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China in the 21st Century and the 5 Themes of Geography

Page history last edited by Robert W. Maloy 11 months, 2 weeks ago
                                                                                                                           Great Hall of the People, Beijing

Great Hall of the People, Beijing

 

 

Topics on this page:

 

China and the 5 Themes of Geography

 

Major Events in China, 2000-2023

 

Modern Leadership 

 

  • Xi Jinping & The CCP
  • One-Child Policy 

 

Global Trade Market

 

  • What is a socialist market economy?

 

Environmental Impacts

 

  • Three Gorges Dam 
 
external image Flag_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China.svg

 

Overview

 

China Overview from the World Bank

China Country Profile from BBC News

China Introduction from Michigan State University

 

 

 

China and the 5 Themes of Geography

 


Place
(Human or physical characteristics that distinguish one place from another)

 


  • Most of China's population lives in the eastern half of the country

 

  • Climate can range from subarctic in the far north, to mountainous in the southwest, to rain forests in the southeast

 

  • China's river systems comes from the Himalayan Mountains and extends eastwards to the Pacific Ocean 

 

  • According to the 2020 census, 91.1% of the population is Han Chinese, leaving just 8.9% as minorities

 

  • Around 25-35% of the population works in agriculture 

 

 

China from National Geographic for Kids

 

Video: Why 94% of China Lives East of This Line from Real Life Lore

 

Chinese Agricultural Productivity

 

 

Location

(How a place is related or connected to other places)

                                                                                                                                                       

external image Giant_Panda_2004-03-2.jpg

  • China borders 14 countries, the largest of which is Mongolia. Other countries include Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.

 

  • China also shares maritime (water) borders with Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippine Islands, and Taiwan. 

 

  • China owns part of the Himalayan Mountain range, and continues to dispute borders with India. 

 

Movement

(How goods, services, people and ideas are

exchanged from place to place)

 

  • The most exported products are technology and electronics

 

  • China mainly uses shipping to exchange goods and products

 

  • The port of Shanghai accounts for 25% of the world's shipping traffic

 

  • Numerous rail networks around the country help transport inland goods 

 

China's Top 10 Exports

Goods Manufactured in China Not Good for the Environment, Study Finds from University of California Irvine (September 28, 2015)


Region

(The unifying human and physical characteristics found in a place)

 

  • Some aspects of customs and traditions in China include religion, language, foods, the arts, science, and technology

 

  • China is officially an atheist nation, although the government does recognize 4 religions: Buddhism, Islam, Daoism, and Christianity

 

  • Culture in China is heavily influenced by Confucianism

 

 

 

Human Environmental Interaction

(Ways humans interact positively or negatively with their environment)

 

  • China's main source of power and electricity is coal

 

  • Due to coal burning, China accounts for around 30% of global CO2 emissions

 

  • China is building hydroelectric dams, such as the Three Gorges Dam, which continuously displaces local population, destroys farmland, and harms natural habitats

 

Major Events in China, 2000-2023

 

  • 2000: Consolidation of internet regulations
  • 2008: Beijing Summer Olympics
  • 2010: China becomes the 2nd world largest economy
  • 2013: Xi Jinping elected as president, beginning of civil rights restrictions
  • 2014: Hong Kong umbrella movement
  • 2016: Lifting of the One-Child Policy 
  • 2018: Xi Jinping elected for a second term, removal of term limits for president
  • 2019-2020: Hong Kong protests
  • December 2019: COVID-19 begins in the Wuhan province
  • 2022: Beijing Winter Olympics
  • 2022: White Paper protests 
  • 2023: Xi Jinping elected for unprecedented third term

 

Modern Leadership 

 

Xi Jinping and the CCP

 

  • The current president of China is Xi Jinping, now serving a third term as president 

 

  • The ruling party is the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), established in 1949. All other political parties are banned

 

  • The CCP holds the title for largest political party in the world with around 96 million party members

 

  • Since being elected president, Xi Jinping has repeatedly restricted human rights and opportunities for Chinese citizens

 

Reading about the CCP from the Council on Foreign Relations 

 

One-Child Policy 

 

  • Between 1979 and 2016, China restricted families to only being able to have a single child

 

  • This was done due to China's severe overpopulation, now sitting at 1.4 billion people

 

  • The lift of the policy in 2016 did not encourage families to have more than one child due to economic constraints

 

History and effects of the One-Child Policy , Britannica

 

Global Trade Market

 

  • China's largest trade partner is the United States

 

  • Many companies establish themselves in China for cheaper workers and factories

 

  • China is the top trading partner of 120 countries worldwide

 

From the Office of the United States Trade Representative,  Chinese trade relations with the United States

 

What is a socialist market economy?

 

  • Despite officially being a communist country, Chinese economy is considered a "socialist market economy". 

 

  • From BankPedia, "The term socialist market economy indicates the Chinese economic structure, characterized by a mixed system presenting the typical features both of market and planning economies."

 

Socialist Market Economy

 

Environmental Impacts

 

  • Due to coal burning and dam construction, China impacts the environment harmfully

 

  • Coal burning leads to fossil fuels being released into the air, creating smog and poor air quality

 

  • Dam construction destroys local wildlife and farmland, and also displaces millions of people

 

Three Gorges Dam

 

  • The massive hydroelectric dam, finished in 2003, displaced 1.4 million people along the Yangtze River 

 

Video about the impact of the Three Gorges Dam from TED-Ed 

 

 

Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River
Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River

 

 

 

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