POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH ASIA
HISTORY Oldest continuous civilization -4,000 + years old Invented gunpowder, compasses, paper, printing, porcelain, & silk cloth
HISTORY, CON’T. Promoted isolation until 1800s Europeans forced China -built Great Wall of China to keep Mongol invaders out Europeans forced China to trade with them -created colonial cities
HISTORY, CON’T. -sought to modernize & Communist Party took control in 1949 -sought to modernize & industrialize China -est. a command economy -outlawed religion
GREAT WALL OF CHINA Begun by emperor Shi Huangdi in 220 B.C. A series of walls connected over time -from Yellow Sea to Gobi Desert Offered protection, but also caused isolation
CHINA TODAY Most populated country Still communist Emerging economic -1.4 billion people -70% live in the east Still communist Emerging economic superpower -has eased command economy lately
CHINA’S ECONOMY Fastest growing economy in world -based on cheap labor -has natural resources needed for industry -USA’s biggest rival