Survey shows 135.4m hectares of cultivated land

China now has 135.4 million hectares of cultivated land, according to the Second National Land Survey released on Monday.

About 5.6 million hectares of cultivated land are located within forests, grasslands or situated near rivers and lakes in northeast and northwest regions.

Another 4.3 million hectares of cultivated land are on slopes of more than 25 degrees, according to the survey.

A substantial amount of this land will be gradually converted according to the government's policies to return cultivated land to forests, grasslands and wetlands and to leave some cultivated land fallow, it said.

Basic farmlands now encompass 104.1 million hectares, it said.

The survey, which started in July 2007, collected data until Dec 31, 2009, according to a press conference sponsored by the State Council Information Office.