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== China ==

== China ==

 

China, like India, is significant because it has so many people.  But there the similarities end.  There is no Hinduism in China.  There is very little ethnic diversity in China, in contrast to India and many Western countries today.  Christianity has struggled to convert the country, and only about one out of nine Chinese are Christian.  And even that small number is due almost completely to courageous efforts in the face of much governmental persecution of religion.

China, like India, is significant because it has so many people.  But there the similarities end.  There is no Hinduism in China.  There is very little ethnic diversity in China, in contrast to India and many Western countries today.  Christianity has struggled to convert the country, and only about one out of nine Chinese are Christian.  And even that small number is due almost completely to courageous efforts in the face of much persecution of religion by the communist government that rules China.

China has always been isolated by geographic protections.  The highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas, separate it from India.  The Himalaya Mountain Range is famous for giants like Mount Everest and K2.   

China has always been isolated by geographic protections.  The highest mountains in the world, the Himalayas, separate it from India.  The Himalaya Mountain Range is famous for giants like Mount Everest and K2.   

Vast amounts of semi-desert land known as the Gobi desert separate China from the Middle East and the area which was Mesopotamia in ancient times.  In the south of China, the Yangtze river flows for 3000 miles, navigable from the sea for half of its course.   

Vast amounts of semi-desert land known as the Gobi desert separate China from the Middle East and the area which was Mesopotamia in ancient times.  In the south of China, the Yangtze river flows for 3000 miles, navigable from the sea for half of its course.   

In the north is the Yellow river, which gets its name from the murky tan color of its waters.  The Yellow River is known for its tendency to flood surrounding lands with disastrous results.  The silt and sand carried in the muddy water builds up on the bottom of the river until it blocks the water's flow and causes the river to divert its course, flooding into another area.  Floods like these make the course of the Yellow River very changeable.

In the north is the Yellow river (now called the Huang He), which runs westward and then to the north from the Yellow Sea and gets its name from the murky tan color of its waters. (See if you can find the Yellow Sea and the Huang He on the modern map at the right.) The Yellow River is known for its tendency to flood surrounding lands with disastrous results.  The silt and sand carried in the muddy water builds up on the bottom of the river until it blocks the water's flow and causes the river to divert its course, flooding into another area.  Floods like these make the course of the Yellow River very changeable.

=== Ancient China ===

=== Ancient China ===