The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world, and the longest river in Asia, about 3964 miles. The Ancient Chinese used the river for freshwater, food, fertile soil, and transportation. I used the meter stick to represent the river because of how long it is and the Chinese people even call it the “Long River”.
The Huang He River is the second longest river in China ranging about 3400 miles. It could also be called the Yellow River because of the color of water because of the silt in the water. I drew silt for the river because silt provided the ancient chinese with fertile soil to grow crops.
The Yellow Sea has a width of about 400 miles with the greatest depth being less than 300 feet. The Huang He, Han, and the Yalu all dump into it making it Yellow from the vast sediment. The ancient chinese relied on the Yellow sea to provide them with their marine life to fish. I drew fish because of the ancient chinese relying on the fish to feed them.
The Himalayas are the world's largest mountain range, they began forming about 40 or 50 million years ago. They stretch for more than 1500 miles, and extend from about 150 to 250 miles in width. The height of the Himalayas affect the climate of Asia, the mountains act as a rain shadow. I drew mountains for the Himalayas because it is a mountain range.
Mount Everest is the tallest landform on earth, with an elevation of 29,035 feet. It is located between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, it also lies along the southern rim of the Tibetan Plateau. I drew the mountain for Mount Everest taller than all the other mountains because it is the tallest mountain in the world.
The Shang Dynasty is one of the first chinese dynasties, and it is the first where there is any physical evidence of it left. Shang society was divided into levels, the king was at the top followed by the noble class, and then the peasants. The peasant class was the largest, its main job farming. I drew a calendar for the Shang Dynasty because they successfully created a 360 day calendar for their dynasty.
The Han Dynasty was led by Liu Bang. Leading a group of Rebels he overthrew the short lived Qin Dynasty and established himself as the first Han emperor. The political and cultural achievements accomplished by the Han are so great that most chinese people have since called themselves the Han. The Han dynasty was the first to invent paper. They started the Silk Road a 500 mile network of roads and trails used to trade. Because of the Silk Road they were introduced to Buddhism. I drew the Dharma wheel which represents the teachings of Buddha for the Han Dynasty because they observed Buddhism as their primary religion.
The Qin Dynasty was born when the warring states period in China was over. The kingdom of Qin was very skilled at using new military technologies. The Great Wall of China was built during this dynasty to keep out invaders. I drew the burning books for the dynasty because when China came under the rule of the Qin a massive burning of books took place destroying most of the Confucian classics.
Xianyang was on the Wei River and was the capital of the Qin Dynasty. The city was burned during civil wars at the end of the Qin dynasty’s reign. I drew the wooden crates to represent Xianyang being the prominent trade center.
Chang’an was the capital of the Han, Tang, and Sui dynasties. It was six times the size of the present day city at the same site. I drew the bullseye to represent Chang’an was an economic center.
Louyang was important in history because it was the capital of nine ruling dynasties and a Buddhist centre. The Baima was built here, one of the earliest buddhist foundations in China. I drew a star for Louyang because it was the capital of nine dynasties which means it must be a good place to be.
The Gobi Desert total area is about 500,000 sq miles. It has a continental and dry climate meaning the winter and spring were cold and severe but the summers were very warm. Because of the climate few people live in the desert, those who do though are mostly nomadic herders. I drew the bare rocks for the Gobi because most of it is actually rock not sand.
The Taklamakan desert has a milder climate than the Gobi Desert. It was difficult for invaders to get past it because of the sand dunes, but because of this the Chinese had a hard time expanding past it. I chose the no walking sign because it is very difficult to travel through the desert and most people just don’t try to travel through it.
The Great Wall of China is not a single structure but a linked series of defensive walls, watchtowers, and natural barriers. It was built over a 2000 year period and stretches more than 5000 miles. Even before the warring states period there was a wall to protect Nomadic invaders. I drew the shield to represent that the wall protected the ancient chinese from foreign and nomadic invaders.
The ancient trade route called the Silk Road connected the ancient Chinese to civilizations to the west. It started in Xi'an and reached ports in the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Road enabled the exchange of valuable goods as well as cultural ideas. It brought buddhism and a form of christianity to China. I chose to draw the feet because feet can signify travelling and travelling led to trade on the Silk Road.
The Nomadic Regions are the regions filled with Nomads. Nomads are members of a tribe who have no permanent home. They move from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock. They were Mongol invaders from the North, also. I drew a horse for the nomads because they were excellent horsemen, they used early forms of stirrups and other equipment to control their horses.