Abstract: The South China Sea and its adjacent basins are the key area for tropical cyclone (TC) genesis over the western North Pacific. Forecasting the location and timing of TC genesis accurately is preliminary important from a perspective of effective early warnings for disasters associated with TCs movement, intensity, and rainfall. This article reviews recent progress in understanding the environmental factors, key physical mechanisms, and surrounding weather patterns for TC genesis. The focus is on the dynamic effect of orography around the Philippine Islands for TC genesis from a pre-existing tropical depression under the favorable environmental influences over the South China Sea and its adjacent basins. Some open scientific issues on the dynamic effect of orography for TC genesis are highlighted.