CHINA’S GEOGRAPHYTHREE STEPS IN CHINA’S LANDSCAPE

1. Top step of the staircase is in the west Himalayan Mts.

Tibet and Mount Everest “Roof of the World”

Snow all year around in the Mts. Temperature range in the region (-

40 to 100 Fahrenheit) Panda Bears live mostly in the Mts.

of south-western China

Middle StepThere are still hills, but lower and not snowy

anymoreMost of the middle part of China is deserts

The most famous is the Gobi DesertSome of it is grassland where you can graze

your cattle (mostly Yaks). But you cannot farmMongolia is in this part of China

It also gets very cold in the winter and hot in the summer

Bottom StepEastern China, nearer to the Pacific OceanLong rivers running through this part

Two biggest rivers are the Yangtze and YellowMost of the people in China live in this area

(Middle Kingdom)Plenty of water for farmingNorthern part- Mostly grow wheatSouthern part- Mostly grow riceNot as hot or cold, but in the spring/summer the

snow melts from the Mts and the rivers often flood

Geography ConclusionNortheast China

Lots of forestsDeer, reindeer and

tigersSouthernmost China

Tropical rainforest or jungle

Hot and wet in the summer (Typhoons)

Ginseng, elephants, wild chickens, leopards, and other jungle animals

XenophobiaChina traditionally

suffered from xenophobia. The fear of outsiders

Greek word xenos, meaning “foreigner” or “stranger”

They isolated themselves from the world

Facts about ChinaChinese calendar dates back to 2600 B.C.

Oldest known calendar 2010 is the “Year of the Tiger”According to readings Buddha named the years

after t he twelve animals that came to visit him before he left the earth Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep,

Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox

More FactsRed is considered a lucky color in ChinaFourth graders are expect to know 2000 of

over 40,000 written Chinese charactersIt is considered good luck for the gate to a

house to face south24% of the world speaks Chinese (over 200

different dialects (Pu-tong-hwa a.k.a. Mandarin is the official language)

And more factsAccording to economists, China will become

the world’s wealthiest nation by the year 2012

China manufactures 60% of the worlds bicycles (the United States buys 86% of the world’s bicycles)