China’s Geography
FLEXI-D
Group 1
Location of China
Exact Location:
20° - 53° N and 73° - 135° E
Relative Location:
 North: Mongolia, Russia
 East: Korea, Korea Bay, Sea of Japan, Yellow Sea, and
East China Sea
 South: South China Sea, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam,
Laos, Thailand, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan,
Bangladesh
 West: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan,
Afghanistan
Topography
 China has a varied topography:
- Large plains
- Basins surrounded by mountains
- Mountains
( 2/3 of China is composed of mountains)
- A vast plateau
- Rolling land
- Mountain ranges
Geographical Divisions
 China is divided into four groups:
-Northeast
-Northwest
-Southeast
-Southwest
Climates in the different regions
 Northeast: Dry winter climate
 Southeast: Warm-moderate climate
 Southwest: Snow/Dry climate
 Northwest: Dry climate with very hot summers and
very cold winters
Northeast
 ‘Heartland of the Chinese civilization’
 Agriculture field:
-Wheat
-Barley
-Millet
 Northernmost is Manchuria
 South is Beijing, the capital of China
Southeast
 Plenty of forests
 Rice is cultivated
 Qinling-Shan separates Northeast China from
Southeast China
Northwest
 Tarim Basin which is separated by mountains:
- Tian Shan in the north
- Kunlun Shan in the south
- Pamir and Karakorum in the west
- Gobi desert in the east
 East is Inner Mongolia
Southwest or Qinghai-Tibetan
 Tibet “Roof of the World”
 South of Tibet are the Himalaya Mountains
 Capital of Tibet- Lhasa
 People prefer to live in southern Tibet, where there
are many steppes.
 Barley is cultivated
Primary Natural Resources
Primary Natural Resources
 Water
- China has the world’s greatest potential for
hydroelectric power
- Yellow and Yangzi Rivers providing much of the
potential
*Development to China:
- Natural resource of water not only for drinking, also for
electricity
- Large population would need electricity and abudance in
water for drinking
Primary Natural Resources
 Land/Agriculture
- China ranks first in farm output, primarily
producing rice, wheat, potatoes, etc.
- Only 15% of total land area can be cultivated
- Arable land represents 10% of total arable land in
the world, supports over 20% of the world’s
population
*Development to China:
- Employs over 300 million farmers
- Able to feed very big population
Main rivers and deserts
Yangtze (Long River)
 3rd longest river in the world ( about 4000 mi)
 Floods each year leaving fertile soil along the banks
 High banks- keeps homes safe from the flooding
 Irrigates the people’s crops
Huang He (Yellow River)
 3000 mi long
 Where civilization began 5000 years ago
 Starts from the Himalayas then goes to the Yellow
Sea
 Homes near the river were destroyed due to the
flooding
 People eventually learned flood control and used the
water in their favor
 Irrigate crops, drinking water, fishing, etc.
Taklamakan Desert
 “Sea of Death”
 2nd Largest in the world
 Takla Makan means “go in and never come out”
 Ruined cities can be found in the desert
*The deserts somehow taught the people to be
conservative of their water
Gobi Desert
 1 of the driest deserts in the world
 4th largest in the world
 Covers northern parts of China
 The Himalayan mountains block the rain clouds from
reaching the Gobi
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
Tourist Attractions
 Forbidden City
- ‘Imperial City’ during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.
- Declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO
 Great Wall of China
- Originally built to protect the northern borders of the
Chinese Empire
- 8,851.8 km or 5,500.3 mi
Tourist Attractions
 Jade Buddha Temple
- In 1882, a temple was build to keep two jade
Buddha statues which have been brought from
Burma by a monk named Huigen
- The temple was destroyed, but the Buddhas were
saved and a new temple was built in 1928
- Sitting Buddha and the Recumbent Buddha
- Old-time and classical architectural style makes it
unique
Tourist Attractions
 Giant Buddha
- A giant bronze Buddha
- 111 feet tall or 34 meters high
- Largest seated Buddha in the world
- Can be found at Lantau Island in Hong Kong

Macau Tower
- One of the biggest towers in the world
- Standing at 338 meters high
- Here you can bungee jump, or climb to the top of the tower
Uniqueness of China’s geography
1.
The shape of China look like a CHICKEN
Uniqueness of China’s geography
 China’s climate is very diverse
- Dry winter climate to the northeast
- Warm-moderated climate to the southeast
- Snow/Dry climate to the southwest
- Hot summers and Cold winters to the northwest
Sources
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images.google.com
http://www.strategicforesight.com/yellowriver.htm
Chinese Influences ( SS book)
www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/jade_temple.htm
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/china/a/TibetandChina.htm
http://wikitravel.org/en/List_of_Chinese_provinces_and_regions