LESSON 7.5 How did China’s civilisation affect its environment?
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to: • investigate the environmental problems China has faced for many years • explain how these issues have affected the Chinese people.
Tune in Pandas are native to China. Only a few decades ago these much-loved animals were in danger of extinction.
SOURCE1 Pandas eating bamboo in a research base and breeding centre in China
Examine SOURCE1 . 1. Why do you think the pandas shown are in a research and breeding centre? 2. Why do you think that such species were threatened?
7.5.1 China’s natural environments Today, China faces big environmental problems. Since the late 1900s, its rapid growth has created thousands of factories making goods for the world. This has meant many new power stations have been built. Air pollution in cities has been so bad that during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, factories had to stop working, and many cars were taken off the roads. These problems are big today, but even in ancient times, China’s population affected the environment. China is a huge country with many climates and landscapes. It has mountains and plateaus in the west, deserts in the north, forests in the northeast and plains along the coast. For example, Beijing has freezing winters, while southern China is warm.
SOURCE2 This section of the Great Wall of China straddles mountains north of Beijing. The wall extends over 5000 km through many different landscapes.
198 Jacaranda Humanities Alive 7 Victorian Curriculum Third Edition
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