3U+China+Topics


 * China Research Project: 3U Poster Content**

TB: People/Taoism A Popular Religion The goal of a Taoist is to cultivate a mystical relationship with the Tao. By keeping out every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on life itself.

JB: People/Population A Billion People With more than 1.3 billion people, China is the world’s most populated country. Two major cities in China are Beijing and Shanghai. About 23 million people alone live in Shanghai.

MB: Geography/Beijing Capitol Peking Beijing, also known as Peking, is the capitol of China. About 10 million people alone live there. It is very crowded. There are many small 2-3 room apartments with 3-5 families living in each!

AC: Lifestyle/Transportation Traveling Around There are several ways to get around in a crowded place like China. Because pollution is a problem, most Chinese people use bicycles instead of cars. They also use rickshaws, which is a kind of wagon pulled by a person.

VF: History/Communist Government Communist China China’s form of government is communism. Although it’s supposed to ensure that everyone has a job, food and education, it does not always seem fair. Also, they have very strict laws with limited freedoms. For example, there is a one-child policy that limits most urban families to having only one child.

MG: Lifestyle/Food The Wonderful Food of China There are eight regional styles of food in China including Hunan, Beijing, Shanghai, Szechuan and Cantonese. The Cantonese style is the most popular style overseas. If you travel to China, you may like to try dishes like Peking duck, the Shanghai pork bun, or the Cantonese dim sum.

OH: Lifestyle/Flora Beautiful Flowers in Bloom China's flora is beautiful and known for its diversity. China is one of the countries with the most abundant plant life in the world. There are more than 32,000 species of plants! Almost all the major plants that grow in the northern hemisphere’s frigid, temperate and tropical zones are represented in China.

MK: Arts/Dragons Chinese Dragons The dragon is the Chinese symbol of power. Chinese dragons are considered to be kind, good and intelligent. Dragons are popular in Chinese art, on buildings, and many decorations. They come in all shapes, colors and sizes. They’re made of all different animals. For example, it can have horns like a deer. Also, it is said that dragons decide when spring should begin.

JK: Arts/Inventions China Has A Big Brain! The Chinese have invented many cool and amazing things! Some of the great and important inventions include papermaking, the compass, gunpowder, and printing (both woodblock and movable type). These four discoveries, known as the Four Great Inventions, had a big impact on Chinese culture and the world. They serve as symbols of China’s contributions to science and technology.

NK: Geography/ Physical Terrain The Changing Scenery China is the third largest country in the world physically, with a total area of 3,705,407 square miles. China’s diverse landforms include lush hills, huge mountain ranges, tropical forests and cold, dry deserts.

JM: People/Confucianism Confucianism…The Great Religion Confucianism is a philosophy based on the teachings of Confucius who lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E. Confucius has had the biggest impact on Chinese culture and their way of life and thinking. He believed strongly about family loyalty, ancestor worship, and respect of elders by their children. He spread the well-known idea, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself,” an early version of the Golden Rule.

LM: Lifestyle/Money Growing Economy China’s economy is ranked the world’s second largest, behind the U.S. It is the largest exporter and the second largest importer of goods in the world. The two main parts of the economy are industry, mainly in the big cities near the coastal areas, and agriculture.

IM: Arts/The Silk Road Long Journey on the Silk Road People have historically traveled to China just to trade for silk, produced by China’s tiny silkworm. Most journeys were 2,000 miles or more, reaching all the way to Europe. The Silk Road is thousands of years old. One the most famous explorers who traveled the Silk Road was Marco Polo.

GS: Arts/Folktales and Legends A Legacy of Legends Chinese people have great respect for their cultural folktales and legends. They have been passed down for centuries, from grandparent to grandchild. Some examples appear in modern literature such as __The Greatest Treasure,__ or __Lon Po Po__, a Chinese version of Red Riding Hood.

SW: History/The Forbidden City The Mysterious City in Beijing The Forbidden City was founded in the 15th century, and first opened to the public in 1949. It was originally built to keep out fierce warriors such as Mongol warriors. Today, the Forbidden City is a museum called Tiananmen, which means “Gate of Heavenly Peace.”

KY: People/Buddhism A Strong Religion Buddhism is a path to spiritual discovery. Siddharta Gautama was its founder. Almost 300 million people in the world today practice Buddhism, making it the fourth largest religion in the world. It also has a major impact on the people of India, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Tibet, and other Asian countries. The main beliefs of Buddhism are peace, Kindness and wisdom.