China Beyond the Cities…

CGG3O

Transportation in China

• Good road and rail system along the coast

• Roads get progressively worse the further inland you go

• Boat travel up the major rivers is also a popular travel option

Qinghai-Tibet railway

• Completed in 1984• Crosses central China through the

mountains to Lhasa (capital of Tibet) at the western edge of the country

• 48 hour train ride from Beijing• 1142 km, almost all above 4000m in

altitude• Many Tibetans supplement farming

income with tourism (working as guides)

Tibet

• Highest country on earth (shares Mount Everest with Nepal)

• Dominant Religion is Tibetan Buddhism• In the 1950s (after a military conflict) it was

incorporated into the People’s Republic of China and its government was abolished– Up to 1 million tibetans were killed during Mao’s

“Great Leap Forward”– About 6000 monasteries were burned during the

Cultural Revolution

Tibet

• Today it is governed as an Autonomous Region of China

• There have been and continue to be many significant movements supporting Tibetan independence

• Dissent is quashed within China, so the movement is mostly based out of India and the United States

• The Free Tibet movement is a popular cause for celebrities (Paris Hilton, Richard Gere, Russell Brand, the Beastie Boys, Gorillaz)

The Yangtze

• China’s longest river

• Beautiful scenery

• 3 Gorges Dam (185 m high)

• Continue upriver to Chongqing– Former capital– Population of 30 million

Huangshan Mountains

• A.K.A. the “Yellow Mountains”

• In Anhui province

• Canyons, hotsprings, remote communities

• Big draw for– Ecotourists– Adventure tourists– Tourists wanting to see authentic Chinese

culture

Hainan Island

• In South China Sea

• About the size of Vancouver Island

• Tropical climate “the Hawaii” of China– 300 days of sunshine a year

• New international airport– Linked to 37 Chinese cities– Also Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South

Korea

Hainan Island

• Culture– Festivals– Dancing

• Recreation– Beaches– Golf– Hot springs

• Currently about 15 million tourists visit a year – Hainan Provincial Tourism Bureau has a plan to attract 75 million tourists annually by 2020

Gobi Desert

• 5th biggest desert in the world• Cold – frost and snow are common – and

it can get to -40º in the winter (but +50º in the summer!)– Home to Bactrian camels (and the Mongolian

Wild Ass!) and lots of fossils

• Camel/horse tours are a popular way to see the region

• Part of the Silk Road tour

Other stuff to do in China

• Check out Giant Pandas (Sichuan province, also Shaanxi and Gansu)

It’s not all good news

• Tomorrow we’ll look at the dark side of China– Human Rights– Environmental concerns

But overall…

• As a tourist destination, China really does have it all– Varied geography– Rich history and ancient sites/artifacts– Recreational activities– Amazing variety of food and culture