The Geography of China China's natural barriers to the west, south, and east helped to protect these early people from invasion. China's natural barriers include seas - the China Sea and the  Yellow Sea, both located in the Pacific Ocean. These seas provide a huge coastline, which provided trade routes and easy access to food.   China's natural barriers also include mountains, deserts, and rivers.  As you can see, China has many natural barriers, all of which helped to keep her isolated from the rest of the world for many thousands of years. 

Ancient China was built along the two main rivers—first the Yellow River (Huang He) in the north, and the later, the Yangtze River, in the south.  In the settlements along the Yellow River, people grew millet in the rich, easily worked soil. In the south, people grew rice along the Yangtze river, ate a good deal of fish, together with vegetables including water chestnuts and lotus.  Along with dogs, pigs and cattle, people in the south had water buffalos to help work the soil.  By the heavy use of human labor, the same area of land in the south could grow about twice as much food as in the north.

THE WEST The Mountains It includes the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan plateau. The most famous Himalayan mountain is Mt. Everest. THE WEST - The Mountains The Himalayan Mountains and Tibetan plateau cover a large portion of China’s western region. The most famous Himalayan mountain is Mt. Everest. It is 8,848 m above sea level, and the highest mountain on Earth. The Himalayas are a natural barrier that greatly isolated China from neighboring countries, such as India. The Himalayas contain some of the tallest mountains in the world.

THE EAST The Plains It is mainly flat grass and farmland. It is where the ancient Chinese civilizations began. It is mainly flat grass and farmland. THE EAST - The Plains Since the beginning of recorded history, the plains have been an important site for Chinese civilization. The plain is one of China's most important agricultural regions, producing corn, sorghum, winter wheat, vegetables, and cotton. Its nickname is "Land of the yellow earth.“ The Chinese plains are one of the most densely populated regions in the world. There are very few trees on this landscape that have not been planted, typically poplars in long rows along roads, or on either side of the train tracks. Also, there are not many fences on the landscape, no long running fences, though there are many wooden or stone fences adjacent to the houses. There are also much wetland, vast marshes, and many areas that are subject to flooding.

THE NORTH The Desert The Gobi Desert is the driest in the world. The Takla Makan Desert is nicknamed the “Sea of Death”. THE NORTH - The Desert China has two major deserts, the Gobi Desert and the Taklimakan Desert. The Gobi Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world. In the Gobi, there is at least the hope of water, although an oasis is rare.  The Takla Makan Desert, China's other desert, is nicknamed the Sea of Death. It offers poisonous snakes, frequent sand storms, boiling days, freezing nights, and intense water shortages.  The Sea of Death is not a small desert. In fact, it is the second largest desert in the world. 

THE SOUTH The Jungle Contains some of the world’s most unique creatures, like pandas. Video (15 min) THE SOUTH - The Jungle China’s jungle is home to some of the most unique creatures, like the snub-nosed monkey and the red panda.

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