The Yangtze Basin is the granary of China contributing about 40% of the crops. Nearly 40% of the Chinese population lives there. Another characteristic of the basin is that the suicide rate is about 40% higher than in the rest of China. The suicide belt resembles the rest of the nation in sociodemographic variables – the major difference in this region is the periodic flooding. The author says that more research is required to account for the high suicide rate in the Yangtze Basin. (2 refs.)