Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Geography, Government,
GEOGRAPHY
Geographical Orientations
Geographically, China was and still is an isolated civilization. A brief
glance at a map will show that of the ancient world's four great early
civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River valley in Pakistan,
and the Yellow River on the North China Plain), China is by far the
most remote. China is bounded to the east and south by the Pacific
Ocean, to the southwest and west by the massive Himalaya and Pamir
mountain ranges, and to the north by steppe lands and the desolate
terrains of Siberia.
It would, however, be a mistake to conclude that China's geography
cutitoffcompletelyfromcontactwiththerestoftheworld.People
could and did travel to China via overland routes, such as the famous
Silk Road, and on the seas. But such travel was hazardous and very
time consuming, and throughout much of history China has been
somewhat “mysterious” and fascinating to the outside world.
