2014 China

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2014 Chinas Geography Powerpoint
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Size in Comparison to the USA

• Population

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Comparing Size Latitude
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Comparing China the U. S.
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 East Coast
Connectivity problems North - South East - West
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China versus USA
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 East Coast
Connectivity problems North - South East - West
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Population

• China has more than 1.2 to 1.3 billion people,
  making it the most populous nation
• The population density is over 110 people per
  square kilometer
• 90 of Chinas population lives on less than 40
  of the land

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Population

• China is multi-ethnic Han, Manchu, Mongol,
  Turkish, and Tibetan
• The majority of ethnic minorities live in the
  northeast, northwest, and southwest
• Mongols are one of the largest minority group in
  China
• Made up of more than 50 ethnic groups
• Speak several languages and dialects

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Effects Chinas Size

• Eventually, overcrowding and shortages of food
  and shelter will be major issues
• Population Control Policies
• Families can have no more than 1 child
• One-couple, one-child policy couples were given
  special rewards such as better housing and pay
• Couples who didnt follow faced fines and wage
  cuts
• Results
• Rural families rarely followed the policies
• More children allowed more workers on the farm
• Policies have slowed population growth
• Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989

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Effects Cities of China

• China has more than 50 cities with populations of
  half a million or more
• Coastal Shanghai is the largest city in China
  with a population of around 15 million

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Effects Chinas Demographic Issues

• The problems of controlling it...
• The population exploded after 1949.
• Population control was secondary.
• Mao Zedong saw numbers as a workforce and a way
  to fight the Soviet Union and the United States.
• Calls for women to breed for the motherland.
• Population distribution
• Excessive concentration
• 50 of the population lives on 8.2 of the land.
• Bulk of the population along the coast.
• East China accounts for 90 of the population.
• 56, about 728 million, are living in mountainous
  areas.
• High density rural areas.

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Geographic Barriers of China
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Chinas Geographic Barriers
For thousands of years, the ancient Chinese
thought they were pretty much alone on the
planet, except for the barbarians to the north,
the Mongols.
Chinas natural barriers to the west, south, and
east helped protect these early people from
invasion.

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Geographic Barriers

• Physical barriers in China cover 80 of the
  country
• Gobi Desert
• Mongolian and Tibetan Plateaus
• Himalayan Mountains

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Natural Borders and Barriers

• The Gobi Desert in northern China separates the
  country from its neighbors.
• Rugged mountains make up Western China.
• Qinling Shandi, an important mountain range,
  separates N. China from S. China

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Chinas Geographic Barriers Effects

• ISOLATION
• Natural protective barriers
• Distance
• Inward looking (central kingdom) with minor
  incidences of cultural diffusion
• Effects of one ocean
• A history of emperors who restricted use of the
  coastline, except in local circumstances
• Today the ocean is playing a major role in the
  economic (and cultural) transformation of coastal
  China.

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How was China isolated from other civilizations
because of its geography?

• The high Tibet-Qinghai Plateau made contact with
  lands to the southwest of China difficult
• The dry Gobi Taklimakan Deserts made contact
  with lands to the northwest of China difficult

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China was protected isolated from outsiders by
deserts the Himalayan Mountains and the Pacific
Ocean to the east (Three natural barriers)
The Chinese referred to themselves as the
Middle Kingdom rarely traded with outsiders.
Why? Ethnocentrism?
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Middle Kingdom and Geographic Barriers

• What is the Middle Kingdom?
• Geographic barriers like mountains and seas cut
  China off from other lands
• They had no knowledge of other cultures like
  Greece, Rome, India, or Egypt
• They thought that they were at the center of the
  world and called themselves the Middle Kingdom

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Climate of China
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Climate and Vegetation

• East Asias climate is often described as varied.
• 7 different climate regions cover East Asia.
• 5 major climate regions
• Semiarid, arid, humid subtropical, humid
  continental, and highlands.
• East Asias climate is influenced by
• Monsoons a wind that changes directions with the
  change of seasons.

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China, Mongolia, and Taiwan have a range of
climates and natural resources.

