China's Environment
China is a huge country so the environment varies from place to place. There are mountains, deserts, rivers and temperate rain forests.
Rice is a very important food in China. Rice paddies like these can be seen in the countryside.
In some areas there are plateaus.
There are also a lot of rivers in China. Some flow to the sea. Others flow into lakes and salt-lakes. The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world.
Here we are on a raft floating down a river.
China is badly affected by natural disasters. This has a terrible impact on the lives of those effected.
There are typhoons in China every year. They develop over warm water. They bring with them a lot of rain and strong winds. Coastal regions are the areas most damaged during the typhoons, particularly if the tides are high. There can be terrible flooding during a typhoon. Satellites track the typhoons so that people can stay safe. |
If the earthquakes are very bad buildings can collapse, roads can be damaged and people can be badly injured.
The ancient Chinese believed that earthquakes were important signs from the heavens. They thought it meant that the Gods were displeased. They wanted to monitor them. The first earthquake detector was made by an inventor called Zhang Heng. The device was made of bronze. There were eight dragons around the outside of the device. Each dragon pointed in a different direction. There was a ball in each dragon's mouth. When an earthquake hit the dragon which was facing the direction of the earthquake released its ball. The ball fell into the mouth of the toad which was beneath the dragon.
When earthquakes hit China they often cause tsunamis.
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Cherry blossoms can be seen in the spring. |
China is a produce or iron, steel, rubber and plastic.
Items such as televisions, computers, i-pads, laptops, mobile phones, cars, tractors and airplanes. As a result of all the manufacturing there are some issues with pollution.
As a lot of electricity needs to be generated for homes and factories a huge dam was built in the Yangtze river. The Three Gorges Dam is the biggest hydroelectric dam in the world. Hydro-electricity uses the force of gravity and water to power the large turbines. It is a clean source of electricity. However the building of the dam caused its own environmental issues.