China in Modern World

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Table of Contents

Physical geography
Cultural diversity in China
Political geography
Future
Works Cited

Physical geography

China is located on the west of the Pacific Ocean and if was found in East Asia. This is a country that is approximately 9.6 million square kilometers. This country borders a lot of countries: across the sea to the southeast and east, there is Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. It is also bordered by Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam to the south, and to the west and south west, it borders Bhutan (Sutter 134).

Looking at the topography, China is a mountainous; approximately two-thirds of its land has plateaus, hills and mountains, with the world highest peak, Mount Qomolangma, standing at China and Nepal border. The plateaus, plains and basins are interwoven together to form complexes; this defines the topography of most parts of China.

China also has rivers and lakes; there is an inland river system which covers close to 36 of the Chinese land, and among these rivers, there are Huaihe River, Pearl river, Heilongjiang River, Yellow river and Yangtze River.

The longest River is Rangtze River, which is also the third longest worldwide. It is 6,300 kilometers, it connects cities such as Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai (Sutter 174). China has numerous lakes, the lakes cover 80,000 square kilometers; the major five regions covered by lakes include the southwest, eastern, Qinghai-Xizang, northwestern and northern regions.

Cultural diversity in China

China is a country that is rich in culture, with the cultural practices of its people following a given set of ethnicity and customs. Many people are attracted to the Chinese cultural practices, and because of the traditions and customs, the culture still holds (Sutter 225). This is seen in the way their foods, housing and clothing, education as well as education.

Most of the foods taken by Chinese people have medicinal value, they take food to cure diseases, and according to the Chinese nutritional science, foods and medicines are made from the same thing. The Chinese culture dictates that people should eat while sitting, and the order ii which people sit down depends on whether one is young or old, man or woman (Sutter 294). During preparation of food, color, aroma and good taste are harmonized to bring out a mouth-watering meal.

Chinese fashion is unique, it is characterized by three traditional clothing: the shen-i, long robe, the ch’ang-pao and pien-fu. A pien is a ceremonial cap that is cylindrical, a unique thing about the Chinese traditional clothes is that they use minimum stitches, and have embroidery designs, appliquéd borders and decorative bands. Modern Chinese people combine traditional and modern designs to come up with designs that suit their tastes and preferences.

The resulting modern fashions are suitable for children and teenagers (Sutter 296). Men and women are also into modern fashion; however, they maintain the long length gowns when going for occasions. The housing style in China has been greatly influenced by traditional architecture; most houses have been built in a balanced and symmetric manner. House spacing is done according to the social and ethical values (Sutter 334).

The Chinese people value education and consider it as a way to success; therefore, children are always pressured to excel in academics. The Chinese were rooted in Confucian system where mother was quiet while was the head of the family. However, today, both parents support their children.

Political geography

China is ruled by the central government which is divided into ministerial and geographic organization systems; the ministerial system is defined by the activity such as ministry of commerce. It also includes commissions and special agencies.

The constitution of China does not allow division of labor among tiers of the government, therefore, a tier that is below reports to the one above (Michael 167). The political power is central to the government; however, the government is not involved in the administrative work of education, culture, economy and finance, urban and rural development among others (Michael 192).

China is thriving economically, and it is through this progress that it has gained recognition both regionally and globally. Its economic endeavor has helped it expand its international interactions.

China is also using its economic power to change the way the world perceive it. China is influenced by western powers and, for this, it has been described as a “sick man of Asia” (Moore & Dixia 205). China has realized that it is time for it to disentangle itself from the western power and, to do this, it must establish good relations with countries in its region and other powerful countries.

China is also striving to be among the most powerful countries, and safety is its first priority. Now, it is establishing a relationship with both regional and global powers (Mearsheimer 315). It is strengthening its relations with the countries in the region, more so, those close to home; this is to make sure that its borders are safe.

The Shanghai Cooperation organization together with the former Soviet Union and Russia was initiated by China to slow down tensions as well as address cross-border concerns that affect China’s rebellious Muslim population (Moore & Dixia 227).

In 1990s, there were diplomatic relations, which were normalized by China; these relations were with Indonesia, Singapore, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea, this was a move to stabilize China’s periphery as well as regional security (Moore & Dixia 213). However, some relations China established with its neighbors turned sour; for instance, it formed alliances with all its neighbors, and the one it formed with Soviet Union created enmity, also, the one it formed with North Korea created tension.

Future

China is rising in power and America has already established power. The two countries are competing for prominence both in their regions and in globally. The competition is in terms of military and economic realms and beyond, and winning this battle will be determined by the hearts and minds of the Chinese people (Mearsheimer 319).

China might be yearning to disentangle itself from the western rule, but if the Chinese people choose not to fight for political freedom together with self-governance, then China will lose the battle to the West (Moore & Dixia 226). China cannot be made great by the few fighting for humanity and harmony for all.

The country might have lost its Marxism, but it still has traces of Leninism. China should not choose to fight for greatness because this would eventually bring ill to the world and in the region. Therefore, for a peaceful future, China should follow an example of Taiwan and South Korea, which has successfully and peacefully fought for democracy within its borders.

Works Cited

Mearsheimer, John. The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2001. Print.

Michael, Martin. Understanding China’s political system. New York: Congressional Research service, 2010.print.

Moore, Thomas., & Dixia Yang. Empowered and Restrained: Chinese Foreign Policy in the Age of Economic Interdependence. Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform, 21.2 (2001), pp. 191-229. Print.

Sutter, Robert. Chinese map and culture. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2000. Print.

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