• CLIMATE
• Southeast region
• Tropical with warm to hot climate
• Monsoons bring heavy rains in the summer.
• Typhoons strike the southeast coast in the summer
  and fall.
• Northeast region
• Dry and cold climate
• North and west region
• Mainly dry climate
• Temperatures vary and can get both very hot and
  very cold.

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Weather and Temperature

• Different regions of China have different
  climates.
• The Northeast has a cold and dry climate
• The Northwest is made up of dry desert.
• The Eastern Plains experience heavy rainfall.
• The Southeast has a tropical climate. It is the
  wettest region. During the monsoon season they
  can get up to 250 inches of rain.

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Climate and Vegetation

• The climate affects what plants will grow in East
  Asia.
• Bamboo is a plant grown in southern China and
  Japan.
• It is reliable because of its ability to stand
  seasonal differences in temperatures and
  rainfall. It can also survive dry spells.

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Climates

• Trade
• Southeast Asia waterways, main trade routes
  between India and China
• Two most important Malacca Strait between Malay
  Peninsula, Sumatra Sunda Strait, between
  Sumatra, Java
• Control of these, other important trade routes,
  brought wealth and power

• Winds
• Monsoons, seasonal winds, shaped trade
• Winds blow northeast in the summer and southwest
  in the winter
• Ships relied on monsoons to sail from place to
  place, often had to wait in port until winds
  shifted to resume the voyage
• Many Southeast Asian port cities became important
  economic centers

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Climate and Vegetation

• Climate also affects the diet in East Asia.
• Rice grows best in warm weather.
• In Southern China rice is grown and eaten.
• Wheat grows best in cool weather.
• In Northern China people eat more things made
  from wheat, such as noodles.

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Chinas Vegetation

• Agriculture is the most important economic
  industry of China, employing over 300 million
  farmers. China ranks first in worldwide farm
  output, primarily producing rice, wheat,
  potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley,
  cotton, and oilseed.
• About 75 of China's cultivated area is used for
  food crops.
• Rice is China's most important crop, raised on
  about 25 of the cultivated area.
• Wheat is the second most-prevalent grain crop,
  grown in most parts of the country, but
  especially on the North China Plain.
• Other crops include sweet potatoes in the south,
  white potatoes in the north, and various other
  fruits and vegetables.
• Tropical fruits are grown on Hainan Island,
  apples and pears are grown in northern Liaoning
  and Shandong, and citrus fruits are grown in
  South China.

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Typhoons

• Typhoons or cyclones are tropical storms that
  occur in the Pacific Ocean.
• In the northern hemisphere they rotate counter
  clockwise.
• In the southern hemisphere they rotate
  clockwise.
• These storms cause enormous damage in coastal
  areas and countries with low elevations.

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Ring of Fire

• Part of Asia is on The Ring of Fire an area
  around the Pacific Ocean where many tectonic
  plates meet.
• This area is at a greater risk for having
  earthquakes and active volcanoes.

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Rivers of China
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Chinas Rivers
The development of civilization in early China
was aided by features like long rivers, fertile
soils, temperate climates, and isolated valleys.
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Impact of Rivers

• Crops
• Most of eastern China covered with fertile soils
  some regions better suited than others for
  growing certain crops
• Southern Chinawarm, receives plenty of rainfall,
  excellent region for growing rice
• Further northclimate cooler, drier suitable for
  grains, wheat, millet

• Isolation
• Combination of rivers for irrigation, fertile
  soil for planting allowed Chinese to thrive, as
  did Chinas relative isolation
• Mountains, hills, desert protected China from
  invasion
• Himalaya Mountains separate southern China from
  India, rest of southern Asia vast Gobi Desert
  prevented reaching China from west

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The Rivers of China

• China has three major rivers that begin in the
  Himalayas and flow into the East China Sea or
  Yellow Sea.

