1. A LEVEL – UNIT 3A – Theme 6a
CHINA – 1 - OVERVIEW

2. Theme 6a – Emerging Asia – China  
Key Question 1.1 What are the main physical and demographic characteristics of the country of China?
* A brief overview at the national scale of patterns of
(i) climate;
(ii) relief, drainage and water availability;
(iii) natural resources;
(iv) population distribution;
(v) regional differences in levels of development.
Key Question 1.2 Why and how is the economy changing?
* Changes in economic policies.
* New industries in the changing economy.
* Factors affecting the growth of new industries and the contrast between coastal areas and the
interior.
* Impact of the changing age structure on the economy.
Key Question 1.3 What are the economic and social challenges facing rural communities?
* Changes in the organisation of agriculture and rural economic communities.
* The effects of population policies in rural areas.
* The impacts and challenges for rural areas of migration.
* Social welfare services such as health and education.
* Sustainable development.

3. Key Question 1.4 What are the economic and social challenges facing urban communities?
* Changes in the organisation of economic activities in urban areas.
* Migration to urban areas and increasing social inequality.
* Social welfare services such as health, education and housing.
* Increasing rural-urban inequalities.
* Sustainable development in towns and cities.
Key Question 1.5 What are the effects of globalisation on China?
* The role of foreign firms in changing and developing the economy.
* The importance of exports and the role of the WTO.
* The economic and political impacts of China’s trade with the rest of the world.
Key Question 1.6 What are the environmental challenges and solutions facing China?
* The cause and consequences of
(i) soil erosion;
(ii) industrial pollution;
(iii) sustainable use of water resources;
(iv) the need for energy supplies.
* The balance between economic growth and sustainable development.

4. Where is China?
Ask a volunteer to show where China is.

5. Comparing China [1]
China
United States
Size
3.7 million square miles
3.6 million square miles
Main physical barrier
Himalayas
Rockies
Main River
Yangtze / East - West
Mississippi / North – South
Population
East Coast
Connectivity problems
North - South
East - West

6. = 1 40 UK China 60 million people 1.3 billion people
Comparing China [2] 40 = 1
Emphasise how much bigger China is. Biggest population in the world. Almost 1 in 4 people in the world lives in China. As such a large country, it is extremely varied (as we’ve already seen) with a large number of ethnic minorities and regional cultural differences. However, what is striking about China is its longevity as an enormous political unit (compare with Roman Empire, British Empire etc…)
UK China
60 million people 1.3 billion people
0.24 million square km 9.6 million square km
UK China
60 million people billion people
0.24 million square km million square km

7. Comparing China [3] Ranking of World countries by area Country
Area (in square kilometres)
Rank
Russia
17,075,200 1
Canada
9,976,140 2
USA
9,629,091 3
China
9,596,960 4
Brazil
8,511,965 5
Australia
7,686,850 6
India
3,287,590 7
Argentina
2,766,890 8
Kazakhstan
2,717,300 9
Sudan
2,505,810 10
Comparing China [3]
Ranking of World countries by population
Country
Population (2001)
Rank
China
1,273,111,290 1
India
1,029,991,145 2
USA
278,058,881 3
Indonesia
228,437,870 4
Brazil
174,468,575 5
Russia
145,470,197 6
Pakistan
144,616,639 7
Bangladesh
131,269,860 8
Japan
126,771,662 9
Nigeria
126,635,626 10
Ranking of World countries by GDP (wealth) (in US $) (2004)
Rank
Country
GDP (million $) 1
USA
$10,112,246 2
China
$6,716,200 3
Japan
$3,408,533 4
India
$2,808,832 5
Germany
$2,126,601 6
France
$1,531,020 7 UK
$1,519,740 8
Italy
$1,421,139 9
Brazil
$1,346,317 10
Russia
$1,342,292

