On Tue, 5 Feb 2008 11:33:46 -0800 (PST), Tippi >
wrote:

> > I knew that Schezwan tends to be spicier than the Cantonese but didn't know
> > that rice is not the main carb of China.
>
> Rice does not grow above a certain latitude. It is said that south of
> Shanghai, rice is the staple, where as wheat is staple for north of
> Shanghai, and that city has a mix of both. Since the northern portion
> of China is larger in area than the southern, it could be argued that
> more Chinese eat wheat as a staple compared to those who eat rice.


I know nothing about whether there is more rice eaten than wheat in
China or vice versa, but that argument doesn't hold water. Being
larger in area doesn't mean that there are more people north of
Shanghai than south of it. I believe that the south is considerably
more densely populated than the North.

That's not to say that there are more people in the south than the
north, either. I don't know. My only point is that you can't find out
simply by looking at a map.

--
Ken Blake
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