CHINA :LARGEST COUNTRY IN ASIA

POPULATION : HIGHEST IN THE WORLD

CAPITAL : BEIJING

NATURAL

REGIONS : NORTHEERN PIAINS;PLAINS OF THE EAST;WESTERN

MOUNTAINOUS REGION AND SOUTHERN CHINA

RIVERS : YANGTZE AND HWANG HO

CLIMATE : HOT AND WET IN THE SOUTH; COID AND DRY IN

THE NORTH

OCCUPATIONS : AGRICULTURE, MINING AND INDUSTRY

CITIES : BEIJIN, CANTON, SHANGHAI.

Summer Palace, Beijing, ChinaSummer Palace, Beijing, China

GREAT WALL OF CHINAGREAT WALL OF CHINAPortion of the Great WallBy connecting existing sections of walled defenses, Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi constructed the first and longest section of the Great Wall of China between 221 and 204 bc. Extended under later dynasties, the Great Wall eventually became the longest human-made structure on earth, stretching about 2,400 km (about 1,500 mi). Designed to deter raids by nomadic peoples from the north, the massive earth-and-stone wall presents a formidable barrier, averaging 7.6 m (25 ft) in height and 4.6 to 9.1 m (15 to 30 ft) in width at its base.

CHINA OR THE “PEOPLES REQUBLIC OF CHINA” IS THE LARGEST

COUNTRY IN ASIA AND THE SECOND LARGEST IN THE WORLD. IT

ALSO HAS THE LARGEST POPULATION IN THE WORLD.

THE COUNTRY IS SITUATED IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHE

BETWEEN THE LATITUDES 18 DEGREES NORTH AND 54 DEGREES

AND THE LONGITUDES 65 DEGREES EAST AND 135 DEGREES

EAST.

Nathaniel Tarn/Photo Researchers, Inc.Huang He, ChinaThe Huang He (Yellow River) passes through Gansu near the city of Lanzhou. It is the second longest river in China, with a length of 4,667 km (2,900 mi).

Joan Lebold CohenYangzi River, ChinaThe Yangzi River in central China, 6,300 km (3,900 mi) long, is the longest river in Asia and the fourth longest river in the world. Here, it flows through China’s Sichuan Province. The river and its tributaries serve as major inland waterways for the country.

David Clark, Inc.Population Control Poster, Beijing, ChinaThis street scene in Beijing shows a poster for the one-child population control policy instituted by the Chinese government. To curb the growth of a population already around 1.2 billion, the Chinese government has adopted numerous measures to encourage the majority of Chinese to have only one child. The more drastic measures, including coerced or forcible abortion, have attracted considerable international condemnation.

CHINA CAN BE DIVIDED INTO FOUR MAJOR REGIONS AS FOLLOWS:

1. THE NORTHERN PLAINS

2. THE PLAINS OF THE EAST

3. THE MOUNTAINOUS WESTERN REGION

4. THE SOUTHERN REGION OR SOUTH CHINA .

THIS INCLUDES THE PLAINS IN MANCHURIA AND NORTH CHINA IN THE VALLEY OF THE RIVER HWANG HO.

THE EASTERN PART OF CHINA COMPRIES LARGE PLAINS AND A

FEW HILLS. IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THIS REGION ARE THE VALLEYS OF THE RIVER HWANG HO. IN THE MIDDLE REGIONS ARE THE VALLEY OF THE RIVER YANGTZT-KIANG WHILE IN THE SOUTH IS THE RIVER SI-KIANG. ALSO PRESENT IN THE SOUTH OF THIS REGION ARE THE COASTAL

LOWLANDS.

THIS REGION IS SEPARATED FROM NORTHERN CHINA BY

THE TSINING MOUNTAINS. THE FERTILE YANGTZE PLAINS

LIE SOUTH OF THESE MOUNTAINS.

IT IS MADE UP OF HIGH MOUNTAIN RANGES AND PLATEAUS. MANY OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGES ORIGINATE

FROM THE PAMIR KNOT. SOME OF THE MOUNTAIN RANGES

ARE KUNLUN SHAN, ALTYN TAGH AND TIEN SHAN. THE

PLATEAU OF TIBET IS SITUATED IN THIS REGION AND IS

THE WORLD.

TO THE NORTH OF TIBET AND IN WESTERN REGION

IS THE TAKLA MAKAN DESERT.

THE CLIMATE OF CHINA IS AFFECTED BY THE MONSOONS. THE

SOUTH- EAST MONSOON WINDS WHICH BLOW FROM THE SOUTH

CHINA SEA AND EAST CHINA SEA BRING RAIN TO THE SOUTHERN

AND SOUTH- EASTERN PARTS OF CHINA . THE RAINFALL DECREASES

AS WE GO FROM EAST TO WEST AND FROM SOUTH TO NORTH.

THERE ARE THREE MAJOR RIVERS IN CHINA . TWO RIVERS,THE

YANGTZE- KIANG AND THE HWANG HO ORIGINATE IN THE

MOUNTAINS OF THE TIVETAN PLATEAU. THEY FLOW EASTWARDS

THROUGH MOUNTAINS CUTTING DEEP GORGES AND VALLUIS,

AND THEN THROUGH THE PLAIN AND FINALLY EMTTY

THEMSELVES IN TO THE EAST CHINA SEA AND THE YELLOW SEA

RESPECTIVELY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

AGRICULTURE, MINING AND INDUSTRY ARE THE THREE MAJOR

OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE OF CHINA . AGRICULTURE IS

CARRIED OUT MAINLY IN THE SOUTHERN AND EAST-ERN

REGIONS. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE RAINFALL, WHICH IS

AVAILABLE IN PLENTY AND IRRIGATION BY THE RIVERS

FILOWING IN THESE AREAS.

To the northwest and north of Beijing, a huge, serrated wall zigzags it's way to the east and west along the

undulating mountains. This is the Great Wall, which is said to be visible from the moon.

Construction of the Great Wall started in the 7th century B.C. The vassal states under the Zhou Dynasty in the

northern parts of the country each built their own walls for defence purposes. After the state of Qin unified China in 221 B.C., it joined the walls to hold off the invaders from the Xiongnu tribes in the north and

extended them to more than 10,000 li or 5,000 kilometers.

THE POPULATION OF CHINA IS NOW ESTIMATED AT 1114

MILLION AND IS SAID TO BE THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD.

THE AVERAGE DENSITY OF POPULATION IS ABOUT 115

PERSONS PER SQUARE KILOMETER.HOWEVER,THE DISTRIBUTION

VERIES ACCORDING TO THE AREA. THE FERTILE LANDS HAVE

AN AVERAGE DENSITY RANGING FROM 400 TO 800 PERSON

PER SQUARE KILOMETER.

THE CAPTAL OF CHINA IS BEIJING OR PEKING AS IT USED

TO BE CALLED. IT IS THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN CHINA.

SHANANAI, WHICH IS THE LARGEST CITYIN CHINA, IS AN OLD INDUSTRIALCENTRE. MANY OF THE IRON AND STEEL AND TEXTILE

INDUSTRIES ARE LO-CATED HERE.THE OTHER IMPORTANT CITES

ARE PAOTOW, WUHAN, ANSHAN AND CANTON.