Taiwan addresses)
巷	xiàng	lane
弄	lòng	alley off a lane
胡同	hútòng	alley (Beijing)
號 (号)	hào	house number

A Taiwanese address runs from large to small: city, district, road, section, lane, alley, number. The character 弄 is read lòng only in this sense. As a verb meaning "to do" or "to handle" it is nòng.

What do Chinese place names mean?

Many are plain descriptions. A few look descriptive and are not.

• North and south of something. 河北 Héběi and 河南 Hénán are north and south of the Yellow River. 湖北 Húběi and 湖南 Húnán are north and south of Dongting Lake. 山東 (山东) Shāndōng and 山西 Shānxī are east and west of the Taihang Mountains.
• Capitals. 北京 Běijīng is the northern capital, 南京 Nánjīng the southern capital. 東京 (东京) Dōngjīng, the eastern capital, is how Mandarin reads Tokyo.
• Two cities glued together. 江蘇 (江苏) Jiāngsū combines Jiangning (old Nanjing) and Suzhou. 安徽 Ānhuī is Anqing plus Huizhou, 福建 Fújiàn is Fuzhou plus Jianzhou, and 甘肅 (甘肃) Gānsù is Ganzhou plus Suzhou (肅州, a different Suzhou).
• Traps. 四川 Sìchuān is often explained as "four rivers", but the name goes back to four administrative circuits of the Song dynasty. 江西 Jiāngxī is not "west of the river": it is short for a Tang-era circuit called Jiangnan West.

The pair every learner must sort out early is 山西 Shānxī and 陝西 (陕西) Shǎnxī. They are neighbours and differ only in the tone of the first syllable. English spells the second one "Shaanxi" to keep them apart, a doubled letter that exists in no Pinyin table.

Provinces and regions of China

Mainland China is divided into 22 provinces, five autonomous regions (自治區 / 自治区 zìzhìqū), four municipalities run directly by the central government (直轄市 / 直辖市 zhíxiáshì) and two special administrative regions (特別行政區 / 特别行政区 tèbié xíngzhèngqū). Taiwan (臺灣 / 台湾 Táiwān) appears in the cities table below.

Characters	Pinyin	English	Note on the name
河北	Héběi	Hebei	north of the (Yellow) River
山西	Shānxī	Shanxi	west of the mountains
遼寧 (辽宁)	Liáoníng	Liaoning	"peace on the Liao River"
吉林	Jílín	Jilin	from a Manchu name
黑龍江 (黑龙江)	Hēilóngjiāng	Heilongjiang	Black Dragon River, the Amur
江蘇 (江苏)	Jiāngsū	Jiangsu	Jiangning + Suzhou
浙江	Zhèjiāng	Zhejiang	old name of the Qiantang River
安徽	Ānhuī	Anhui	Anqing + Huizhou
福建	Fújiàn	Fujian	Fuzhou + Jianzhou
江西	Jiāngxī	Jiangxi	from "Jiangnan West" circuit
山東 (山东)	Shāndōng	Shandong	east of the mountains
河南	Hénán	Henan	south of the (Yellow) River
湖北	Húběi	Hubei	north of the lake
湖南	Húnán	Hunan	south of the lake
廣東 (广东)	Guǎngdōng	Guangdong	"Guang east"
海南	Hǎinán	Hainan	south of the sea
四川	Sìchuān	Sichuan	from four Song-dynasty circuits
貴州 (贵州)	Guìzhōu	Guizhou
雲南 (云南)	Yúnnán	Yunnan	"south of the clouds"
陝西 (陕西)	Shǎnxī	Shaanxi	west of Shan, an old district in today's Henan
甘肅 (甘肃)	Gānsù	Gansu	Ganzhou + Suzhou (肅州)
青海	Qīnghǎi	Qinghai	"blue-green sea", after the lake
內蒙古 (内蒙古)	Nèi Měnggǔ	Inner Mongolia	autonomous region
廣西 (广西)	Guǎngxī	Guangxi	autonomous region, "Guang west"
西藏	Xīzàng	Tibet	autonomous region
寧夏 (宁夏)	Níngxià	Ningxia	autonomous region
新疆	Xīnjiāng	Xinjiang	autonomous region, "new frontier"
北京	Běijīng	Beijing	municipality, northern capital
上海	Shànghǎi	Shanghai	municipality, "on the sea"
天津	Tiānjīn	Tianjin	municipality, "heavenly ford"
重慶 (重庆)	Chóngqìng	Chongqing	municipality, "double celebration"
香港	Xiānggǎng	Hong Kong	special administrative region, "fragrant harbour"
澳門 (澳门)	Àomén	Macau	special administrative region, "bay gate"

