Need some help teaching Chinese geography

[Pengyou]

I am teaching a short course in Chinese geography (6 weeks long) to grade 8 students.  The book uses an unusual way of dividing China, dividing it into 4 regions instead of 6.  We have the North (Dongbei + Beijing and Xianxi), the Northwest, the Southwest and then the South. I am looking for themes to use, more tangible handles than just North, Northwest.  For example, for the Northwest, I am going to call it the geography of The Silk Road.  For the South, I am going to call it the geography of the Yangze River.  Both of these topics provide a tangible image in students and are broad enough to encompass all of the geography that I want to include.  I am looking for themes for the NW and SW.   They must be NONPOLITICAL!   That is one of my problems - most of what I know about Xizang is political.  Thanks for any suggestions you can provide.

[aprilz]

Tea is a good theme.

It was discovered in the Yunnan area, flourished from there to the world.

There was the famous Tea-Horse Road going to Tibet, and Princess Wencheng married to the Tibetan king in Tang dynasty.

 

I wrote about these in an article published on my website, https://www.mslmaster.com/index.php/teaching-learning-resources/10-resources/201-famous-stories-about-tea-in-china 

[889]

"Yangtze" seems a bit odd for an area extending to Guangzhou. I'd go with something that stresses this is the fertile agricultural heartland of China. Shame you can't use "Breadbasket."

 

When I think of the NW in broad terms, I think of sand and loess: the Yellow Lands.

 

[abcdefg]

On 3/24/2022 at 10:18 PM, aprilz said:

Tea is a good theme. It was discovered in the Yunnan area, flourished from there to the world. There was the famous Tea-Horse Road going to Tibet, and Princess Wencheng married to the Tibetan king in Tang dynasty.

 

I wrote about these in an article published on my website, https://www.mslmaster.com/index.php/teaching-learning-resources/10-resources/201-famous-stories-about-tea-in-china 

 

Good idea and very interesting article, @aprilz. Tea is one of my first loves. I lived in Yunnan ten years and enjoyed seeing how it could be a "key" to unlocking China. Had not previously thought about the angle of using it as a way to understand China's geography. 

 

https://www.chinese-forums.com/forums/topic/54133-tea-articles-a-users-guide/ 

 

From your article:

Quote

In the late 1800s, China lost its dominant position in tea completely.

 

Chinese tea may have become less important on the world stage, but fortunately it retained its prominent place within China. 

 

@Pengyou 

Quote

I am looking for themes for the NW and SW. 

 

SW: "Land of mountains and tea." Maybe "Land of bamboo mountains and tea." (Sounds good, but not sure it is sufficiently accurate.) 

[vellocet]

South I would go with "The Nanfang" rather than any river-based landmarks.  Still, weird not separating out the east.

 

Be sure to mention the Qinling–Huaihe Line that divides the Nanfang from the Beifang and the Heihe–Tengchong Line which divides China into two halves: 94% of China's population live east of the line, in an area that is 43% of China's total, whereas 57% of the Chinese territory found west of the line has but only 6% of the country's population.

[abcdefg]

On 3/25/2022 at 12:06 PM, vellocet said:

Be sure to mention the Qinling–Huaihe Line that divides the Nanfang from the Beifang and the Heihe–Tengchong Line which divides China into two halves: 94% of China's population live east of the line, in an area that is 43% of China's total, whereas 57% of the Chinese territory found west of the line has but only 6% of the country's population.

 

Interesting. I did not know about these two dividing lines and the way the second one divides the population.  

[889]

Maybe the Yellow Lands, the Rugged Lands, the Fertile Lands, the Ruling Lands.