Satellite Image Overview Peoples Republic of China and Region at Night, by The China Report

This Satellite Image provides a complete overview of all Cities and Provinces within the Peoples Republic of China and wider Regions which are visible at Night from Space.

Locations visible lie roughly between Kabul in Afghanistan in the West, Osaka in Japan in the East, Krasnoyarsk in the North and Sanya on Hainan Island in the South.

Find the large coastal cities and main Chinese civilization centres on the Chinese Plains between Beijing i/t North o/t Plains and Hong Kong, Macau and Guangzhou (Canton) in the extreme South. Follow the Flow of the Yellow River and cities and towns strewn along it from Xining in Qinghai Province, through Lanzhou, Gansu Province and Yinchuan, Ningxia AR to flow along the Western Shanxi Province Border and find the black holes created by the Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts as well as Tibet-Qinghai Plateaux.

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East of the Taklamakan Desert only Hami is visible, after which Dunhuang and Anxi in far Western Gansu Province announce the Hexi Corridor, a narrow pathway between mountains leading south-east and down through Lanzhou directly into the Chinese Heartlands.

Follow the Hexi Corridor Silk Road pathway from Dunhuang through Jiayuguan, Jiuguan, Zhangye and Wuwei to Lanzhou, the Capital of Gansu Province and a main city on the Yellow River (Huang He). The Great Wall of China follows the Hexi Corridor along its Northern Mountain Ridge and protects Lanzhou.

From Lanzhou upwards and northward flows the Yellow River, along the banks of which lie a string of towns and cities leading past the Xintongxia Reservoir and The Great Wall of China at Zhongwei to Yinchuan, Capital of Ningxia AR and onto Inner-Mongolia AR where it curves back to the East through resonant sand gorge underneath Lan Shan (2364 Meters).

From the entry point of the Yellow River into Inner Mongolia AR the great rivers' pathway leads past Baotou, then turns South again just West of Datong, Shanxi Province. Follow the border between Shaanxi Province and Shanxi Province to pass just West of Xi'An, formerly known as Chang'An, an ancient Imperial Capital of China.

From Xi'an the Yellow River again flows Eastward to form the Sanmenxia Water Reservoir and the border between Henan Province and Shanxi Province more to the North.

Here only a vague string of lights is visible, created by the cities of Sanmenxia, Luoyang and Zhengzhou in Henan Province. More to the East across the provincial border the Yellow River flows into Shandong Province past the City of Jin'An, Capital of the Province. The last bit of the river is lost in the coastal lights of Shandong, making it impossible to track to the Bohai Sea.

The Most notable parts on the far Eastern Borders of the Peoples Republic of China are the Province of Jilin, in which the string of cities extending East from the Capital of Changchun are clearly visible. In the farthest corner of Jilin Province lies Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, which' Prefectural Capital of Yanji and Airport can clearly be seen.

South-East of that lies the black hole of the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea (DPRK). Inside North-Korea only five cities are visible, two of which clearly. These two are Pongyang, the North Korean Capital, and Ch'Ongjin, a coastal City on the Sea of Japan. To The North extends the huge Province of Heilongjiang with its Capital Harbin (or Haerbin) the most brightly lit spot in the Region.

The outline of Heilongjiang Province is quite clearly visible due to its highway- and railway- supply lines and border rivers along which lie the necessary small towns and cities. The lack of inhabitation in surrounding area's enhances the contrast making all civilization centers stand out.