<p> Geography of China #10</p><p>I. Introduction For thousands of years, the ancient Chinese thought they were pretty much alone on planet Earth. They knew there were people to the north, the Mongols, but they did not know that other advanced civilizations existed anywhere else. This is because 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. As the Chinese became more powerful and began to invent new products, they began to increase their trade. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Chinese traded with people in countries, such as India, Japan, and Korea. There have been so many influences throughout the development of China.</p><p>DIRECTIONS: Actively read (highlight/underline important key words/phrases, circle words you do not understand) about the geographic context of China, then evaluate if it is overall positive or negative. </p><p>GEOGRAPHIC REGION Western China: In the west of China are the Himalaya Mountains. Tibet is in this part of China, as well as Mount Everest, the world’s tallest mountain. People call it “the roof of the world”. The tops of the mountains have snow, even in the summer time! In the winter, the whole area is very cold—it can be as cold as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. However, in the summer, it can get hot, up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Panda bears live mostly in the mountains of south-western China. </p><p>Middle of China: The middle area of China is hilly, but not as tall as the mountains and not as snowy. Actually, the middle part of China is deserts. The most famous is the Gobi Desert, which is one of the driest deserts in the world! In the Gobi, there is not much water. Oases (a hub of water, often in the form of springs and wells) are rare. Some of it is grassland where you can graze cattle (mostly yaks), but you can’t farm! Mongolia is in this part of China. Here, too, it gets very cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The Taklimakan 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! </p><p>Eastern China: In Eastern China, there are long rivers running all through this part of China, running down to the Pacific Ocean. The two biggest rivers are the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. The Yellow River gets its name because of the yellow windborne clay dust called loess that is blown across the north of China from the steppes of Central Asia. The loess is blown into the river and gives it a yellow appearance. The Yangtze River is the longest river in China and longest river in the world! The Yangzi River irrigates the rice growing regions in the south of China. Most of the people of China live around here, where they can get plenty of water for farming. In the northern part, they mostly grow wheat, and in the southern part, they mostly grow rice. In this part of China, which people who live there called the Middle Kingdom. It doesn’t get as hot or as cold. However, when the snow melts in the mountains, these rivers often flood. </p><p>Northeastern China: Northeastern China has lots of forests, which there are deer and even reindeer, and tigers. In the very southernmost part of China, there’s one more kind of climate, which is almost a tropical rainforest or jungle. It is hot and wet there in the summer, and sometimes, there are typhoons, which are tropical storms, like hurricanes. Even in the winter, it never really gets cold. Ginseng, a plant, people used for medicine, grows here. There are elephants, wild chickens, leopards, and all sorts of other jungle animals. Name: ______Band: _____ TEAL PARAGRAPH RESPONSE DIRECTIONS: Using TEAL strategies fill in the template below to answer the following question: How does the geographic context of China affect the people who live there?</p><p>The geographic context of China affect the people who live there in a positive/negative (circle one) way. One reason is (state the evidence) ______. This shows that the geographic context affects the people of China and is a positive/negative (circle one) for them to live in because (analyze) ______. A second reason the geographic context of China affect the people who live there in a positive/negative (circle one) way. One reason is (state the evidence) ______. This shows that the geographic context affects the people of China and is a positive / negative (circle one) for them to live in because (analyze) ______. Overall, the geography of China is very diverse; however, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages /the disadvantages outweigh the advantages (circle one).</p><p>EXCELLENT GOOD SATISFACTORY UNSATISFACTORY</p><p> Topic sentence clearly states a  Topic sentence is clear,  Topic sentence is not clear  Topic sentence is not specific position. but does not state a and/or does not state a present.  Evidence has 3 or more specific position. position.  Evidence is not present supporting facts from the  Evidence has 2-3  Evidence is present, but to support position document to support position. supporting facts from does not have details and/or and/or evidence does not  Analysis is in-depth and the document to support position taken. support the position completely supports the support position.  Analysis has little details taken. position taken.  Analysis is vague and/or does not support the  Analysis is not present  Link of the evidence and and/or partly supports position. and/or does not support analysis is clear and the position.  Link of the evidence and the position taken. connected to the topic  Link of the evidence analysis is not clear and/or  Link of the evidence and sentence. and analysis is present and/or does not analysis is not present. connected to the topic connect to the topic sentence sentence.</p>