Zhang Miaodi

Zhang Miaodi (born December 1944), a native of Pudong, Shanghai, is a geographer, professor and former president of Beijing Union University, chief expert of the Beijing Studies Research Base, and a member of the Beijing Municipal Institute of Culture and History. A graduate of the Department of Geography at Peking University, he has long engaged in research on physical geography, human geography, and Beijing culture, combining solid academic grounding with experience in writing about geography for general readers. Nineteen of his works are held in the collection, mainly in the categories of travel and popular science, including the series Chinese National Geographic Encyclopedia and Beautiful China, which he edited. Volumes in these series cover Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Chongqing, Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan, alongside Beautiful Tibet, Beautiful Taiwan, Beautiful Sichuan, and Beautiful Hainan. His writing integrates the natural and cultural features of each region, with detailed, clearly organized material that helps ordinary readers gain a systematic understanding of local geography and cultural characteristics.