Travel & Adventure

Eastern Asia

1st Issue – June 2014, Cervantes kids

Contents

Southeastern Asia: China, by Wissal, Mar and TeresaMongolia, by Jaime, Alex and RubénJapan, by Marta, Paula and alicia South Korea, by Fátima and Lydia

External references and sources: Map of Asia_Political

Asian SubregionsSimple English WikipediaNational Geographic kids

WesternAsia Southern

Asia

EasternAsia

SoutheasternAsia

China

Intro to the Country

FAST FACTS• The official name is people’s

republic of China. Their languagesare Standard Chinese and Mandarin.

• They have a money called Yuan (or renminbi).And the population is1,355,692,576.The form of goverment is a communist stateand the area is 3,705,405 squaremiles(9,596,960 squarekilometers).

• Finally the major mountainsranges is the Himalaya and themajor rivers are the Yangtze and the Yellow.

Geography

G E O G R A P H Y• I t Stretches 5,000

kilometers f romeast towest and 5,500 kilometersf romnorth to south.

• China is a large country and its territory includesmountains, high plateaus, sandy deserts, and dense f orests.

• China is made up of mountains, the tallestmountainon Earth, Mount Everest, sits on theborder betweenChina and Nepal.

Nature

N A T U R E • There are many habitats

in China. They are home to hundreds of speciesof animals and plants. China's f orest can dissapear becausepeople cut trees.

• The giant panda lives in the mountains of southwest China and nowhere else on Earth.They eat bamboo and usually live near theseplants.

History

HISTORY• China is one of the world's

oldest civilizations, butnowis "modern" nation. I n the last 20 years, China has changed f aster thanthe other countries in theworld.

• Chinesehistory is dividedintodynasties. Eachdynasty had an emperor. The fi rst empire was theQindynasty and began in 221 B.C. The last emperorstopped in 1912, and China became a republic.

People and cultureP E O P L E &

C U L T U R E• I t has a population of 1.3

billion people. China has more people than anyother country on Earth. About a third of thepopulation lives in cities. The rest of the peoplelive in the country.

• They believe in Confucionism and Taoism.

Mongolia

•OFFICIAL NAME: Mongolia•FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary•CAPITAL: Ulaanbaatar•POPULATION: 2,854,780•LANGUAGES: KhalkhaMongol (official), Turkic, Russian•MONEY: Togrog/Tugrik•AREA: 604,200 square miles (1.5 million square kilometers)•MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Altai, Khangaiand Khentii•MAJOR RIVERS: Orkhon

Intro to the Country

GeographyMongol ia

GEOGRAPHY• It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south.

• The country is very dry and receives only about four inches of rainfall per year.

• Mongolia is 435 miles (700 kilometers) from the Yellow Sea.

Nature

nat ur e• The Gobi desert is expanding. Every

year there are about 1,400 square miles of new desert.

• Bactrian camels are native to Mongolia. They have two humps and are smaller than the Arabian camel.

• The Mongolian horse is small but strong and can live in the hot temperatures of Mongolian.

• Wildlife is threatened in Mongolia. The rare snow leopard is endangered, but lives in nature reserves

•selenge

•valley

•Arvaikheer

•otgontenger

•Zunchar

History

• The Mongol Empire started with Genghis Khan and his sons. They conquered much of Asia and Europe during the 13th century.

• Marco Polo, his father, and an uncle were the first Europeans to cross the Gobi in about A.D. 1275.

• The northern region became independent from China in 1921 with Russia’s help. The southern portion of Mongolia a is part of China.

• Mongolia became a communist country in 1924, but in 1990 multiparty elections were held by the people.

HISTORY

People and culture

• HOUSES: Many Mongolians continue to live in tents. They are called yurts, or gers. Today gers often have electricity, satellite dishes, and solar panels.

• FESTIVALS: Mongolia’s largest festival, Naadam, is celebrated in summer. It is about sports, games, and food. Children participate in some of the sports, including horse races.

PEOPLE & CULTURE

Japan

FAST FACTS

• OFFICIAL NAME: Japan

• FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Constitutional monarchy with• parliamentary government• CAPITAL: Tokyo• POPULATION: 127,463,611• OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Japanese• MONEY: Japanese yen• AREA: 145,883 square miles (377,835 square kilometers)• MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Japanese Alps• MAJOR RIVERS: Biwa, Inawashiro, Kasumigaura

Intro to the Country

Geography

GEOGRAPHY• Japan is an archipelago on the eastern part of Asia. • There are four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu,

Shikoku, and Kyushu. • Almost four-fifths of Japan is covered with mountains.

The• Japanese Alps run down the center of the largest

island,• Honshu. • Japan can be a dangerous place. More than a thousand

earthquakes hit Japan every year. Japan also has about 200 volcanoes, 60 of which are active.

NA T UR E• The J apanese people love

nature very much. • They think that natural

things like mountains, waterfalls, and forests have their own spirits.

• They are trying to stop pollution, but is very difficult

• The seas around J apan very rich in fish and other sea life.

Nature

History

People and culture

South Korea

• OFFICIAL NAME: Republic of Korea• FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic• CAPITAL:Seoul• POPULATION: 48,846,823• OFFICIAL LANGUAGE:Korean• A REA : 37,901 sq mi (98,190 sq km)• MA J OR MOUNTA IN RANGES: Taebaek

Mountains,Sobaek Mountains.• MA J OR RIVERS: Han, Kum, Naktong

Intro to the Country

• Korea is a peninsula located in the eastern part of the Asian continent.

• Today, the country is divided into South and North Korea, but for the people it is a single nation that cannot be divided.

• South Korea has many mountains, but they are small compared with others around the world.

• On South Korea's J eju I sland there are tropical jungles that are always green.

• The peninsula is also surrounded by about 3,000 volcanic islands.

Geography

Nature

• South Korea is a small country, with a lot of people.• There are twenty national parks, but the only areas

of true wilderness are the mountain forests.• There were tigers in the • Korean peninsula, but • today there are none lef t.• People killed them because• they wanted their bones• to use themin traditional• medicines.

• People have been living in Korea for at least 10,000 years.

• Korea has a verydiffi cult history.

• There were manywars; they hadfights withChina and J apan.

History

• There are a lot of people in South Korea. There are 485 persons per every square kilometer of land. Koreans practise Confucianism (a Chinese philosophy that teaches respect and morality).

• Sometimes they organize fairsfor a week or more.

People and culture