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 1/3 rd 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 4 th largest nation in sq. miles  Mountains/plateaus cover western 2/3rds of the nation  Plains, hills and deltas cover eastern 1/3 rd 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

Xizang  Also 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

Xinjiang  Home 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)

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…