China's Geography: Globalization and the Dynamics of Political, Economic, and Social Change (Changing Regions in a Global Context: New Perspectives in Regional Geography Ser)

Despite China's obvious and growing importance on the world stage, it is often and easily misunderstood. Indeed, there are many Chinas, as this comprehensive survey of contemporary China vividly illustrates. Offering the first sustained geography of the reform era, the authors trace the changes occurring in this great and ancient nation across both time and space. Beginning with China's diverse landscapes and environments, and continuing through its formative history and tumultuous recent past, this text presents contemporary China as a product of both internal and external forces of past and present. The text traces current and future successes and challenges while placing China in its international context as a massive "developing nation" that must meet the needs of its 1.3 billion citizens while becoming a major regional and global player. Through clear prose and abundant maps and photos, China's Geography illustrates and explains the great differences in economy and culture found throughout China's many regions.