Chinese Name
River
Huang He
Yellow River
Yangtze River
Chang Jiang
West River
Xi Jiang
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Impact of the Rivers on Chinas History and
Development

• Early civilizations developed near rivers
• China had a few rivers that provided resources to
  be successful
• Chang Jiang River (longest river)
• Huang He River
• Yangzi River
• Chinas rivers overflowed just like others we
  have studied
• Provides fertile soil for farming
• The Huang He River is also known as the Yellow
  River because of the Loess
• Loess is yellow-brown soil that the Yellow River
  carries along

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Chinas Rivers

• 1- Huang He (Yellow River).
• Can carry up to 40 sediment weight (highest in
  the world).
• Subject to flooding, especially in its delta.
• Changed course many times.
• 2- Chang Jiang (Yangtze).
• Longest river, Chinas main street (6,300 km).
• Flood of 1998 left 14 million homeless.
• 3- Pearl River delta system
• Most productive and sustainable ecosystem in the
  world.
• Rice paddies and fish ponds.
• 4- Heilong Jiang (Amur).
• China's border with Russia.

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1
2
3
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• River systems
• Huang He (Yellow) -Named due to yellow
• silt the river carries
• Chang Jiang (Yangtze)
• Longest river in Asia - Major trade route since
  ancient times
• Xi Jiang (West River)
• Runs in South China

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China began along the Yellow (Huang He) Yangtze
Rivers in the North China Plain Only 10 of
China is suitable for farming
The Yellow River flooding was unpredictable was
called Chinas Sorrow because its floods often
destroyed entire villages
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Yellow or Huang He River

• (HWAHNGHUH)

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Yellow River

• Second longest river in China
• Runs 3395 miles long
• Often called the cradle of Chinese civilization
• Much of the lower reaches of the Yellow River are
  not navigable
• The huge amount of silt the river carries is
  deposited in these lower regions raising its bed
  above ground level in the flat North China Plain.

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Yellow River

• Devastating floods
• To reduce effects of flooding, have built earthen
  dikes or walls long the river to protect crops
• Dikes slowed rivers flow and causes silt to
  deposit on bottom of river
• Silt levels grew higher, so Chinese build higher
  walls
• Chang Jung---an engineer in the 1st century BC
  proposed a solution to the flooding but everyone
  ignored him

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Yellow River

• Chinese kept building higher dikes to prevent
  flooding
• Huang or Yellow River now flows 12 feet above the
  surrounding lands due to the dikes
• Flooding still continues every few years when
  dikes break and crops are destroyed and many
  people die
• Rainfall in the area is unpredictable and
  contributes to flooding

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Yellow River

• What is Chinas Sorrow?
• The river was unpredictable and dangerous and
  often killed
• The river also brought life through fertile soil
• Destructive floods would come without warning
• To control the flooding the people built dikes or
  walls that hold back water

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Huang He River (Yellow River)- Chinas Sorrow
Some 10 million people drowned or died of famine
disease as the result of the catastrophic
floods (1887-1943).
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Yellow River and Flooding Issues

• Erosion on the Loess Plateau
• Huang Hes sediment burden from the Loess Plateau
• Loess a fine, wind-blown deposited material
• Light tan color accounts for the old name, Yellow
  river and Yellow Sea
• Loess is fertile, but vulnerable to erosion when
  plowed
• Loess Plateau - one of the poorest parts of China

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Yangtze or Chang Jiang or Yangzi River

• (CHAHNGJYAHNG)

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Yangtze River

• Yangzi (Yangtze) River in Central China
• Chinas largest waterway, 3rd longest in the
  world
• Flows for 3,434 miles (6,300 km)
• The Chinese say, if you havent traveled up the
  great Yangtze River, you havent been anywhere.
• Considered the lifeline of China
• Cuts a deep channel in the valley
• Large ships can navigate 600 miles up stream
• Small ships can navigate 1,700 miles up stream

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Yangtze River stretches through nine provinces.
The city of Shanghai is known as the gateway to
the Yangtze.
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Yangtze River

• Changjiang in Chinese
• Means long river
• Creates a basin of more than 2,000 miles from
  west to east and a basin of more than 600 miles
  from north to south
• Drains into the South China Sea
• Carries more water than any other river in China
• The land area of Yangtze River valley is 19 of
  the total land in China.
• The total population of Yangtze River valley is
  358 million, nearly 35 of the national
  population (1983).

