The Land
   
 

China has a total land mass almost reaching 10 million sq. km which makes it the just slightly smaller than Canada. Scattered through this diverse country are ancient architectures and landmarks that make China a place to remember. China is home to the Great wall of China, Tianamen Square and the ancient Forbidden City. China also acquired the ultra-modern city of Hong Kong from the British government in 1997 which makes it one of the leaders in the modern world.

Below you will find discussions between students from various schools in Calgary and McLean Masuch, an MT student from the University of Calgary.

Please select from one of the conversations.

  1. What is Hong Kong like?
  2. Can you tell us a little about the Three Gorges Dam?
  3. What is your understanding on the ancient architecture of China?
  4. What can you tell us about the Terra Cotta Warriors?
Q: What is Hong Kong like?
 
A: Hello Everyone, Well, I arrived in Hong Kong a few days ago and I am running on adrenaline. What a city! There is everything that you could possibly want here in Hong Kong. It looks like a giant shopping mall! I have been very surprised by Hong Kong. I expected alot of things that I have not seen. I thought that Hong Kong would be like most other big Asian cities. It would be loud, polluted, have lots of traffic, have dirty water, and be overwhelming. The overwhelming part is the only thing that I got right. The city is extremely clean. This is because of a national campaign to clean up in the wake of the Sars outbreak. There is not a lot of traffic, but there are alot of people. The city itself is not that big but it has the largest population density of any city in the entire world. I have been very surprised by the number of natural environments that are still intact in Hong Kong. There are a lot of areas that have not been developed at all. I did not imagine that I would be seeing clean, deserted white sand beaches in Hong Kong. The food has been great. One of the other Education students has family in Hong Kong, so we have had tour guides for everything that we have done. Because of that situation, we have had alot of really authentic Chinese meals. So far, the most exciting things that I have eaten is cow stomach and chicken feet. Yum! We leave for Changsha tomorrow. Unfortunately I will have to leave Hong Kong, which is very unfortunate because it is such an interesting city.
 
 
Q: Can you tell us a little about the Three Gorges Dam?
 
A: I tried to post this earlier but my Internet connection has been a bit troubled. I have not visited the Three Gorges area so I will just have to tell you what I know second hand. I hope that it helps. The Dam is supposed to be able to produce enough electrical energy to equal that of 18 nuclear power plants, or 1/5 of the country's current energy production. It is intended to serve two purposes. First, it is hoped that the Dam will stimulate the economy and aid in the continuing industrialization of the area. This would be a good thing for the people around the Dam. They would see an increase in wealth and in the amount of jobs in the area. As well, the Dam will decrease the dependency that people have on environmentally damaging ways of fueling their economy, such as the use of charcoal and other fossil fuels. This will benefit the environment. The Dam will also provide effective flood control. The river is known to flood and many people lose their lives every few years. The Dam will allow the government to control the water that flows through it, and therefore they will be able to control floods. This is also a good thing for the people. Over 1.5 million people will need to be relocated. These people will have to be provided wit jobs, a place to live, as well as some compensation for the troubles that they have endured. Imagine if the government of Calgary decided to create a Dam and forced everyone to move to Edmonton. The Horror! The biggest issue may be the environmental impact of the Dam, which could be very devastating. There is much discussion about how the blocking of the river might reduce the river's ability to oxygenate itself. Because it will be slowed down so much, not as much oxygen will be reaching the water. There is also concern that the slowness of the river will make it impossible to clear the river of the waste that is deposited by all of the towns and factories that empty their waste into the river. The environments of endangered species such as the Yangzi river Dolphin, the Chinese Sturgeon, and the Siberian Crane. Some people think that the huge amount of water will actually induce a localised earthquake. I for one would not feel that comfortable living downstream from the Dam. There is always the possibility that the Dam could break, and the surge of water that would follow would put millions of lives at risk. the area that would be affected is one of the most densely populated areas of the world. I hope that this helps you with your project. P. S. The area around the Dam will look blurry because it will be under water.
 
