Understanding the Geography of China

An Assemblage of Pieces

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Just as the physical environment shape human societies, human settlements have changed the natural landscape. Photo: mote/flickr.

Qinghai and the Tibetan Plateau
Physical characteristics: Altitude, which can average 3962.4 meters
(13,000 feet), best defines the physical environment of the
Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Except in the bright sunlight, it always is
very cold. Located mostly in the rain shadow of the Himalayas, the
region is arid to semi-arid. This means that despite a latitude close
to the Tropic of Cancer, Qinghai and Tibet are nontropical for the most
part. Still, there are areas along its southern and western boundaries,
where rhododendron and banana trees grow in the shadow of active
glaciers. This is attributable to the heavy rainfall and temperatures
associated with the Indian monsoon.

History: Because of the region's adjacence to India and central Asia,
the people, economies, and even religion of Qinghai and Tibet have
seldom been affected by those of China in the east. Even Mongolia had
closer cultural links to this region than did China proper. Animal
husbandry and nomadism are traditional ways of life. Until the 1950s,
one out of every five Tibetans was a Buddhist nun or monk. Monasteries
have been at the center of society since at least the eighth century.

Economic activities and resources today: Qinghai and Tibet remain
remote and largely unpopulated. Where conditions permit, the Chinese
have encouraged the westward migration of farmers from overpopulated
areas to the east. Animals continue to be raised, and wool weavings are
another important product. Goods are also produced from indigenous gold
and turquoise.

Housing: nomads live in yak-felt tents. Homes are two stories with
inward-slanting mud, earthen, brick, or stone walls and earthen floors.

Social organization: monasteries play a role in Buddhist communities,
mosques in Islamic ones. Nomads gather in family clusters.
Transportation: walking, caravans, trucks and buses, horses in rural areas; bicycles and cars in urban areas
Food staples: yak butter, tea, barley, vegetables, yak, or lamb

Tying It All Together: From Empire to State
Clearly, to create political "China," it is still important to tie
these different regions together. Transportation remains the most
crucial factor. As the means of tying the country and its regions
together proceeded, a common written language and shared cultural
values evolved. The written language and the bureaucratic class that
used it were pivotal in creating a net of a shared experience and
cultural values that bonded the disparate geographies and spoken
languages of China and linked the past to the present.

Because the origins of China's empire lay in its interior, imperial
highways were initially the most important features of the
transportation system. The network of imperial highways was first
established by Qin Shihuangdi (258-210 B.C.E.), who united the kingdoms
of China in 221 B.C.E. He also initiated the construction of a canal
system. By the Song dynasty (960-1279 C.E.), canals linked the lower
Yangzi Valley and regions south of it to the North China Plain. Natural
lakes and rivers also helped unify the Chinese Empire, with the Yangzi
and its tributaries tying together coastal and interior regions. Except
in Qinghai and the Tibetan Plateau and Xinjiang, an extensive rail
system links China and is the most common form of long-distance travel.

One cannot underestimate the importance of television and telephones as
well as the airlines in promoting the Chinese view of themselves as one
people and culture. Their value in political control was demonstrated
in 1989 when televised "wanted" posters were broadcast instantaneously
throughout China, and in June 1997 when the reunification of Hong Kong
became an ethnic rallying point. The images and issues were
simultaneously shared with Han Chinese throughout the People's Republic
as well as in other parts of the world. The Internet is gaining
popularity, though chiefly in urban areas. However, the central
government is fearful of its inability to actually monitor and control
such communication.