英国社会与文化

The Geography of Britain and ChinaWhen it comes to Britain, what do you think first? For me, the first thing is that Britain is an European country. Most people will choose the geography as their first topic to introduce a country because it is an important symbol.Britain, whose full name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland lies in Europe but is separated from the European Continents, in another words, it is an island country. It is crossed by the Atlantic Ocean, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and the English Channel. Lying to the north of France and the west of the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway, the south of the Republic of Ireland, the Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and a lot of coastal islands. The total area of the country is 244,820 square kilometers and the total coastline is 11,450 kilometers. And for the longitude and latitude, it is approximately from 50°N to 58°N and 2°E to 7°W. Though Great Britain isn’t big, the terrain is varied from the flatland in the south and east to mountains of Scotland and Wales. The chief mountain ranges are the Pennines in the middle, the Cambrians in the west and the Grampians in the north. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the UK and is about 1343meters. Many rivers also flow past this country. The main river is the River Severn, the longest river in the UK which is westward flowing streams reach the Atlantic. Its about 354 kilometers long and drainage are is about 11,266 square kilometers. The Clyde in Scotland, the Eden and the Mersey in northwest England, and the Welsh Dee and Teifi are the only significant rivers. And the most famous river is the Thames in London which is a popular scenery in the UK. It flows through Eton, the Oxford, Windsor and so on in the upriver, and finally joins the North Sea. Through the English Channel, Britain is linked with France by the tunnel.Though, Britain is an island country, it is fertile and rich in resources. It has coal mine and iron mine, and because of this, British had so much power sources during the first industrial revolution. Thanks to its position which is around by the sea, the fishery and shipbuilding are also developed. And temperate marine climate is dominant the whole country because it is around by the sea and some ocean currentsalso pass through Britain. It often rains but not very cold and this causes the people here like talking about the weather. In addition, flatland is a big part in Britain, so, the animal husbandry is well developed. Wheat is the main cope and because of the developed animal husbandry, it also has a lot of cattle and sheep.On the top of the Great Britain is Scotland. It is mountainous, in the northern parts lies the Grampians, and most of the northern highlands are between 600 and 1000 m. There is also standing the highest mountain in Great Britain--Ben Nevis. The southern part is lower than the north for it is just about 600m. In the valley of North of the Southern Uplands, there are two main cities: Edinburgh and Glasgow. In the middle is the lowland which is made up of the Clyde River and the Tay River.From the middle to the bottom is England which is the largest part in the UK. Here is dominant by the flatland and hills and also some moorlands. In the eastern seacoast, the land is fertile to farm. The Pennines is the main mountain in England and even in the whole country. Besides, on the side of the mountain, there is much coal and iron. The Thames and River Severn flow through England. And there are also a lot of big cities such as London and Liverpool. Because of the largest area, England has a large population which is also one of the most dense area.In the southwestern part is Wales which capital city is Cardiff. It is mostly mountainous. The northern part of Wales is largely hills and moorland. The Mt.Snowdon(1085m) rises in the northeast. The Cambridge Rang dominates the region. The limestone country in the northeast, the great coalfield area with its characteristic deep valleys in the south and the peninsula of Pembroke in the southwest can be recognized. Different from the prosperous England, Wales is more like a countryside for it has many natural views including three national parks.Northern Ireland is made up of six countries and the capital city is Belfast. It is low basin in the middle and around by mountains and uplands. Like Wales, Northern Ireland reserves a lot of natural scenery, and because of having so many green prairies, mountains and rivers, people would like to call it “Green Kingdom”. Here also has the biggest lake in Great Britain, Lough Neagh which is a glacial lake. The main river is River Bann. The southern part and western part is connected with Republic of Ireland.Different from Great Britain, China is a large country which is a part of Eurasia. Lying in the east of Asia and the west of the Pacific Ocean, it is connected with the continent but also faces the sea on three sides. The position of longitude and latitude is around 4°N to 53°N and 73°E to 135°W. Our country is the third largest country in the world and the national territory area is about 9,600,000 square kilometers. The terrain is low in the east and high in the west which is like stairs. But mountains and plateaus dominate the whole country. Because China is a vast country and has many kinds of terrains, the climate is also varied. And the main climate is monsoon climate because of facing seas and backing continents. We are bordered with 14 countries such as North Korea in the east, Burma in the south, Afghanistan in the west and Mongolia in the north. We are also around by the Bohai Sea, the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. China has five freshwater lakes and five salt water lakes. The biggest freshwater lake is Po yang Lake and the biggest salt water lake is Qinghai Lake which is also the biggest lake in China.There are four plains: Northeast Plain, North China Plain, Yangtze Plain and Wei he Plain and the biggest one is Northeast Plain. Theses places are suitable to farming. There are also four plateaus : Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, Loess Plateau and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. And Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is not only the biggest plateau in China, it is also the highest plateau in the world which is about 4000 meters and called “the roof of the world”. Inner Mongolia Plateau is an important animal husbandry area. Loess Plateau is the biggest loess deposit area in the world and has many different mines. China has many mountains such as Greater Khingan mountains, Qingling Mountains and the Himalayas, and the highest is Qomolangma. There are seven big rivers: Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huaihe River, Haihe River, the Pearl River, the Songhua River and Liao River. Yangtze River is the longest river in China and the Asia, besides, it is also the third longest in the world and Yellow River is the fifth.Due to the vast territory, our resources are rich enough. First, the large land causes many different mines, for example, coal mine and iron mine, and we also have some rare mine such as rare earth mine. Forests also spread around the country. Forhaving many rivers, so water resources are very abundant. Second, facing seas, fishery is always the main work for coastal areas, meanwhile, it gives an advantage in seafaring. The population of China is the largest in the world, so, though we have so many resources, when they are put to each person, these resources become very few.Britain has four main parts and we also have four parts: northern area, southern area, northwestern area and Qinghai-Tibet area. These four parts are really different in geography. Northern area is dominated by plains which soil is very fertile to farm and the weather is different in four seasons. And most people live here not only for its geography but also for its has some important cities such as Beijing and Tianjin. Southern area is famous for an abundant place because there are many plains and rivers. It is very open and rich so that many big cities are here, for instance, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing. Northwestern area is a barren part in our country, for it lacks rains and the soil is not fertile. But it has some resources such as the coal. And there also lies the famous old city, Xi’an which is the capital of many dynasties. Qinghai-Tibet area is the highest area in China, and the plants here are different from the former areas, for example, Qingke. And few people live here for its high altitude causing the bad weather and less resources. But there is rich in solar power and geothermal energy. And the famous city is Lhasa which is a pilgrimage city.This is a brief introduction in geography, and through it, we can see how different between Britain and China. And I believe that the geography may influence the country and people. So British is conservative and Chinese is also conservative but more modest.。