A pronunciation note: 蒙古 is Měnggǔ in mainland dictionaries and Ménggǔ in Taiwan. Both are correct where they are used.

Major cities in Chinese

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Hong Kong and Macau are in the table above.

Characters	Pinyin	English	Note
南京	Nánjīng	Nanjing	southern capital
廣州 (广州)	Guǎngzhōu	Guangzhou	capital of Guangdong
深圳	Shēnzhèn	Shenzhen	圳 is a regional word for a drainage ditch
成都	Chéngdū	Chengdu	capital of Sichuan
西安	Xī'ān	Xi'an	"western peace"
杭州	Hángzhōu	Hangzhou	home of West Lake
蘇州 (苏州)	Sūzhōu	Suzhou
武漢 (武汉)	Wǔhàn	Wuhan	Wuchang + Hankou
青島 (青岛)	Qīngdǎo	Qingdao	"green island"
廈門 (厦门)	Xiàmén	Xiamen
昆明	Kūnmíng	Kunming	capital of Yunnan
哈爾濱 (哈尔滨)	Hā'ěrbīn	Harbin	a transcription, not a Chinese meaning
拉薩 (拉萨)	Lāsà	Lhasa	transcribed from Tibetan
烏魯木齊 (乌鲁木齐)	Wūlǔmùqí	Ürümqi	a transcription
臺北 (台北)	Táiběi	Taipei	"Taiwan north"
臺中 (台中)	Táizhōng	Taichung	"Taiwan middle"
臺南 (台南)	Táinán	Tainan	"Taiwan south"
高雄	Gāoxióng	Kaohsiung

In Taiwan both 臺 and 台 are in everyday use, with 臺 the formal form. The English spellings Taipei and Kaohsiung come from older romanisation systems, which is why they do not match the Pinyin. If you are heading there, see the Taiwan guide, and for the mainland the China guide.

Mountains in Chinese

Characters	Pinyin	English	Note
喜馬拉雅山脈 (喜马拉雅山脉)	Xǐmǎlāyǎ Shānmài	Himalayas
珠穆朗瑪峰 (珠穆朗玛峰)	Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng	Mount Everest	from the Tibetan name Qomolangma
崑崙山 (昆仑山)	Kūnlún Shān	Kunlun Mountains
天山	Tiān Shān	Tian Shan	"heavenly mountains"
秦嶺 (秦岭)	Qín Lǐng	Qinling range	traditional divide between north and south China
泰山	Tài Shān	Mount Tai	Shandong, eastern peak of the Five Great Mountains
華山 (华山)	Huà Shān	Mount Hua	Shaanxi, western peak; 華 is read Huà here
衡山	Héng Shān	Mount Heng	Hunan, southern peak
恆山 (恒山)	Héng Shān	Mount Heng	Shanxi, northern peak, same sound as the southern one
嵩山	Sōng Shān	Mount Song	Henan, central peak
黃山 (黄山)	Huáng Shān	Yellow Mountain	Anhui
峨眉山	Éméi Shān	Mount Emei	Sichuan
長白山 (长白山)	Chángbái Shān	Changbai Mountain	"ever-white", on the Korean border
玉山	Yù Shān	Yushan, Jade Mountain	highest peak in Taiwan
阿里山	Ālǐ Shān	Alishan	Taiwan

The Five Great Mountains are the 五嶽 (五岳) Wǔyuè. Two plateaus and a desert are also worth knowing: 青藏高原 Qīng-Zàng Gāoyuán (Tibetan Plateau), 黃土高原 (黄土高原) Huángtǔ Gāoyuán (Loess Plateau) and 戈壁 Gēbì (the Gobi).

