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China. CGG3O. China. 3 rd largest country in the world in area 9.6 million km 2 Largest population 1.3 Billion 4000 years of history Diverse landscape Mountains, plains, desert Diverse population 55 ethnic groups. China’s Geography. Western China is sparsely populated
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China CGG3O
China • 3rd largest country in the world in area • 9.6 million km2 • Largest population • 1.3 Billion • 4000 years of history • Diverse landscape • Mountains, plains, desert • Diverse population • 55 ethnic groups
China’s Geography • Western China is sparsely populated • Mountainous to the southwest (Himalayas) • Desert to the north (Gobi and Takla Makan) • 3 main rivers that flow from the mountains down into the coastal plains • Yellow River (Huang) • Yangtze River • Pearl River (Xi)
China’s Climate • North (Beijing) similar to Toronto • South (Guangzhou) tropical • In winter, cool dry winds blow from the west, so little precipitation • In summer, warm, moist monsoon winds blow in from the Pacific, so very wet along the coast
Chairman Mao • Chinese communist revolutionary • Seizes power in 1949 • Uses violence to overthrow landlords, converts China into a series of communes • Responsible for an estimated 40 – 70 million deaths during his reign (many during the Great Chinese Famine) • Brutal regime quashes all dissent
Chairman Mao • Many failed policies • Believed large population is good for China, under his regime China’s population almost doubled (550 million to over 900 million) • Believed industrialization was important to China’s economic growth, so puts farmers to work in factories • What do you think happened when you had twice as many people, but substantially less food producers?
China’s Economy • Strictly communist during Mao’s reign • No private property • No private business • Government decides what crops to grow, who grows what, and then distributes the food to the people
China’s Economy • Mao dies in 1978 and Deng Xiaoping takes over • Population control implemented (1 child policy) • China moves from a pure command economy to a socialist market economy • Central government still exhibits tight control over all aspects of life, but private property and profit are allowed
China Today • Currently the world’s second largest economy behind the United States • Some forecasters predict it will be the world’s largest economy by 2016 • Emphasis on manufacturing and agriculture • Cheap labour is the cornerstone of Chinese economy
China Today • China exports a massive amount of goods because of their cheap labour • They also import massive amounts of materials to fuel growth (metals, cement, oil and gas)
China vs. Canada • China’s GDP is 8 times bigger than Canada’s • Canada’s GDP per capita is 5 times larger than China’s • What does this mean?
Challenges • As the government pulls back, people who used to be guaranteed a job are now without work • Rapid growth is causing pollution and environmental degradation • Impacts of the 1 child policy • Male heirs are preferred, so large number of aborted baby girls • Today there are about 60 million more males than females in China • Ratio of working people to retired people will move from 9:1 to 4:1 by 2025
Tourism in China? • Nonexistant between 1949 and 1978 • Mao Tse-Tung’s policies were isolationist • Very few people allowed into China • About 125,000 invited guests visited over 29 years • To be caught in China without permission meant imprisonment • Those who did visit only saw what the government wanted them to see
Tourism in China • Today China is the fourth most popular tourist destination in the world • Expected to be most popular by 2020 • Mao’s cultural revolution destroyed much of China’s cultural artifacts • Under Deng Xiaoping tourism was given high priority • Historic sites restored: Great Wall, Terracotta Army, Ming Tombs
The Terra Cotta Warriorsand Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century.
Tourism in China • Remember who’s #1 worldwide? • France: annual growth rate of tourism industry is 0.1% • China’s growth rate for tourism is about 27%
More an Chinese Tourism later… • Recap: • What are the main geographic regions of China? • What’s China’s climate like? • What was the effect of Mao’s death an China’s economy and tourism specifically? • What are the problems associated with China’s huge population?