Chapter 19

Studying China  To understand Chinese history and geography, it’s helpful to divide it into 2 main areas: Outer China and Inner China.  Most of Chinese history involves only Inner China.  The 2 areas did not become 1 country until the 1600s C.E., but the geography of both areas affected the early settlement and history of China.

Overview  Modern day China is home to about 1.2 billion people, more than any other country.  That’s 1/5 of the world’s population!  It was much smaller in ancient times, though.  China is a land of extremes with weather varying from ice storms in the mountains to sand storms in the deserts.

The Tibetan Plateau  The southwestern part of Outer China is dominated by the Tibetan Plateau.  The plateau is so large it covers almost a quarter of the land in China.  This area is often called “The Roof of the World” because of its extremely high elevation.  Because the land is so high, the air is thin and dry, and it stays cold with snow even in the summer.  The Himalayas are on the southern edge of the plateau.

The Gobi Desert  The northwestern part of Outer China is known for its great deserts, including the Gobi and Taklimakan.  Stretching over 500,000 square miles, the Gobi Desert is one of the world’s largest deserts.  Most of the Gobi Desert is stony, not sandy.  Its surface is made up of small pebbles and tiny bits of sand.

The Taklimakan Desert  The Taklimakan Desert is about 105,000 square miles and is considered one of the most dangerous deserts in the world.  In fact, its name means, “Once you go in, you will not come out.”  Sandstorms arise with stunning speed, and legend says that 2 armies and 300 cities are buried 600 feet beneath the sand dunes.  In ancient times, this helped protect Inner China from outside invaders.

The Huang He (Yellow River)  The ground of the Gobi Desert is covered by yellow limestone silt which gets swept away by winds to the North China Plain.  There, it mixes with the waters of the Huang He River making it appear yellow.  While the Huang He helps farmers, it has also been the source of many disasters for China.  In the past 3,000 years, the river is said to have flooded more than 1,500 times!

Other Rivers  The Chang Jiang is even longer than the Huang He.  In fact, its name means “Long River.”  The climate around this river is warm and wet making it an excellent region for growing rice.  The Sungari is a very deep river.  When it freezes in the winter, people use it as a road!  Both rivers are used for transporting people and goods by boat.

Early Settlement in Ancient China  Archeologists believe that the 1 st inhabitants of China lived in caves more than 500,000 years ago.  When people in China began farming, they settled mostly on the North China Plain in Inner China.  This area had plenty of water, fertile soil, and a moderate climate while other regions were either too wet or too dry for farming.

Ancient China’s Isolation  China’s geography kept the early settlements in Inner China isolated.  In the southwest, the towering mountains, rocky plateaus, and cold climate formed a natural barrier.  In the northwest, the large deserts were another barrier.  Later in Chinese history, the same geographic features that kept China isolated also made it difficult to govern as one unified state.