" North China includes the densely populated and intensively cultivated North China Plain, the loess-covered uplands of Shansi, northern Shensi, and eastern Kansu, and the sparsely populated, semiarid steppes of Inner Mongolia....

Human habitation of this elongated sand dune peninsula, 98 km long and 0.4-4 km wide, dates back to prehistoric times. Throughout this period it has been threatened by the natural forces of wind and waves. Its survival to the present day...