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| THE CHINA: The largest Populous Country |
China is an ancient country in Asia and also the largest in the world. China became a republic after the October 1949 Revolution. In the ancient time people of China and India had enjoyed greatest cooperation, peace, harmony and exchange of culture Migration was common in practice Great scholars Hwen-Tsang and Fahyan were among many who studied at Nalanda University. The Chinese medicine had very high reputation . |
| Location, extent and boundaries |
China extends from 18° N latitude and 73°E to 135° E longitude. The total area of the country is about 95,61,000 square Kilometers. Its population is about 113 crores. China is the most populous country in the world. China has a coastline of about 11,000 kilometers long.
To the north of China lie Mongolia and Russia and to the north-east lie North Korea and Russia again. To the east of China lies the Pacific Ocean while to the south lie the China sea, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and India. To the west of China are the countries of India and Afghanistan. |
| Physical features |
China is divided into two main physical regions
(a) the region of plateaus and mountains, and
(b) the eastern coastal plains. |
| Rivers |
The Huang He, the Chang Jiang and the Si are the main rivers of China.
The other rivers in China are the Amur, the Ussuri and the Liao. All the major rivers in China meet the Pacific Ocean in the east. |
| Climate |
The climate of China is of the monsoon type. It is hot in the southern regions but as move north wards, the temperature goes on decreasing. Very low temperatures are recorded in winter. Cold winds blow across the Gobi Desert during winter. Due to the cold winds the temperature in Northern China drops 0oC. The summer temperatures are generally between 26°C to 28°C. |
| Vegetation and animals |
Once there was extensive forest cover in China . But it has been cut down on a large scale to make way for settlement , agriculture and fuel. Now, some forests arte seen on the Yuman Plateau, in Heungkiang (Manchuria) and on the hill-slopes in the south-east. |
| Minerals |
China abundant mineral wealth. Coal is found in plenty in Heungkiang and on the Loess plateau. Several minerals are found on the Plateau of Tibet. On the Yunnan Plateau, gold, antimony, copper, tungsten zinc are found. China rank first in the world in the production of tungsten and antimony. Manganese, silver, lead, zinc are some of the other minerals found in China.
Reserves of natural gas are found near Canton (Guang Zhou) and Shanghai. Other energy resources are mineral oil, natural gas, and hydro-electricity. |
| Agriculture |
China is an agricultural country. Most of the people are engaged in agriculture which is carried out on a collective basis.
Rice is the main crop of China. China is the leading producer of wheat, jute, groundnut and cotton. China also produces tobacco, barley, soyabean, tea and sugarcane. |
| Occupations |
Though agriculture is the main occupation in China , it is also a highly industrialises country. China has factories manufacturing aluminium, steel and steel goods, cement, glassware, plastic goods, match-boxes, machinery, electrical appliances, cheroots, cigarettes, soaps, fertilizers, chemicals, paper etc. |
| Trade |
China exports cotton cloth, mineral oil, oil products, chemicals, industrial goods, raw silk, tungsten, to other countries and imports machinery , means of transport, chemical fertilizer, wheat, iron, steels, motor-cars etc. |
| Transport and communication |
Formerly, yaks, horses, donkeys and camels were used for transport in China. Evan today, animals are used for transportation in the hilly regions. Waterways and roads are used extensively in China.
There are few railway routes in China. The north-south railway line between Beijing and Guang Zhou (Canton) is an important railway line.
The length of roadways in China is many times more than the length of the railway routes.
Air transport has proved very useful in the vast country of China with its varied landscape.
The number of telephones has now increased in China. Besides,there arec radio and television transmission centres in several places. |
| Human life |
A majority of people in China are yellow-skinned Many people in this country are Buddists. There are a number of Muslims and Christians as well. Their diet includes various cereals, potatoes and sweet potatoes. The diet varies in each province. Soyabean cottage-cheese and bamboo shoots have an important place in the Chinese diet. Tea is a favourite beverage here.
