China

Basics - Geography

Tibetan Plateau  4500 meters = feet  World’s largest  Four times the size of Texas  Enhance monsoons  Dry out Asia  4500 meters = feet  World’s largest  Four times the size of Texas  Enhance monsoons  Dry out Asia

Gobi Desert

 Northeast of Tibetan Plateau  Fifth largest  Rocky not sandy  Cold  Desertification  Northeast of Tibetan Plateau  Fifth largest  Rocky not sandy  Cold  Desertification

Taklamakan Desert  “Go in and you will never come out”  17th Largest  Northwest of Tibetan Plateau  Cold  “Go in and you will never come out”  17th Largest  Northwest of Tibetan Plateau  Cold

The Great Wall

 Built in sections from 5th through 16th centuries  Majority during Ming Dynasty ( )  5,500 miles  Built in sections from 5th through 16th centuries  Majority during Ming Dynasty ( )  5,500 miles

Yellow/Huang He River

 2nd longest in China (sixth overall)  Loess  Flows west to east  Little more than 3000 miles  2nd longest in China (sixth overall)  Loess  Flows west to east  Little more than 3000 miles

Yellow/Huang He River  Cradle of Chinese civilization  “When the Yellow River flows clear”  Prone to flooding  Hydroelectric dams  Cradle of Chinese civilization  “When the Yellow River flows clear”  Prone to flooding  Hydroelectric dams

Yangtze River

 Longest in Asia (3rd overall)  About 4000 miles  Tibetan Plateau to Shanghai  Three Gorges Dam (largest hydroelectric)  Longest in Asia (3rd overall)  About 4000 miles  Tibetan Plateau to Shanghai  Three Gorges Dam (largest hydroelectric)

Yangtze River Delta  40% of China’s GDP  $2 Trillion  East China Sea  Urban expansion  40% of China’s GDP  $2 Trillion  East China Sea  Urban expansion

Pearl River

 Third longest in China  About 1400 miles  One of the most polluted in the world  Guangzhou  Third longest in China  About 1400 miles  One of the most polluted in the world  Guangzhou

Beijing  Peking  Capitol of PRC  Political, educational, and cultural center  Means “Northern Capitol”  Peking  Capitol of PRC  Political, educational, and cultural center  Means “Northern Capitol”

Beijing Railway Station

Nanjing

 Also Nanking  Means “Southern capitol”  Yangtze River Delta  Economic center  Also Nanking  Means “Southern capitol”  Yangtze River Delta  Economic center