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Chinese Studies

The guide provides some starting points for your research of China at Duke

Maps & GIS

Finding maps of China in the catalog on various topics

Online Map & GIS projects

The China Historical Geographic Information System (CHGIS)
A database of populated places and historical administrative units for the period of Chinese history between 222 BCE and 1911 CE. CHGIS provides a base GIS platform for researchers to use in spatial analysis, temporal statistical modeling, and representation of selected historical units as digital maps.

China Dimensions Data Collection 
This collection includes a variety of socioeconomic data, such as county-level geographic information system(GIS) databases, presented at a scale of 1:1,000,000."

Antique Maps (from the Hong Kong University of Sicience & Techonology Library)
The collection includes more than 230 maps, charts, pictures, books and atlases. It represents almost all samples of China maps produced by European cartographers from the 16th to 19th centuries. This cartographic archive vividly records the long history of cross-cultural exchanges between China and the West.

Chinese civilization in time and space by Academic Sinica, Taiwan. Extremely useful web site linked map and times. Maps are based on 中国历史地图集。

Maps of Asia (The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas at Austin, USA) The maps are mainly produced by the US Central Intelligence Agency. Shaded relief maps are available for China (and parts of it), Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Singapore (and many other Asian states and regions). For some parts there are even political, economic, demographic, and still more maps.

京板天文全圖: Capital Edition Of A Complete Map (Of The World Based On) Astronomy (Richard J. Smith, Electronic Text Center for the Asian Studies, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA) A digitized historical map 'Jingban Tianwen Quantu' by Ma Junliang [18th c.], with information on the Qing dynasty administrative boundaries of China, her cities, mountain ranges, overland travel routes, river systems, lakes, coastal communications, deserts, as well as other prominent landmarks. To benefit from site one needs a Java-enabled Web browser on a speedy computer and have a really fast network connection" (T.M. Ciolek, WWW Asian Studies Monitor).