China

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China
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Physical Geography

• China is the 3rd largest country in the world by
  area.
• It has a very diverse physical environment with
  some of the worlds highest mountains, longest
  rivers, and driest deserts.

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Altay Shan
Mongolia
Gobi Desert
Tian Shan
China
Yellow River
North China Plain
Plateau of Tibet
Yangtze River
Red Basin
Himalayas
Xi River
Taiwan
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Mountains cover more than 40 percent of Chinas
land area. The Himalayas are located along the
southwestern border with Nepal and Bhutan. Mount
Everest, the worlds highest mountain lies at
29,035 feet on the border of China and Nepal.
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The plains and river valleys of eastern China are
the most densely populated areas of the country.
The major rivers here are the Huang or Yellow
River, the Chang or Yangtze River and the Xi
River. The Cheng River flows through the fertile
Red Basin or the Sichuan Basin.
Flooding along the Yellow or Huang He River has
killed millions of Chinese throughout Chinas
long history. In 1931, the deadliest natural
disaster on record occurred when the Yellow River
flooded its banks and killed as many as 4 million
Chinese. Aside from drowning, How might flooding
be deadly to humans?
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To the north of China lies landlocked Mongolia. A
desert called the Gobi extends from north-central
China into Mongolia. Gobi means waterless place
in Mongolian. Much of the Gobi is bare rock or
gravel.
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Southeast of China lies the island of Taiwan.
Eastern Taiwan has steep mountains that rise from
the Pacific coast. The western part of the island
is flatter, sloping toward the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan is located near tectonic plate boundaries,
so severe earthquakes threaten the island.
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The Asian monsoon system influences climates
throughout most of China. Based on the map above,
what part of China receives the most rainfall
which receives the least?
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Completed in the summer of 2006, the Three Gorges
Dam is home to the worlds largest hydroelectric
power plant and is 5 times the length of the
Hoover Dam! The reservoir created by the dam will
takes many years to fill.
China has huge amounts of energy and mineral
resources. It is the worlds leading producer of
coal, lead, tin, tungsten. Hydropower is a
major energy resource as well. China has just
finished the worlds largest dam on the Chang
River and is known as the Three Gorges Dam. How
will this dam affect settlement patterns and
population distributions along the river ?
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Chinese History
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The Chinese have the longest known continuous
history of any culture. 6000 BCE -people began
farming along the Chang River. 3000s BCE-
organized society lived in small farming villages
along the Huang River, called the Shang
Civilization.
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The Silk Road was possibly the worlds first
superhighway. It was important part of the
historical growth of the worlds global economy,
as goods from China and the Far East were traded
for western goods from the Middle East and
Europe. Why was it called the Silk Road ? Where
does silk come from?
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During the 200s BCE Chinas first emperor
conquered much of eastern China. He ordered the
connection of ancient walls as protection against
invaders from the north. This would become the
Great Wall.
Ancient China was ruled by emperors, and their
principal residence was the Forbidden City in
Beijing. It was only accessible by a limited
number of people and the emperor was regarded as
god by the Chinese people.
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The Qin Dynasty (or Chin) was the first Chinese
imperial dynasty, and the term China comes from
the Qin. The Han Dynasty helped Chinas military
power grow as well as helping Chinese culture
spread to outside areas. Under the Han, Chinese
cities grew rapidly and Chinese art and
architecture flourished. Today, ethnic Chinese
call themselves Han referring to their relation
with their ancient ancestors.
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Chinese History

• China was ruled for 2000 years by several
  Imperial Dynasties
• Dynasty succession of rulers from the same
  family.
• 1912 Last Emperor Overthrown

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Chinese History

• 1931 Japan invades Manchuria sets up a puppet
  government
• 1912-1949- Civil War breaks out between the
  Nationalists (Chang Kai-shek) and Communists (Mao
  Zedong).
• 1949 Communist Party takes over China under the
  leadership of Chairman Mao Zedong.

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China Under Mao

• All PRIVATE property was taken over by the
  GOVERNMENT.
• The Great Leap Forward
• Maos Economic Plan to help China catch up to
  western countries
• Farmers grouped onto Communal Farms and all
  profits by any business were made illegal
• HUGE FAILURE

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China Under Mao

• Positive Reforms of Mao
• Many Chinese freed from cruel property owners
• Women given full equality
• Equal Education for all

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China Under Mao

• The Cultural Revolution (1966)
• Maos attempt to remove the 4 Olds
• Old Ideas
• Old Customs
• Old Culture
• Old Habits
• Mao organized the Red Guard to attack anyone who
  disagreed with his ideas as a result many people
  disappear

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Hu Jintao is the current leader of the Chinese
Communist Party.

