China

Relief and rivers:

China is a big country with a very complex relief. The world’s highest plateau situated in the central-southern part of China, the Tibet Plateau with its capital Lhasa is making the connection between the Kunlun Shan and Qilian Shan Mountains from the center of the country and the Himalaya Mountains, the world’s largest mountain chain. The highest peak is on the border with Nepal, Everest which is also the highest point in the world with 8.848 m height.

Inhospitable regions cover the north-western and northern parts of the country and are represented by the Taklimakan Desert, Tian Shan Mountains and especially the Gobi Desert covering almost a third of China’s surface and is the 5th largest desert in the world in a continuous expansion due to the uncontrolled deforestation. Towards the Pacific Ocean in the north-east and east parts the elevation decreases and these low elevation territories (under 300-400 m height) are crossed by many rivers which make from this area, the most fertile region from the country. The most important rivers of China are Chang Jiang or Yangtze with a length of 6.300 km, Huang He or the Yellow River Tarim He, Xi, Mekong, Brahmaputra, Nu Jiang and Amur.

Climate from China:

China’s climate is varied due to the relief and elevation. Generally, the temperatures can be between 28 and 32º C in summer and between -12 and -8º C in winter. In the north-western part the climate is dry with a low rainfall that increases towards the central and south-eastern parts. Mostly, the country has a temperate-continental climate with hot and wet summers and cold winters. The lowest temperatures register in the south where the Tibet Plateau and the Himalaya Mountains are affected by frost for the most part of the year. The highest rainfall registers also in southern China with an annual media of more than 1.200 mm due to the monsoons presence.

History and economy:

Unfortunately with a huge population like this, the conflicts were present in China‘s history. The Communist Party of China, governed by Mao Zedong, started to govern the country in 1949, after a Civil War that brought 12 million of deaths. Under a communist government, China suffered many modifications, both good like the development of teaching and sanitary systems, the introduction of the new domains that improved the economy making it one of the world’s greatest economies and also negatives through conflicts, wars and revolts that brought death for millions of people. (Find more journeys on blog.worldlifetimejourneys.com)

Cities and population:

If just half of milliard of people were living in China at the middle of the last century, today the number of the population almost tripled just in several decades. Representing the 5th part of the world’s population and going on increasing, China’s population is very difficult to support, so that severe laws were implemented forbidding more than one child to a family. Because of the so unfriendly relief from the central, southern and western parts of the country, the most of the population is living in the eastern part.

The majority of the Chinese are living in the rural area, but more and more they are trying to move in cities in the last time. The Chinese capital is Beijing situated in north-east, but Shanghai is the largest city and the most important port of the country with more than 22 million people. Other large metropolis of China with more than 6 million people are Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Chengdu, Hong Kong, Nanjing and Wuhan.

China has a history of more than 3.500 years and more than 90% of the population is Chinese Han in origins and the most important minorities from more than 55 are Zhuang, Hui, Manchu, Miao, Tujia and Uighuri. The philosopher Confucius, one of the considerable persons in China has a great influence for the Chinese people even today after 2.500 years. During thousands of years, the country passed through many dynasties like Qin (they built the Great Chinese Wall), Han, Tang, Song, Ming (they governed the country after the Mongolian subjugation), the last dynasty being Qing who came to a close when China became a Republic at 01 January 1912.

Tibet and agriculture:

The largest autonomic region is Tibet which governed by the national and spiritual commander Dalai Lama, it formed its own life style. The population of only about 2-3 millions lives modestly in villages or in the capital Lhasa and by the time China conquered the region at the middle of the last century, the Tibetans suffered and were knocked about by the Chinese authorities. More than a half of the Chinese people are working in agriculture because a great part of the territory was transformed in arable lands. The main ingredient and the most cultivated plant is the rice and China is among the world’s main producers.

They cultivate other important plants like corn, wheat, millet, barley and other cereals, soya, root vegetables, sugar cane, sugar beet, peanuts, cotton and tea trees (about the last ones, China is among the world’s main producers). The largest number of domestic animals are in China. More than 500 millions of pigs, more than 650 millions of ducks, more than 4.000 millions of chicken and over 300 millions of cattle. Besides these and many other domestic animals, the country is very good in fishing because the fish is a popular aliment in Chinese diet.

Resources and industries from China:

Because is a giant as population and surface, it has many mineral resources. It’s on the 7th place in the world as oil reserves and the 3rd world’s exporter of electricity produced due to the great coal basins that China has on its territory (it is the main producer of black coal). It has also many other resources like graphite (world’s leader), iron, manganese, tin, copper and bauxite. Ironwork, metallurgic, oil production, chemical, manuring, engineering and textile (the world’s largest industry of this kind) industries are the main Chinese industries. China’s economy is going on increasing and the infrastructure is more and more developed. However, in the central and western parts of China, the population lives modestly and the transport infrastructure is low developed.

Tourism, tourist objectives and attractions and fauna and flora:

The tourism besides agriculture and industry plays an important role in Chinese life. It is a main sector of the flourishing economy. Besides the well known Great Chinese Wall, there are numerous tourist objectives and attractions. And also ones of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. A part of the annual tourists from China concentrate on its rich fauna and flora. It has wide forested territories and thousands of species of animals. Among the best known are giant pandas, brown bears, foxes, furs, wolves, tapirs and leopards. There are also many species of monkeys, thousands of species of birds, insects, reptiles and amphibians. Visit China!

Great Chinese Wall, China