The dress of a common Chinese man consists of a closed-collar shirt or coat, short trousers, and a short, round cap. Women wear a long dress and pyjamas.In the very cold northen regions, clothes are made from quilts padded with cotton.
The favourite pastimes of the Chinese people are making huge kites in the shape of various birds and animals and flying them, making paper-lanterns and setting up their decorations, and letting off crackers. Their favourite sports are archery, wrestling, boxing and hunting. They are also fond of painting , music and dance |
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| Chief cities and towns : |
| Beijing (Peking) |
This city has been the capital of China since ancient times. The city has imposing historical buildings, wide roads and squares, and palaces. |
| Shanghai |
This is an important city from the point of view of administration . It is also a large port and major industrial and commercial centre. |
| Nanjing |
This is a commercial city on the Chang Jiang river. There are cement and car factories in this city. |
| Canton (Guang Zhou) |
This is Situated near the mouth of the Si river. It is an important commercial centre in region. |
| Dairen |
This is an excellent port on the east coast and a centre where several transport routes converge. There are factories manufacturing electrical appliances, mining tools, and ship building etc. in dairen. |
| Hang Zhou |
Hang Zhou is a big city on the river Chang Jiang and lies on the Beijing-Guang Zhou railway route. There are big iron and steel plants here. |
| Lhasa |
Lhasa is the capital of Tibet. It is famous for ‘Potala’, the grand palace of the Dalai Lama. The highest altitude airport in the world is situated in Lhasa. |
| The outstanding features of China |
The Great wall of China and the Grand Canal are great trourist attractions. Thje Great wall of China is 2253 Km long and considered as one of the wonders of the world. The Grand Canal which is 1700 Kilomerres long joins the cities of Tiangjin and Hang Zhou. |
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| THE MALDIVES |
The country Maldives came into existence on 26 July 1965 when it received independence from U.K . Maldives is an island country in south Asia located south west of India in the Indian ocean. |
| Location extent and boundaries |
Maldives lies in the south & south west of Indian Ocean. This country lies above the equator between 0°N-10°N and between 72°E to 74°E (approximately) having total area of 300 sq. km and the population of roughly 261,310 (July 95). India lies to its north east and Africa to its west. The nearest Island group to Maldives has a coastline of 644 km. |
| Climate |
This small country has a tropical climate which is hot, humid & dry. It has north-east monsoon from November to March and rainy south-west monsoon from June to Aug. the temperature in summer is roughly between 20°to 30°. Depletion of freshwater aquifers threatens water supplies and the low level of islands makes them very sensitive to sea level rise. |
| Vegetation and Animal |
Fishing is the main wealth of Maldives. Besides this, she also grows coconut, corn, sweet potato. The animal wealth is very limited. |
| Industries and occupation |
Maldives has industries for fishing and fish processing other than shipping and boat building. The tourism is the source of revenue. Some units of coconut processing, Garments, woven mats, coir, Handicrafts also exists. The major commodities of exports are fish and cloth. Maldives imports consumer goods, intermediate capital goods and the petroleum products. The industrial production growth rate is 24% which accounts for 6% of Gross Domestic Product. |
| Transport & Communication |
Most of the roads in Maldives are around the capital Male. She has two airports with the paved runways. Shipping Port is at Gan Male, The merchant marine wealth contains 16 ship[s (14 cargo, 1 container, 1 oil tanker) Telephone system consists of 2804 telephones with 1 INTELSAT (Indian Ocean) earth station for international communication. |
| Human Life |
The population of Maldives is nearly less than 3 lacs. Most of the people speak Divehi (a dialect of Sinhala), English is spoken by most of the Government officers. The population growth rate is 3.5%, having 47% below 14yrs and 50% between 15-64 age group. People are simple. Fishing and farming are the main occupations. Literacy rate is very high among the younger generation, (above 15 of age 91% can read and write.) |
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