• 1976 Deng Xiaoping came to power.
• Thought some of Maos policies had been mistakes
  and pushed new policies to modernize Chinas
  agriculture, industry and technology.
• He also worked to move the country toward a
  market economy.

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Chinese History

• 1989 Tiananmen Square
• What 1000s of students gather in Tiananmen
  Square to protest for increased modernization
• Government sends in troops to break up protests
• Estimates between 400-800 killed possibly more
• Outcome
• China closes to foreign media
• Government crack down in China on protests

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Population

• 1.2 Billion people live in China
• Most populated country in the world
• 70 of the people in China live in farms or small
  villages people in villages are considerably
  poorer than those in cities

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Since the 1980s China has had a one child
policy, although the government calls it family
planning policy. The policy includes several
methods to control births including heavy
propaganda, family planning fines, higher taxes
in urban areas, and readily available
abortions. . What might be some social problems
created by this?
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Language

• National Language Mandarin Chinese
• A person needs to know 1,500 different characters
  to be literate in Chinese
• Over 50,000 exist

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CHINESE ECONOMY CHALLENGES
Taiwan is one of Asias richest and most
industrialized countries. It exports computers,
scientific instruments, and sports equipment.
Taiwans major trading partners are the United
States, Japan and China. The per capita GDP of
Taiwan is five times that of China. Taipei, is
the largest city, financial center, and capital.
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Farming the Primary Economic Activity in rural
China. Today, many farmers grow and sell their
own crops and build their own homes. They do not
own the land but lease it from the local
government on long-term leases. Agricultural
productivity has increased and China is
self-sufficient in food.
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The table shows US trade, in both exports (goods
we sell to countries) and imports (goods we buy
from other countries). The numbers you see are in
the billions of dollars. A trade deficit occurs
when a country is buying more goods from another
country than the country is buying from us. Do we
have a trade deficit with China? Taiwan?
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China has the largest, cheapest workforce in the
world and for this reason many American/European
companies make factories here in order to take
advantage of the inexpensive labor.
(OUTSOURCING) Some workers may make only 2 a
day and these factories may employ thousands of
people working 12 hour shifts in very poor
working conditions. These are sometimes called
sweatshops.
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China has seen an explosion of multi-national
corporations since joining the World Trade
Organization in 1999. How might workers in the
USA and Europe feel about this?
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Southern China is the countrys most economically
productive region. A large percentage of Chinas
population lives here. The Chang Delta region is
often called Chinas rice bowl. Farmers here
are able to DOUBLE CROP, or grow two rice crops a
year, plus a vegetable crop. The Chang Delta is
also Chinas most populated and industrialized
area. The countrys largest city, Shanghai is
located here.
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Shanghai has about 13 million people, a huge
industrial center and a major sea and river port.
New skyscrapers are rising as the city rapidly
spread outward into farming areas. Further
south, lies the former British colony of Hong
Kong. Hong Kongs is a port about a third the
size of Rhode Island and has about 7 million
people, making it one of the worlds most crowded
places. Today it is Chinas major seaport and its
banking and international trade center.
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Shenzen was a village of a few thousand people 10
years ago and is now a city of 10 million! It is
one of Chinas most successful SEZs
Where are most of Chinas SEZs located? Why
would they be here and not other places in China?
Along the coast of southern China are Special
Economic Zones (SEZs) which are designed to
attract foreign companies and investment. The
SEZs close to Hong Kong have seen rapid economic
growth. Areas that were rice fields a few years
ago now bustle with factories, high rise
building, and new freeways.
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Shenzen is not the only city to see explosive
growth in China today. Many parts of the country
are experiencing growth in the industry,
manufacturing, service and financial (banking)
sectors of the economy.
This, however, has come with a price.
China is becoming one of the worlds most
polluted countries. Air, water and soil pollution
has resulted from the rapid industrialization.
Many environmental groups see big problems for
China in the future if these problems are not
addressed.
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China has also seen explosive growth in the
amount of beef and meat products consumed. Much
of it is being produced at CAFOs, or
concentrated animal feeding operations. To
raise so much meat requires lots of feed for the
animals, and China has had to import soy and even
corn from the USA and other countries.