Population. Economic Activities. Cities of the CPR

     Quantity and Density of Population. The Chinese People's Republic numbers over 700,000,000 people.
Most densely populated is Eastern China, where the number of people reaches 800 to the square kilometer. Western China, on the other hand, is more thinly populated (about 2—3 persons to the square kilometer).

Fig. 101. A rice field. All the work has to be done ankle-deep in water (transplanting, weeding, etc.)
Ethnic Structure. The majority of the population of the country are Chinese. There live, however, many other peoples in China, mainly in the outlying regions. In the southern part of Eastern China lives a numerous people called the Chuangs, whose language is very much like those of Indo-China. The lofty Tibetan Plateau is in­habited by the Tibetans, the arid regions of North-Western China by the Uigurs (kindred to the Uzbeks), the Plateau of Gobi by the Mongols.
Economic Activities. The majority of the population of China is rural, and the chief occupation is agriculture. The Chinese are experienced and skilful farmers. On the plains of Eastern China there is not a plot of uncultivated land. Hardly is one crop gathered in when another is already planted. In many places in the south two or three crops a year are grown. The pains taken over culti­vation of the land, over even individual plants, could be expected sooner in gardening than agriculture.
The Chinese have been digging canals for carrying water to their fields and planting rice from prehistoric times. Rice is a marshy plant needing much water. The Chinese plant the young shoots in flooded fields that are covered with water all the rice is ripening. Rice is the main food of the Chinese, important to them as bread to us.
Rice is grown mainly in the southern part of Eastern China.

Fig. 102. Tea plantations in Southern China. The shrubs are planted out in rows along the hillsides

In Northern China, where summers are shorter and cooler, wheat is grown.
Cotton and soya are widely grown. There are not many dairy cattle in China, and the oil obtained from the soya has, therefore, great food value for the Chinese.
On the hillsides and mountain slopes tea is grown. The leaves are picked when young and then dried to make tea. There was a time when tea was produced only in China, whence it was exported to all parts of the world. Tea-growing was later introduced into other countries.
In the southern part of Eastern China sugar-cane, lemons and oranges are cultivated. Bamboo is widely planted.
Buffaloes, cows, donkeys and mules are used for work in the fields. Pigs and poultry (hens, ducks, geese) are reared in Chinese villages everywhere.
In Western China where there are many mountain pastures the chief occupation of the people is cattle-breeding. In these regions there is almost no arable land.

Fig. 103. The bridge across the Yangtze in Ichang.
The broad river was a hindrance to communications between Northern and Southern China. Only under the power of the people was the first bridge across the Yangtze built. It is 1,700 metres long

In Inner Mongolia and Sinkiang sheep, horses and camels are grazed. The yak is bred in Tibet. It is used as a beast of burden in the mountains and provides the inhabitants with milk and meat, wool and leather.
China manufactures various machines, clothing, foot-wear and other produce. There have appeared new mines and oil-fields, as well as plants producing cast iron, steel and other metals. With the wide and disinterested assistance of the Soviet Union many up-to-date factories and plants have been built in China. The U.S.S.R. lent a helping hand in constructing entirely new branches of industry: motor-car, tractor, aircraft and others. Thousands of Chinese experts and workers received their training at Soviet educational institutions and enterprises. Cities of the CPR. The capital of China is Peking, one of the oldest cities in the world. Peking numbers over 7,000,000 inha­bitants. It is the seat of the Chinese Government and of the Academy of Sciences of the Chinese People's Republic. Peking has a university and dozens of other higher educational establishments. There are numerous plants and factories producing machinery, apparatus, and fabrics of all kinds. Publishing is practiced.
China's largest city, Shanghai (over 7,000,000 inhabitants), is situated somewhat south of the mouth of the Yangtze. Shanghai is the greatest and busiest seaport of China. It has a highly developed shipbuilding industry and manufactures machines and fabrics of all kinds. There are many higher educational establishments in the city.
I c h a n g is a large city on the Yangtze River. It consists of three parts situated on the shores of that great river and its tributary. The construction of the huge double-decker bridge across the Yang­tze has made it easier for communication between the three parts of the city (the first deck of this bridge is for automobile, the second for railway traffic). This bridge was built with the assistance of the Soviet Union.
Though 1,200 kilometers from the mouth of the Yangtze, Inching is a port for ocean-going steamers. It contains many plants and factories. There is a university and several other educational institutions.
The largest city of Southern China is Kwan chow, a great industrial centre and seaport.

Questions and Assignments.

• Study the map in your Atlas showing the density of popula­tion in Asia. Which areas of China are most populated and which least populated?
• Mark and name on the outline map the peoples inhabiting the Chinese People's Republic.
• Name the main crops cultivated in China.
• Point out on the map the Chinese cities that you have studied. Put down their names on the outline map.