Geography of China 

• For thousands of years, the ancient Chinese thought they were pretty much alone on the planet Earth. They knew there were people to the north, the Felt Tent People - the Mongols - but they did not know that other advanced ancient civilizations existed anywhere else

China's natural barriers to the west, south, and east helped to protect these early people

from invasion.

• China's natural barriers include seas - the China Sea and the  Yellow Sea, both located in the Pacific Ocean. These seas provide a huge coastline, which provided trade routes and easy access to food.  

•China's natural barriers also include mountains, deserts, and rivers.  As you can see, China has many natural barriers, all of which helped to keep her isolated from the rest of the world for many thousands of years. 

Gobi and Taklamakan Deserts

• The Gobi Desert is one of the driest deserts in the world. In the Gobi, there is at least the hope of water, although an oasis is rare

• The Taklamakan Desert, China's other desert, is nicknamed the Sea of Death.

It offers poisonous snakes, frequent sand storms, boiling days, freezing nights, and intense water shortages. The Sea of Death is not a small desert. In fact, it is the second largest desert in the world. 

–Chinese RiversYellow River & Yangtze River

• The Yangtze (Long River) is the third longest river in the world. It is about 4000 miles long. It floods each year and leaves fertile soil along the banks .

• The Huang He (Yellow River) is about 3000 miles long. It also floods each year. The banks along the Huang He River are low.

• Civilization in ancient China began along the Yellow River about 5000 years ago. 

MOUNTAINS

• The Himalayan Mountains are not located in modern day China. They run along the border to the south. In ancient times, these mountains helped to protect the early Chinese people from invasion.

• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world! But Mount Everest is not the only high peak in the Himalayan Mountains. The Himalayas include ten (10!) of the highest peaks in the world.  

•Mount Everest is:

•29029 feet