(WANG JIANWEI)

According to the results of the second national land survey released on December 30, 2013, China's arable land totaled 135 million hectares at the end of 2012.

The total arable land area was larger than in the previous land survey. However, the actual available arable land was just slightly above the stipulated redline of 120 million hectares set by the government to ensure food security, after deducting land arranged for forest and pasture restoration or land deemed not suitable for farming because of pollution.

The second national land survey was conducted between 2007 and 2009, coming nearly a decade after the first one ended in 1996.