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Yangtze River

• Open to navigation all year round
• Three Gorges is dangerous to navigate due to the
  currents and shallowswhy they built the dam
  there
• Feeds into Lake Dongting, the second largest lake
  in China
• Eventually flows into the sea near Chinas
  largest city of Shanghai

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Many earn a living from fishing on the river.
How will the dam affect them? About 350 million
people live near the Yangtze River and its 700
tributaries. The lives of the people living near
the Yangtze are affected in some way everyday by
the river. Dangerous floods kill people and
livestock living near the river.
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This is what the Yangtze valley looks like at the
moment River boat cruises, like this one, is way
of life for many and is how they earn a
living. What will happen to these people when the
project is finished? Almost all of the boating
traffic in China is on the Yangtze River.
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Grand Canal
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Rebuilding Chinas EmpireThe Sui Dynasty
Reunites China

• Sui Dynastys greatest achievement was the Grand
  Canal, which links the Chang Jiang (Yangtze
  River) and the Huang He (Yellow River).
• Shipping products on the Grand Canal helped unite
  Chinas economy.

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Some 2,500 years ago the ancient Chinese took the
trouble to build a canal to link the Hwang He
with the Yangtze.
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Later on they even extended the Grand Canal north
to Peiping and south to Hangchow, making the
whole canal 1,200 miles long.
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Part of the Grand Canal is now silted up. But
the part between the rivers is still used. It is
an everlasting reminder of what marvelous
engineers the Chinese were long ago.
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Grand Canal System
Beijing

• The Grand Canal
• Achievement of Imperial hydrological engineering.
• First segments completed around 602 AD (Sui
  Dynasty).
• At its peak during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644
  AD).
• Totaled about 2,500 kilometers, 1,700 still in
  use today.
• Grain distribution through the empire, notably
  its capitals.

Tonghui Canal (Yuan)
Yellow Sea
Yongji Canal (Sui and Yuan)
Old course of the Yellow River (Song)
Jiao-Lai Canal (Yuan)
Jizhou Canal (Yuan)
Yongji Canal (Sui)
Jizhou
East China Sea
Tongji Canal (Sui)
Luoyang
Kaifeng
Huaiyin
Bian Canal (Song)
Chuzhou
Yangzhou Canal (Song and Yuan)
Yangzhou
Jiangnan Canal (Sui, Song and Yuan)
Suzhou
400 km
Hangzhou
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General Information

• Largest ancient canal (1200miles)
• Took six years
• Sui Dynasty
• Wendi initiated
• Sui Yangdi finished
• North/South China
• Millions of forced workers

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Results of Grand Canal

• The Grand Canal allowed the integration of the
  Yangzi Valley with northern China and contributed
  to the economic and cultural development of
  eastern China.
• Many routes converged on Changan including the
  Grand Canal.
• Changan became the center of the tributary
  system.
• This city also had over one million residents
  with restaurants, inns, temples, mosques, and
  street stalls.
• The different neighborhoods were walled and
  locked at night to prevent crime reminiscent of
  todays gated communities.

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Results of Canal

• Lots of grain shipped to Beijing
• Rice and food crop sent north
• Cultural exchanges/unity
• Main artery of transportation and communication
  for north/south

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Chinas Grand Canal North-South Transportation
System

• Centuries-old engineering feat that is being
  upgraded for greater use in the coastal growth
  zone now.

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Present Benefits

• Tourism
• Shipped goods
• Recently refurbished
• Less crucial to Chinese economy

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Plains of China
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North China Plain
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North China Plain

• Is in eastern China
• Many people live there
• It is the center of agriculture and industry
• Much of Chinas food is produced there
• Lands on the plain have LOESS or yellow-brown
  soil that blows from the desert
• Crops like soybeans, wheat, and cotton are grown
  on terraces or platforms of earth like stairs
• Beijing, the capital of China, is on the plain

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North China Plain

• Flat region of grassland in Inner China
• Climate is fairly mild
• Warmer than the areas to the north and cooler
  than areas to the south
• Sometimes called the Land of Yellow Earth due
  to the yellow limestone silt known as LOESS
• Plains cover 12 of China, River basins cover 19
  

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Why did most early people settle on the North
China Plain?

1. The Tibet-Qinghai Plateau and Northeastern Plain
   are too cold and dry for agriculture
2. The Northwestern Deserts are too dry for
   agriculture
3. The heavy rains of the Chang Jiang Basins may
   have made farming difficult
4. The North China Plain was ideal because it has
   water, fertile soil, and a moderate climate

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What did the North China Plain offer to the early
people that settled there?

