The Soil and Terrain database for China primary data (version 1.0), at scale 1:1 million (SOTER_China), was compiled of enhanced soil information within the framework of the FAO's program of Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA). The primary database was compiled using the SOTER methodology. The SOTER unit delineation was based on a raster format of the soil map of China, correlated and converted to FAO’s Revised Legend (1988), in combination with a SOTER landform characterization derived from Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) 90 m digital elevation model (DEM). Reference profiles for the dominant soil of the SOTER units has been directly linked to the polygons.

SOTER forms a part of the ongoing activities of ISRIC, FAO and UNEP to update the world's baseline information on natural resources.The project involved collaboration with national soil institutes from the countries in the region as well as individual experts.