365 Days of Climate Awareness 309 – Introduction to China

China is one of the world’s great ancient civilizations, with some of the earliest proto-human remains, a deep, rich cultural tradition, and growing world power now. Militarily and politically, but especially economically, China’s rise through the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries to a prominent global role has been rapid. China is the most populous nation on earth, with 1.413 billion people, and an area of 9,596,961 sq km/3,705,407 sq mi (not counting the occupied area of Tibet), a little larger than the United States. Its capital is Beijing.

Map of China.

Köppen-Geiger climate zones, 1980-2016.

Hominid remains have been found there dating to 2.5 MYA. The Homo erectus fossil Peking Man dates to 680-780 KYA, and several more stone-age fossils have been found. In the third millennium BCE the semi-legendary Xia dynasty appeared, beginning a long run of many successive civilizations and empires. The scope of Chinese history is too deep and broad to attempt any summary in a paragraph. Among its many achievements in arts, literature and science, one of China’s lasting cultural legacies is the meritocratic administrative state, a tradition which many historians have argued prepared it for today’s authoritarian (ostensibly Communist) form of government. The succession of empires came down to the Qing dynasty which fell in 1912 and after a period of instability gave rise to the Republic of China which, through a long and sometimes tortuous existence, has become the world power it is now.

China population, 1890-2029 (projected).

The coastal city of Shanghai.

In the 1970’s, as China’s population was approaching one billion, the government’s fear of not enough resources to support all the people led to the creation of the one-child policy, where most families (generally in urban areas) were restricted to one child. The policy was formally instituted in 1980 and kept in place until 2015, during which time China’s population curve began to flatten. Some statistics show a slight decline in the country’s population between 2021 and 2022, signaling the start of a downward population trend, mirrored in other industrialized nations.

Inner Mongolia.

Yangtze River Three Gorges.

China stretches from roughly 18º to 54º N latitude. Its climate ranges from tropical in the southern regions of Hainan and Guandong, to cold and arid in the northern Gobi and Taklamakan deserts. The bulk of middle China, in the eastern and central regions, is temperate, with the major Yellow and Yangtze rivers flowing eastward from Tibet. Its coasts border the East and South China Seas, both (and especially the South) potential repositories of significant oil and gas deposits, and both areas of significant geopolitical concern in the ongoing competition between China and the United States and its allies. Much of China’s climate is monsoonal, with a dry winter and a wet summer season. China is classified as a “megadiverse country”, meaning it harbors a large number of the planet’s existing plant and animal species.

Zhangjiajie National Park.

Tomorrow: 20^th and 21^st century economic development of China.

Be brave, and be well.