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Asia: China and India
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Asia is the biggest continent, home to about six in every ten people on Earth. China and India are its giants.
The continent
The Himalayas include Mount Everest (8,849 m), the world's highest mountain, on the border of Nepal and China.
The monsoon, a seasonal wind change, brings heavy summer rain to South and East Asia.
China
Rivers: the Yangtze (Asia's longest river) and the Yellow River (Huang He). The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is the world's largest hydroelectric power station.
The west has high, dry land: the Tibetan Plateau and the Gobi Desert. Most people live in the wetter, lower east.
India
The Ganges flows from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal and is sacred to Hindus. The Thar Desert is in the north-west; the Deccan Plateau covers much of the south.
In 2023 India overtook China as the world's most populous country (UN estimate). Each has more than 1.4 billion people.
Why do most of China's people live in the east?
- The west is high, cold or dry: the Tibetan Plateau and Gobi Desert.
- The east has lower, flatter land, more rain and fertile river valleys like the Yangtze.
- The east coast also has ports, industry and big cities like Shanghai, which provide jobs.
Answer: The east has flat, fertile, wetter land, rivers and jobs; the west is high and dry.
Asia is the largest continent. Everest (8,849 m) is in the Himalayas. China: Beijing, Shanghai, Yangtze, Three Gorges Dam, Gobi; most people live in the east. India: New Delhi, Mumbai, Ganges, Thar Desert; most populous country since 2023.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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