1. China
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2. China 3rd largest country in the world in area Largest population
9.6 million km2
Largest population
1.3 Billion
4000 years of history
Diverse landscape
Mountains, plains, desert
Diverse population
55 ethnic groups

4. China’s Geography Western China is sparsely populated
Mountainous to the southwest (Himalayas)
Desert to the north (Gobi and Takla Makan)
3 main rivers that flow from the mountains down into the coastal plains
Yellow River (Huang)
Yangtze River
Pearl River (Xi)

5. China’s Climate North (Beijing) similar to Toronto
South (Guangzhou) tropical
In winter, cool dry winds blow from the west, so little precipitation
In summer, warm, moist monsoon winds blow in from the Pacific, so very wet along the coast

7. Chairman Mao Chinese communist revolutionary Seizes power in 1949
Uses violence to overthrow landlords, converts China into a series of communes
Responsible for an estimated 40 – 70 million deaths during his reign (many during the Great Chinese Famine)
Brutal regime quashes all dissent

8. Chairman Mao Many failed policies
Believed large population is good for China, under his regime China’s population almost doubled (550 million to over 900 million)
Believed industrialization was important to China’s economic growth, so puts farmers to work in factories
What do you think happened when you had twice as many people, but substantially less food producers?

9. China’s Economy Strictly communist during Mao’s reign
No private property
No private business
Government decides what crops to grow, who grows what, and then distributes the food to the people

10. China’s Economy Mao dies in 1978 and Deng Xiaoping takes over
Population control implemented (1 child policy)
China moves from a pure command economy to a socialist market economy
Central government still exhibits tight control over all aspects of life, but private property and profit are allowed

11. China Today
Currently the world’s second largest economy behind the United States
Some forecasters predict it will be the world’s largest economy by 2016
Emphasis on manufacturing and agriculture
Cheap labour is the cornerstone of Chinese economy

12. China Today
China exports a massive amount of goods because of their cheap labour
They also import massive amounts of materials to fuel growth (metals, cement, oil and gas)

13. China vs. Canada China’s GDP is 8 times bigger than Canada’s
Canada’s GDP per capita is 5 times larger than China’s
What does this mean?

14. Challenges
As the government pulls back, people who used to be guaranteed a job are now without work
Rapid growth is causing pollution and environmental degradation
Impacts of the 1 child policy
Male heirs are preferred, so large number of aborted baby girls
Today there are about 60 million more males than females in China
Ratio of working people to retired people will move from 9:1 to 4:1 by 2025

15. Tourism in China? Nonexistent between 1949 and 1978
Mao Tse-Tung’s policies were isolationist
Very few people allowed into China
About 125,000 invited guests visited over 29 years
To be caught in China without permission meant imprisonment
Those who did visit only saw what the government wanted them to see

16. Tourism in China
Today China is the fourth most popular tourist destination in the world
Expected to be most popular by 2020
Mao’s cultural revolution destroyed much of China’s cultural artifacts
Under Deng Xiaoping tourism was given high priority
Historic sites restored: Great Wall, Terracotta Army, Ming Tombs

18. The Great Wall of China

19. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century.

20. Tourism in China Remember who’s #1 worldwide?
France: annual growth rate of tourism industry is 0.1%
China’s growth rate for tourism is about 27%