The geography of Ancient China shaped the way the civilisation and culture developed. The large land was isolated from much of the rest of the world by dry deserts to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and impassable mountains to the south. This enabled the Chinese to develop independently from other world civilisations.
Nelson, Ken. (2016). Kids History: Geography of Ancient China. Ducksters.
Forbidden city
This city is a symbol of power that Ancient China had. It is in the heart of Beijing. Built in Yongle Ming Dynasty (1406 - 1420 AD) it covered an area of about 720,000 square metres. It is the largest wooden building complex in the world.
Qin Terracotta Army, Xian
Qin Terracotta Army in Xian, also known as theTerra Cotta Warriors and Horses is history's greatest discovery. It is a collection of sculptures which have been buried underground for more than 2,000 years. According to their leadership roles they were placed by size and height in their rows.
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
The Temple of heaven is located in Chongwen district. It is also known as the Altar of Heaven. It was built as a venue for the emperors to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for harvest. It is the largest temple in China which covers and area of 2.7 million square metres. It has three main groups of constructions.
Yangtze River
This river is the mother river (as it is called). Flowing over 6,300 kilometres long. It is the the largest and longest river in China. This river has natural scenery and is a big tourist attraction.
Mt. Everest, Shigatse
It is the highest mountain in the world. It has a height of 8,848m above sea level. This mountain is permanently covered with snow. Its body is shaped like a pyramid and its peak is in the sky. As it is the highest mountain, everyone sees it as a goal to make it to the top.
Yellow River
It is also called the "the cradle of Chinese Civilisation". It was the birth place of China's civilisation and has a lot of history behind it. It has a total length of 5,464 km. This river is the second largest river, in China and the 6th longest in the world.
Watson, n.d.
The Grand Canal is a man-made waterway that runs north and south in eastern China. It is the longest man-made waterway in the world stretching over 1,100 miles from the city of Beijing to the city of Hangzhou. It is sometimes called the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. Besides connecting these two major cities, the canal also connects the two major rivers of China: the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.
The canal was built in order to easily ship grain from the rich farmland in southern China to the capital city in Beijing. This also helped the emperors to feed the soldiers guarding the northern borders. The Ancient Chinese built early canals to help with transportation and commerce.
Nelson, Ken. " Ancient China: The Grand Canal ." Ducksters.
Ancient Chinese farming is older than 10,000 years. Amongst all the civilisations of the world, the Chinese civilisation is the oldest to cultivate rice.They could only cultivate rice on 10% of the land. Therefore, ancient Chinese farming was created to yield maximum results.
The Method Of Row Crop Farming
This is one of the methods of farming in ancient China. Seeds are planted in rows rather than following other methods of sowing like broadcasting or scattering the seeds.
Irrigation Control Technique
Rice requires a lot of water for its growth. So, irrigation and wet farming methods were vital parts of ancient Chinese farming.The Dujjangyan irrigation system was built as an ancient farming technique. It is so effective and strong that it survives even today. This dam was built to control the floods of the Minijiang River. Even to the present day, this dam lets water as well as aquatic life to pass through. Most of the modern as innovative dams restrict the flow of water.
The Farming Tools
The Chinese people used some of the most efficient farming tools which made their farming so successful. Iron plows became improved in their designs and efficiency. This took place at around the third century BC. The casting techniques improved and also the availability of iron doubled in the markets. The new design of plowshares was also known as kuan.
The other countries like Greece and Romans were quite backward when compared to china. They were still stuck at primitive tools whereas china had progressed so much. The iron plows brought a lot of facilities to the Chinese. Seeds could be sown much easily with them in the furrows.
Another important tool used by the ancient Chinese in agriculture was the waterwheels. Grains were grinded with the help of waterpower. In the 2nd century BC, china was much more dependent on water power for the purpose of milling its grains than any other western countries of the world.
Ancient China Life, 2009.