• Huang He (Yellow River) was a source of water for
  farming
• Silt from the flooding of the river helped to
  fertilize the land

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North China Plain

• Flooding in Northern China
• Northern China Plain has long been plagued with
  floods and droughts
• Worst floods caused by Huang He (Yellow River)
• Huang He carries a huge sediment load (suspended
  clay, silt, sand) is the worlds muddiest river
• Many dikes, but its still the river of Chinas
  sorrow

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North China Plain
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Effects of Plains Agriculture in China
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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.
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Below Southern China rice farming.
Above North China Plain (Temperate Climate)
farming.
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China

• Agricultural diversity
• North continental climate growing wheat, sorghum
  and corn.
• South subtropical climate growing rice.
• A China of the West with pastoralism and oasis
  agriculture.
• China feeds approximately 25 of the worlds
  population with approximately 7 of the worlds
  arable land.

Pasture and oasis
Wheat Dominant
Rice Dominant
Double-crop rice
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Agriculture and Industry

• Agriculture
• More Chinese work in agriculture than in any
  other industry.
• China is a leading producer of several crops.
• Chinas main farmlands are in the eastern plains
  and river valleys.
• Only about 10 percent of Chinas land is good for
  farming, but a large labor force enables China to
  produce a lot of food.

• Industry
• Industry in China is growing rapidly.
• China produces everything from satellites and
  chemicals to clothing and toys.
• Industry and manufacturing are the most
  profitable part of Chinas economy.

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South China
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Chinas Agricultural Issues

• Recent problems
• Increasing the agricultural output
• Agricultural output increased significantly in
  the 1990s due to reforms.
• About 10 million new mouths to feed each year
  with declining agricultural surfaces.
• Production of grain is diverted to livestock
  (meat) and other produces (e.g. beer).
• Traditional land structures have reach optimal
  capacity
• Output cannot be increased without the usage of
  modern techniques such as machinery and
  fertilizers.
• Farm size is too small (less than 1 hectare per
  household in coastal areas).
• Limited investments in agriculture by the peasant.

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Chinas Agricultural Issues

• Land ownership
• Peasants do not own the land they use
  (collectivization).
• With reforms, most of the land has been rented.
• Peasants victims of high taxes and arbitrary
  expropriation.
• Urbanization, industrialization and transport
• Decreased agricultural land in the most
  productive areas.
• Speculation around cities towards golf courses
  and leisure centers at the expanse of
  agriculture.
• The state is investing less in agriculture.
• Local authorities are more interested by business
  (more taxes).
• Dependency
• China is now a net importer of grain.
• By 2030, China would need to import the current
  global grain production.

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Mountain Ranges of China
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Chinas Mountain Ranges

• Mountain Ranges
• Many in the area
• Himalayas
• Separate China from India
• Kunlun Mountains
• West China
• Source of Chinas two great rivers
• Huang He (Yellow) and Chang Jiang (Yangtze)

Kunlun Mountains
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Chinas Mountain Ranges

• Mountains cover 33 of China
• There are five main mountain ranges
• We are going to focus on three.

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Himalayan Mountains
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Himalayan Mountains

• The most important mountain range in Asia is the
  Himalaya Mountains.
• The Himalayas separate India from China.
• The Himalayas block clouds that are formed by
  monsoons from entering Western China.
• The Himalayas isolate Tibet and make
  transportation difficult.

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Himalayan Mountains

• Chinas natural barriers include huge mountains.
  The Himalayas are very rugged, with ten of the
  tallest peaks in the world.
• Extends more than 2, 400km in an arc shape along
  the Chinese-Indian and Chinese-Nepalese borders
• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the
  world.

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Kunlan Mountains
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Kunlan Mountains

• One of the longest mountain chains in Asia
• Extends across western China and the Tibetan
  Plateau
• The highest mountain is the Kunlun Goddess at 23,
  514 feet.