 
Q: I have been looking at pictures of ancient China architecture and it has dawned on me that the ancient Chinese architecture was similar to the ancient Greek architecture They both had five or six pillars in the front supporting a triangular roof. They were a bit different though, the Chinese one with more stories and detail and the Greek one usually longer and bigger. I heard that the Greeks shared some architecture with the Egyptians. Did the ancient Chinese share architecture ideas with the ancient Greeks?
 
A: Well, I must say that I am very impressed by your observations. It seems as though you are really paying close attention to detail. That is great to see. There are many similarities in the architectural styles, many of which you mentioned. There are also similarities in the styles that the Chinese have been using more recently. See the photo gallery on Tiannamen Square and you will see a picture called "The Great Hall of the People." That building was created in the Communist era, and is very similar to the buildings that you would find in Communist Russia. It seems that both these countries took ideas from the Greeks when building because they often used huge pillars as well. I am not sure that the Chinese shared any ideas with the Greeks, at least when the Greeks were very strong. The first real exploration between the West and China was by Marco Polo, and he came along far after the Greeks fell from power. Now one possibility would have been the adventures of Alexander the Great. He was a Greek leader who conquered a huge part of the world. At its height, his empire stretched from Greece to Afghanistan and into India. China shares a border with both of these countries. Perhaps, and this is only a theory that I have thought of after reading your question, perhaps there was a bit of transferring of ideas at that time. Other than that theory, your guess is as good as mine. If we want to get even more complicated, we can look into the idea that humans are so similar that at the same time, in different parts of the world, two people can come up with the same idea. For example, there are some fantastic temples that are found in the jungles of Cambodia. Some of these temples are built in a distinctive pyramid type shape. They do not resemble the pyramids in Egypt. Instead, they look like pyramids that are found in Central American countries such as Guatemala. Both these temples were built around roughly the same time, and there is no known contact between the two groups of people. How did that happen? Perhaps you should think of becoming an Archaeologist because they are the ones who study problems like this. And who knows, maybe you could go on some adventures like Indiana Jones.
 
 
Q: I like your theory that humans are so much alike but there are many differences. If you look at the Aztec empire at the time of the French you see many differences. The French had iron and steel metal when Aztecs had animal skins and clubs. The French came over to the Canadian Natives who still used bows and arrows when the french had guns. Chinese used crossbows when the rest of the world used bows. There are many architecture similarities though as you noted on you message before. I have a few questions about Great Wall. 1: What did the Great Wall protect the Chinese from? 2: Looking at pictures of the wall I see less carvings and sculptures on it then the average Chinese building why is this? You would expect to see more sculptures on it because the wall is a place of battle. Thank you for your help.
 
A: Nice observations. I visited the Terra Cotta Warriors recently and found some more clues to go along with our theory. This is a tomb that the first emperor to unite China had built. It holds thousands of life sized replicas of his army. Each soldier is unique from all the others. It is about 2000 years old. The uniforms that the Terra Cotta Warriors are wearing are extremely similar to the uniforms of the Greeks. The weapons as well are very different from anything that you see in China before that period. There is also the remnants of a chariot that you do not see in China before that time. Because the Terra Cotta Warriors were only discovered in 1976 there is still alot of investigating that must occur before the can say they really know the truth about the place. What we do know is that Alexander the Great had spread his empire as far east as Afghanistan, and around that same period the emperor of China conquered the entire country and united the nation for the first time. Did they share technology? Who knows. The Great Wall of China was first started by the same dynasty that made the Terra Cotta Warriors. It was built to keep the Mongols from invading from the north from present day Mongolia. It is not very decorated because it is only used for a defensive purpose and no one would ever really see it. It was built to keep PEOPLE out, whereas the decorations on temples etc.. are built to keep SPIRITS out. I hope that helps you out.
 
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