8. Comparing China [3] Ranking of world countries by oil production 2004
Country
Production (million tonnes) 1
Saudi Arabia
470 2
Russia
419 3
USA
348 4
Iran
194 5
Mexico
189 6
China
165 7
Norway
151 8
Venezuela
149 9
Canada
138 10
United Arab Emirates
120
Ranking of world countries by coal production
Rank
Country
Production (million tonnes) 1
China
1502 2
USA
970 3
India
365 4
Australia
339 5
Russia
266 6
South Africa
239 7
Poland
161 8
Indonesia
120 9
Kazakhstan 79 10
Ukraine 56
Comparing China [3]
Spending on armed forces
Rank
Country
Military spending (million $) 1
USA 2
Russia
64 000 3
China
46 000 4
Japan
39 000 5 UK
35 000 6
France
33 000 7
Germany
27 000 8
Saudi Arabia
24 000 9
Italy
21 000 10
India
14 000

9. Comparing China [3] Number of rocket launches into space 1957 - 2003
Rank
Country / Organisation
Number of successful
launches 1
Russia (+ ) USSR
2643 2
USA
1261 3
France
161 4
China 68 5
Japan 57 6
India 11 7
European Space Agency 8
Israel 9 UK
Rank
Country
Number of University Students 1
USA
14,261,778 2
India
6,060,418 3
Japan
3,917,709 4
China
3,350,715 5
Russia
2,587,510 6
France
2,062,495 7
Philippines
2,017,972 8
Italy
1,892,542 9
Indonesia
1,889,408 10
Brazil
1,868,529
Rank
Country
Telephones - main lines in use 1
China
263,000,000 2
United States
181,599,900 3
Japan
71,149,000 4
Germany
54,350,000 5
India
48,917,000 6
Brazil
38,810,000 7
Russia
35,500,000 8
United Kingdom
34,898,000 9
France
33,905,400 10
Italy
26,596,000

10. (i) Climate

11. (i) Climate

12. (i) Climate

13. (i) Climate

14. Monsoon Precipitation Patterns
(i) Climate

15. Winter Monsoons
(i) Climate

16. Summer Monsoons
(i) Climate

17. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability

18. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability
Gobi Desert
Hwang He River
Taklamakan Desert
Yangtze River
Tibetan Plateau
Himalayas
Red Basin
South China hill region
North China Plain
Some major physical features [1]
Si Kiang or Pearl River

19. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability
Some major physical features [2]

20. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability

21. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability

22. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability
Tectonic situation and hazards

23. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability
Water availability

24. 80.5 80.4 120.1 119.9 27.1 455.9 448.0 (ii) Relief, drainage and water
availability
Province
Water supply quantity/108 m3/a
Surface Underground Others Total
Water use quantity/108m3/a
Agriculture Industry Daily life Total
Shaanxi
44.9
35.4
0.2
80.5
57.8
13.2
9.4
80.4
Gansu
95.2
24.7
120.1
96.5
16.7
6.7
119.9
Qinghai
23.2
3.9
0.0
27.1
21.5
3.5
2.1
Xinjiang
410.7
45.1
455.9
429.5
10.2
8.3
448.0

25. Water availability

26. (ii) Relief, drainage
and water
availability
Water quality

27. (iii) Natural resources

28. (iii) Natural resources

29. “Brown” China vs. “Green” China
(iii) Natural resources
“Brown” China vs. “Green” China
Wheat Dominant
Pasture and Oasis
Rice Dominant
Double-crop rice
SOURCE: Topic 5: “The Awakening Giant” by Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, Dept. of Economics & Geography, Hofstra University.

34. (iv) Population distribution
A map showing the distribution and density of China's population. One tiny dot indicates 50,000 people.

35. (iv) Population distribution
Population pyramid showing the age groups in China

36. Population Projections
(iv) Population distribution
Population Projections

37. Male/Female Birth Population
(iv) Population distribution
Male/Female Birth Population

38. Life Expectancy at Birth by Sex
(iv) Population distribution
Life Expectancy at Birth by Sex

39. (iv) Population distribution
Infant Mortality Rate