Rivers, lakes and seas in Chinese

Northern rivers tend to be 河 hé and southern ones 江 jiāng, which is a tendency and not a law.

Characters	Pinyin	English	Note
長江 (长江)	Cháng Jiāng	Yangtze	"long river", the longest in China
黃河 (黄河)	Huáng Hé	Yellow River
珠江	Zhū Jiāng	Pearl River
黑龍江 (黑龙江)	Hēilóng Jiāng	Amur	"black dragon river"
淮河	Huái Hé	Huai River
瀾滄江 (澜沧江)	Láncāng Jiāng	Lancang	the upper Mekong
雅魯藏布江 (雅鲁藏布江)	Yǎlǔ Zàngbù Jiāng	Yarlung Tsangpo	becomes the Brahmaputra
大運河 (大运河)	Dà Yùnhé	Grand Canal
淡水河	Dànshuǐ Hé	Tamsui River	Taipei
青海湖	Qīnghǎi Hú	Qinghai Lake
洞庭湖	Dòngtíng Hú	Dongting Lake	the lake behind the names Hubei and Hunan
鄱陽湖 (鄱阳湖)	Póyáng Hú	Poyang Lake
太湖	Tài Hú	Lake Tai
西湖	Xī Hú	West Lake	Hangzhou
日月潭	Rìyuè Tán	Sun Moon Lake	Taiwan
渤海	Bó Hǎi	Bohai Sea
黃海 (黄海)	Huáng Hǎi	Yellow Sea
東海 (东海)	Dōng Hǎi	East China Sea	"east sea"
南海	Nán Hǎi	South China Sea	"south sea"
臺灣海峽 (台湾海峡)	Táiwān Hǎixiá	Taiwan Strait
太平洋	Tàipíngyáng	Pacific Ocean

Foreign place names: by sound or by meaning

Names from countries that use, or once used, Chinese characters are read character by character in Mandarin, so they sound nothing like the local name. Other names are transcribed by sound, and a few are translated.

Characters	Pinyin	English	How it works
東京 (东京)	Dōngjīng	Tokyo	same characters as the Japanese name
大阪	Dàbǎn	Osaka	same characters as the Japanese name
河內 (河内)	Hénèi	Hanoi	the characters behind Hà Nội, "inside the river"
首爾 (首尔)	Shǒu'ěr	Seoul	by sound
倫敦 (伦敦)	Lúndūn	London	by sound
紐約 (纽约)	Niǔyuē	New York	by sound
舊金山 (旧金山)	Jiùjīnshān	San Francisco	"old gold mountain"
牛津	Niújīn	Oxford	"ox ford", a literal translation

Taiwan and mainland China sometimes transcribe differently: Sydney is 雪梨 Xuělí in Taiwan and 悉尼 Xīní on the mainland. The character logic behind the Japanese examples is covered in learning Chinese and Japanese at the same time.

How to practise this vocabulary

Start with a simple pass: read through all the tables once and mark the words you already know. If that turns out to be most of them, do the opposite, mark the few you do not know yet, and add only those to Anki.

Switch your map app to Chinese for a week and read every label aloud. Place names are tone practice with a purpose: 山西 and 陝西 will teach you more about the first and third tones than any drill, and the tone guide covers the rest.

Then use the names in sentences.

Traditional	Simplified	Pinyin	English
你是哪裡人？	你是哪里人？	Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?	Where are you from?
上海在中國的東部。	上海在中国的东部。	Shànghǎi zài Zhōngguó de dōngbù.	Shanghai is in the east of China.
長江是中國最長的河。	长江是中国最长的河。	Cháng Jiāng shì Zhōngguó zuì cháng de hé.	The Yangtze is the longest river in China.
從臺北到高雄要多久？	从台北到高雄要多久？	Cóng Táiběi dào Gāoxióng yào duō jiǔ?	How long does it take from Taipei to Kaohsiung?
我想去爬黃山。	我想去爬黄山。	Wǒ xiǎng qù pá Huáng Shān.	I would like to climb Yellow Mountain.

Kungfucius recommends learning your own home town in Chinese first. It is the one place name you are guaranteed to be asked for.