Download East Asian

East Asian
Geography and Economy
Landscape and Climate
• Landscape
– Region set off from Eurasia by mountains,
plateaus, and deserts
• People developed own societies
• Mountain areas thinly populated
– Most Chinese live in river valleys and fertile plains
Landscape and Climate-cont.
• Typhoons (Cyclones)
– Wind and rain storms with the force of a
hurricane
– Affects coastal areas
• Destroys property and takes lives
– People live along coast because of fertile soil for farming
and offshore fishing
Landscape and Climate-cont.
• China’s climate
– Varies because of huge size of country
– Hot and tropical in south to colder humid continental in the north
• Climate Regions
– Arid China
• Lies north and west
• Dry
• Humid China
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Also called Monsoon China
Lies south and east
Moisture comes from summer monsoon
Area is densely populated
China’s Rivers
• Rivers used for irrigating land
• Huang He River
– Carries tons soil (silt)
• Supports farming
• Yangzi River
• Provides transportation of people and goods
– 35,000 miles navigable waterways
– 1,700 miles internal transportation
• Aided with China’s development and stability as an empire
• Provides hydroelectric power
Balancing Communism and the
Economy
• Deng
– Leader who launched reform to modernize China
• Reform # 1
– Expanding Agricultural Output
• Land government owned, but farm families leased land
• Allowed to make decisions about what to grow and how
much to sale
• Part crop used to pay taxes, rest free to do as they wished
– Incentive to work hard and increase crop output
Balancing Communism and the
Economy-cont.
• Reform # 2
– Developing Modern Industry
• Government forced factories to become more
efficient
– Managers responsible for producing quality goods and
for making a profit
• Government allowed small, private business to
open
• Foreign investors permitted to open businesses
Balancing Communism and the
Economy-cont.
• Reform # 3
– Improving Science and Technology
• Special Economic Zones (SEZ)
– Foreign investors can run factories with little government
regulation
– Provided jobs and introduced Chinese to advanced
science and technology
– Sent thousands of students abroad to study
Balancing Communism and the
Economy-cont.
• Economic Growth vs Party Leadership
– Deng did not want political freedom
• Government relies on Communist ideology
– Ideology: body of thought or theories about a culture
– Both Communist and Confucian governments
carefully control people
• Ideal of both governments has been to provide for
the people’s needs and to ensure peace and order
China’s Products and the Economy
• China has abundant coal and iron ore in north
and northeast
– Help China become major steel producer
• South China has lead, mercury, tungsten, gold,
uranium, copper, and silver
– Help China become major industrial power
• China has huge oil reserves
– Help power machines
China’s Products and the
Economy-cont.
• Water
– Used as an energy resource
– Hydroelectric power plants built along great
rivers and small waterways
• Provide power for factories and villages