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Tien or Tian Shan Mountains
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Tien or Tian Shan Mountains

• A large mountain range located in central Asia
• It is positioned to the north and west of the
  Taklamakan Desert near the border of Kyrgystan
  and western China
• The highest peak is Victory Peak at 24,406 feet

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Altay or Atlai Mountains
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Altay or Atlai Mountains

• A mountain range in east-central Asia where
  Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhistan come
  together
• The highest mountain is Belukha at 14,784 feet

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Plateaus of China
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Inner Mongolian Plateau
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Inner Mongolian Plateau

• Is a combination of prairie, mountain, and desert
• Suitable for raising sheep
• Extremely dry weather good for growing melons and
  grapes

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Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau
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Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau

• In the southwest
• Sharp elevation
• Used terraced farming due to steep landgrade

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Tibetan Plateau
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Tibetan Plateau

• In southwest China
• Made up of high and super-high mountains and
  massive highlands
• Averaging height of 13,000 to 15,000 feet above
  sea level
• Highest point of plateau is Mount Everest
• People on the Tibetan Plateau live mostly in the
  river valleys
• In the summer, herders move their tents to new
  pastures

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Tibetan Plateau

• Rocky area of China with mountain ranges
• People who live here are called the Zhuang
• Zhuang are nomads
• The climate and food here are very different
• The Tibetan Plateau is sometimes called the Roof
  of the World due to the Himalayas
• Worlds largest plateau
• Region is bitterly cold place to live
• There are only about 50 days a year without frost
• Snowstorms are common, even in July

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Tibetan Plateau
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Tibetan Plateau

• In the southwestern part of Outer China
• Also known as the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau
• Covers about ¼ of China
• Rocky land surrounded by towering mountains
• Since its so high, the climate is very cold and
  the air is thin and dry
• Natural vegetation consists of sparse scrubs and
  grasses
• Antelopes and yaks roam the area

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Tibetan Plateau

• Dry, desolate region punctuated by mountains and
  isolated lakes
• Embraces the Himalayan Mountains, the Kunlan
  Mountains, and the Tahseh Shan Mountains

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Loess Plateau
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Loess Plateau

• One of the least inviting landscapes in China
• Was once covered by forest but is now largely
  bare except in areas of agriculture
• Everything is gritty yellow the mountains, the
  cliffs, the houses
• Sometimes the conditions are like the Dust Bowl
  in Oklahoma
• On some barren slopes, without trees or a bush in
  sight, are the slogans Make the Green Mountain
  Even Greener
• There have been problems of sinkholes in the area
• May 2005 a huge sinkhole swallowed 11 houses in
  Jixian County
• 16 people escaped the 80 meter wide, 1250 meter
  long hole
• Many farmers live in caves carved out of the
  Loess cliff sides
• Some farmers even dig down into their fields and
  make homes underground

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Great Wall of China as Geographic Barrier
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The Great Wall

• 4,000 miles long
• 30 feet wide

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The Great Wall

• Several walls were built over a long period
• Protection from Mongol horsemen from the north
  communication system
• Monumental engineering feat they claim it can
  be seen from orbit in space

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Great Wall of China

• Ancient Chinese started building the
  fortifications as early as the 8th century BC to
  help in their military efforts against nomads in
  the north
• The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty from 221-206
  BC connected the existing walls into a single
  system known as the Great Wall
• The Great Wall was periodically rebuilt, with the
  most current wall dating to the Ming Dynasty from
  1368-1644 AD.

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Deserts of China
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Deserts

• Asia is home to 3 of the worlds largest cold
  deserts
• Chang Tang, on the Plateau of Tibet in China
• Taklimakan Desert
• Gobi (Mongolian for "waterless place")

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• 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 Taklamakan 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.

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Gobi Desert
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Gobi Desert
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Gobi Desert

• Stretches over 500,000 square miles
• Covers part of China and Mongolia
• Has very few sand dunes
• Most of the desert is stony
• Surface is made up of small pebbles and tiny bits
  of sand
• Vegetation is sparse
• Plants tend to be small and widely spread

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The Gobi Desert

• The largest desert in this area is the Gobi
  Desert.
• The Gobi Desert is formed by orographic
  precipitation.
• South Asia gets rain from the monsoons but the
  Himalaya Mountains block the rain from entering
  Western China.
• Most of Western China and Mongolia are in a rain
  shadow.

