Applying the daily global solar radiation data measured at least 10 years, the typical solar radiation year for 30 meteorological stations in China is generated using the Finkelstein-Schafer statistical method. Based on the typical solar radiation data obtained, the geographical difference of solar energy resource of these 30 stations was also analyzed. The results in this paper will fill this gap that complete and detailed typical solar radiation data are not available for China, and will be useful to the designers of solar energy conversion and utilization devices. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.