Intro to China

STOP AND ANSWER

1. Write down 3 observations about China from watching the video.

China is Diverse

China is a nation of great diversity of geography, culture, and economic activity. It is a vast (large) nation with approximately 1.6 billion people living there. There are many different ethnic groups living in China - this means that each ethnic group has its own unique culture. Some of groups look similar to each other and others look very different. Most people are part of the Han ethnic group, but there are many minority ethnic groups, like the Yao, Li, Hani, and Lahu ethnic groups.

The nation of China is divided up into 22 provinces, which are similar to states in the U.S. Each province has it's own variety of climates, geographic features, ethnic groups, languages, and economic activities. Today, you will be looking at Instagram pictures from Yunnan, Jiangsu and Xingiang (zin-ziang).

STOP AND ANSWER

2. How many people live in China? __________________________________

3. List four (4) different Chinese ethnic groups:

__________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Chinese provinces are similar to ______________________ in the United States.

Instagram Posts

Directions: Use the following Instagram posts by photographer George Steinmetz to answer questions 5-11.

Yunnan, China

Photo 1: Yunnan Farms

Photo 2: Yunnan Terraces

Photo 3: Yunnan Rice Paddies

STOP AND ANSWER

5. (Photo 1) Who owns virtually all of the farmland in China? _______________________________

6. (Photo 1) If the government owns all the businesses, what type of economy does China probably have?

a. capitalist economy c. communist economy

b. free-market economy d. emerging market economy

7. (Photo 2) The __________ and ________ minority ethnic groups carved the ____________________ into _____________________ that are __________________ by an elaborate system of cascading aqueducts.

8. (Photo 3) Where do most young people live? (circle one) URBAN or RURAL

Jiangsu, China

Photo 4: Jiangsu Solar Power Farm

Photo 5: Jiangsu Solar Panels

Photo 6: Jiangsu Rapeseed Flowers

STOP AND ANSWER

9. (Photo 4) China is the leading country of generating solar power. (circle one) TRUE or FALSE

10.(Photo 5) Shade in the percent of world capacity of solar power that China generates into the pie chart provided.

11. (Photo 6) Make an inference: what do you think “agrotourism” means? (hint - “agrotourism” is the words “agriculture” and “tourism” put together)

The Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam is a MASSIVE dam built on the Yangtze River in China and was completed in 2012. At over 600 feet tall and 1.5 miles long it is one of the largest dams in the world. It was started in 1994, took 18 years to build and cost $26 billion. The main reason it was built was to create energy for Chinese households, hospitals, schools, businesses and factories through hydroelectric power (energy created by fast running water. Hydro= water. Electric= Electricity). In fact, the Three Gorges Dam is the largest electric power plant in the world!

Environmentalists and engineers have been working to create new, environmentally friendly, and affordable ways of producing energy. Using hydroelectricity (water from the river), the Three Gorges Dam project creates enough energy to equal 18 nuclear power plants! The Three Gorges Dam cycles the same water through its turbines to create hydroelectricity, so it is considered a renewable resource because China will not run out of it.

STOP AND ANSWER

12. What is the Three Gorges Dam?

13. What type of power source is the Three Gorges Dam?

14. This power source is (circle one): RENEWABLE or NON-RENEWABLE

Positive Results of the Three Gorges Dam

China is the world’s fastest growing economy. Valued at over $8.8 TRILLION it is also the world’s second largest (The U.S is first at $15.7 trillion). The hydroelectric power produced by the Three Gorges Dam helps the factories to run and provides electricity to millions of people that live in China's major cities.

The dam is also positive because it doesn't hurt the environment while producing all of that energy. Cheaper forms of making energy, such as burning fossil fuels, have harmful impacts on the environment. Furthermore, coal and oil are non-renewable sources, meaning there is a limited supply of them available. The Three Gorges Dam, on the other hand, is both clean and renewable.

By damming the river, China has also slowed down flooding in some parts of China, making it easier for some farmers to grow crops like rice. The dam has also made it easier for huge ships to go up and down the river and ship products between China’s cities.

Negative Results of the Three Gorges Dam

Even though many great things have come from the Three Gorges Dam project, there are also many negatives.

When the river was blocked up by the dam, thousands of square miles of land were flooded. Over 1.3 million Chinese people were forced to move from their homes due to this flooding, and the government didn't really help them resettle somewhere else. Additionally, many important Chinese historical and cultural areas were buried underwater never to be seen again.

The environment and wildlife has also been impacted and in some areas harmed. The flooding caused by the dam led to the extinction of the Yangtze River dolphin.

Lastly, the new lake created by the dam flooded 40% of China’s wheat farms and 70% of China’s rice farms. These are two of China's most important cash crops and places where hundreds of thousands of Chinese citizens work.

STOP AND ANSWER

15. Write at least two (2) positives about the Three Gorges Dam:

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

16. Write at least two (2) negatives about the Three Gorges Dam:

____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________

Report abuse