FrontPage: What do you know about China right now?

The Last Word: Map due Monday

FrontPage: Find new seat – Turn in your map

The Last Word: Finish reading questions for tomorrow

Overview and Geography of China

Introduction to China

China – General Facts

Official Name – People’s Republic of China (PRC)– Communist state – President Xi

Jinping Most are Han ethnicity

(Chinese) – 91% Most populous nation

– 1.3 billion people (over 20% of the world’s population

– Most live in the eastern 1/3rd of the country

China – General Facts

Religions – officially atheist– Daoists, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians do

practice Official language – Mandarin

– Many different dialects are spoken Currency - yuan

The Chinese Population

General Geography Land area – slightly smaller than the US

– World’s 4th largest nation in sq. miles Mountains/plateaus cover western 2/3rds of

the nation Plains, hills and deltas cover eastern 1/3rd of

the nation

Main Regions The “Heartland”

(North and South)

The Northeast– Manchuria

(Inner) Mongolia Xizang XinJiang

The “Heartland”

Name for eastern portion of China– Divided into northern

and southern areas– Most of the population

located here– Agriculture and industry

largest in the south

The Northeast Once known as Manchuria;

– Home to the Manchus, who conquered China in the 1600’s

Area rich in resources, but sparsely populated

(Inner) Mongolia

Part of this area is separate nation, part is controlled by China

The part controlled by China is “semi-autonomous”

Gobi desert located in this area – harsh climate with hot winters and cold summers

The Gobi Desert

XizangAlso known as Tibet

Located in the Himalayas

China took over this area in 1950; ever since, the Dalai Lama has tried to gain freedom for Tibet

XinjiangHome to many non-Chinese people, including Muslim Uighurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz.

Important oil-producing region

Once isolated, now linked by railroads

Major Rivers Huang He (Yellow River) Chang (Yangzi River)

Huang He (Yellow)

Huang He (Yellow)Travels thousands of miles before

emptying into the Yellow Sea Yellow River; home to the earliest

civilization in the area– Loess – the yellow-brown soil that is

carried by winds across the North China plain into the river

Earned the name, “River of Sorrow” because of its frequent floods that cause much destruction

Chang (Yangzi) Longest river in China (3900 miles) Carries much of China’s trade;

– Shanghai located at the mouth of the Chang

Three Gorges Dam

Very controversial project…

Pro: provides electricity

Con: Forced relocation of millions of people

An attempt to harness the water for electricity…