Those between the hills and lakes are used as rice paddies and the foothills are dry farmed for corn, beans and fruits. The natural vegetation in the eastern part of North China is dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees, especially Quercus spp. The western part is drier with a mean annual precipitation of 500 mm or less. The natural vegetation contains mixed broadleaf forests, shrubs, and grasses. In much of North China, annual double cropping or biannual triple cropping is common.
Wheat is the winter crop, and maize, sweet potatoes, and peanuts are the major summer crops.
The Shandong and Liaodong peninsulas are rolling and hilly with elevations from 200 to 400 m above sea-level. There the luvic brown earths are formed by the weathering of granitic masses. After denudation, the soils become sandy and skeletal, yet still suitable for applegrowing. The immense, flat North China Plain was formed by the deposition of alluvia by the laterally shifting channels of the Yellow River. It consists of interbedded clay and silty materials.