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Gobi Desert

• The Gobi Desert is the largest desert in Asia and
  the fourth largest one in the world.
• It covers parts of northern and northwestern
  China and of southern Mongolia.
• It is about 1,610 kilometers at its widest point,
  and it is about 36 times larger than Taiwan.
• One of largest in the world
• In China and Mongolia
• Covers more land than Texas and California
  combined!

118
Gobi Desert

• The temperature in the Gobi Desert changes
  quickly, and at night it can be up to 38ºC colder
  than it was in the daytime.
• In winter the temperature can go down to -45ºC ,
  and in summer the temperature can be as hot as
  50ºC.
• There are also very big snowstorms and sandstorms
  that make living in the Gobi Desert difficult.
• Although it is a desert, the Gobi Desert is home
  to many types of desert animals, including brown
  bears and wolves.
• Some people also live there, but life is
  difficult and more and more inhabitants are
  moving away.

119
Gobi Desert of Mongolia
120
Gobi Desert

• Unlike many other deserts, much of Gobi Desert is
  not covered with sand, but with rock.
• The Gobi Desert was the home to the Mongols, who
  built the huge Mongol Empire across China about
  eight hundred years ago.
• The famous Silk Road linking China with the West
  also runs through this desert.
• In 1271 AD, Marco Polo traveled the Silk Road to
  China through the Gobi Desert.

121
Taklamakan Desert
122
Taklamakan Desert

• Covers about 105, 000 square miles
• Considered one of the most dangerous deserts in
  the world
• Huge sand dunes shift and change as the wind
  blows
• Sandstorms arise with stunning speed
• Legend says that two armies and 300 cities are
  buried 600 feet beneath the sand dunes
• Desert is too dry for much vegetation

123
Taklamakan Desert
124

• Taklamakan Desert Location
• Taklamakan lies in the center of the Tarim Basin,
  and the Basin is at the south of Xinjiang which
  is in north-western China.

125

• Taklamakan Desert Area
• It has 337.6 thousand square kilometers and it is
  almost ten times bigger than Taiwan.
• It is 1000km long and 400km wide.
• It is the second largest moving-sand desert on
  the earth just next in area to the Sahara Desert
  in Africa.

126

• Sea Of Death
• In the Uygur language,Taklamakan means never get
  back if you go in.
• Hence it is known as Sea of Death .
• Because of the size of the desert ,shortage of
  the water resource and easily changeable weather
  condition, exploring the desert has been a game
  of death.

127
Taklimakan Desert of China
128

• Rich Oil Resource Found
• In recent years, the finding of the oil fields is
  the main reason for the government to construct
  the highway.
• For instance, they mine oil out from the oil
  field of ??, which is a new prospect in the
  center of desert.

129
Natural Resources of China
130
Natural Resources

• Chinas Natural Resources
• Many mineral resources
• Coal, copper, tin, iron, and oil
• One of the largest coal suppliers in the world.
• Hydroelectric power (water)
• The Three Gorges Dam
• Located on the Chang River
• Built to produce more hydroelectric power
• Control flooding
• Aquaculture
• farming of fish, shellfish, and seaweed.

131
Chinas Natural Resources

• China has a large and varied stock of natural
  resources.
• The variety of different landforms, soil
  conditions, and climate patterns offers many
  different kinds of opportunities for agricultural
  production.
• A tremendous range of food and industrial crops
  can be grown, and this makes it possible for
  China to keep imports to a minimum.
• Natural resources coal, iron ore, petroleum,
  natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony,
  manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite,
  aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower
  potential (world's largest)
• Fromhttp//www.student.britannica.com/comptons/ar
  ticle-195616/China
• Fromhttp//www.indexmundi.com/china/natural_resou
  rces.html

132
Natural Resources

• Using the Land
• Little Farmland
• Many mountains and plateaus
• East Asians farm every bit of land to feed its
  population.
• Farmers
• cut terraces a flat area in a hillside that
  allows more space to grow crops.
• use double cropping growing two or more crops on
  the same land, in the same season, and at the
  same time.

133
Natural Resources

• Water resources
• Rivers and seas
• Large energy resources
• Petroleum, coal, natural gas
• Human resources
• More MANPOWER
• than anywhere else in the world!!