GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA

How does geography impact China?

China Geography

Main Idea: The

geography of China greatly impacted its

development.

China GeographyThe land of China is part of a vast region that is today called mainland East Asia. China is located on

the continent of Asia.

Today, this area includes the countries of

China, Mongolia, North Korea and

South Korea.

China Geography

Although we will be studying China over a span of years, we will

be focusing on Imperial China, which means the time period in which China was

ruled by an emperor.

The geography of East Asia had a dramatic effect on the settlement of China. Words

like highest, longest, and largest come to mind when

describing China’s geography.

China is considered a land of contrasts because the

weather can vary from ice storms to sandstorms, from freezing temperatures to hot

temperatures.

China has several extreme locations, such as those near the towering Himalaya mountains or the dry Gobi desert. As a result, few people settled there. Areas closer to the coast were the real population centers of China.

Find the North China Plain, the Huang He (Yellow River), and the Chang Jiang (YangtzeRiver). This is where Chinese civilization began. People could grow food here, transportation was easy, and tradeflourished. The busting market led to the growth of cities.

Several emperors were able to expand China’s borders to the west and south; however, other directions were blocked

due to geographic features. Overall, China was able to protect itself behind

its oceans, mountains, and deserts, easily cutting itself off from the world. These natural barriers, or barriers that appear

naturally through geography, greatly impacted Chinese civilization.

Despite these barriers and challenges, China eventually

unites, calling their homeland “The Middle Kingdom” because

to them, it was the world’s center.

China’s Geographic Features

You should have the following 14features labeled on your map

Taklimakan Desert

Gobi Desert

Tibetan Plateau

North China Plain

Yellow River

Yangtze River

Himalaya Mountains

Kunlun Mountains

Mt. Everest

Yellow Sea

East China Sea

Mongolia

Korean Peninsula

Tian Shan Mountains

Taklimakan Desert

Covers about 105,000 miles

Considered one of the most

dangerous deserts in the world

It’s name means “once you go in,

you will not come out”

Has little vegetation

Known for its

sandstorms

Taklimakan Desert

Taklimakan Desert

Taklimakan Desert

Gobi DesertCovers over

500,000 miles

One of the world’s largest

deserts

Covers parts of China and

Mongolia

Few sand dunes, mostly small pebbles

Gobi Desert

Gobi Desert

Tibetan Plateau “The Roof of the

World”- high elevation

Rocky land surrounded by

towering mountains

Himalayas make up the southern

edge of the plateau

Two of China’s major rivers begin here

Tibetan Plateau

Tibetan Plateau

North China Plain

Flat region of grassland

“Land of the Yellow Earth”-

ground is covered in yellow

limestone silt

Grassy and fertile

This is where Chinese

civilization began

North China Plain

North China Plain

Huang He (Yellow River)

Flows for more than 2900 miles

Its name comes from the yellow

soil it carries

“China’s Sorrow”- because it flooded, killing

many

Floods were good also because it left behind rich

soil

Huang He (Yellow River)

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)

Flows for about 3400

miles

Empties into the Yellow

Sea

Provides rich soil for

farming

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)

Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)