Why 94% of China Lives East of This Line

Select video clips courtesy of Getty Images

Select video clips courtesy of AP Archive

Special thanks to MapTiler / OpenStreetMap Contributors and GEOlayers 3

[ryanramjattan]

Ever realized that the 3 largest countries in the world have wierd population congregations?

1. Most of Russians live in the west
2. Most Canadians live in the South
3. Most Chinese lives in the east

[CaptainObvious]

me looking at thumbnail: "well the west is just desert and mountains."
still clicked on 18 minute explanation how it is just desert and mountains 🧠

[Itoyokofan]

The answer for the question "why big countries have so much uninhabited terrain" is in the question itself. Big coutries are big because they occupy big masses of unpopulated land, with literally no locals to oppose them.

[charles_]

It’s very simple. As a Chinese I will tell you that most people prefer to live in the Eastern side for the same reason many Russians prefer to live in European Western Russia rather than Siberia.

The climate in the West of China is simply too cold, the terrain is frozen and there are many mountains, making it hard for farming, the land is of little value, I would only ever consider going there for exploring and adventuring.

[bookbeats]

this is the equivalent of “why most Russians don’t live in Siberia”

[johnnysdesk]

Coastal areas have always thrived due to rivers n seas and also because food was easier to obtain. The sea provided that. Trade flourished. It's how civilizations thrived and still do.

[aasemahsan]

0:30 Heihe-Tengchong line/ Hu line
3:17 Geography of China
Gobi Desert
Taklamakan Desert (Tarin Basin)
8:18 Why control the largely uninhabited West?
Tibet
Third largest glacier of the world
Starting source of many many many important rivers
North Western Desert
Natural armour of the deserts


10:29 Historical weak spots of China
He Xi corridor

14:17 Demographics of China

[Cecil_Augus]

Fun fact:

Yet the west side of China is IMMENSELY important to the other 94%. If was not for this colossal wall, China's mainland would be completely exposed to military incursions coming from western powers. Plus, the Tibet supplies over 3 billion people with water, being this the biggest liability India has against China. It's possibly the most important geopolitical region on Earth.

[flashstar]

Would love to see a video about Russia's demographic divide, Canada's demographic divide, Australia's demographic divide and the US' demographic divide

[davidwebb]

"Ordering takeout is too expensive, so you should order Hello Fresh instead, which is double the price with half the portions."

[seayellow]

This line is even named 黑河-腾冲 line, with the two cities as endpoints of the line. I learnt this in geography lesson in China.

[LeechUFC]

I mean its like how in Canada 90% live within a 100 mile drive to the US border despite it being the worlds second largest country in the world. And 99.99% of the population lives in the south

[chrisconformed]

New Title:
"Human beings need Water."
The End

[Rsz.]

This is like that Canada video he made, how most Canadians live near the US/Canada border

[adi]

Eastern China has better land for farming, more water, and a milder climate. This makes it easier for people to live there.
Western China is mostly mountains and desert. It is difficult to grow food there and the weather is very extreme.
People have been living in Eastern China for thousands of years. This has led to the development of major cities, infrastructure, and economic activity in the region.
There are more job opportunities in Eastern China.

[kendrickwang]

If you live close to the hu line you have to deal with sandstorms. I lived in Shanxi a few years ago, went to work with my windows open on a hot summers day, came back and i could smell sand and once i closed the windows and the dust settled, there was a layer of orange sand all over my house

[scarpfish]

Imagine if 6% of your country was still 86 million people. If it was its own country, it would still rank 17th in world population.

China does things on an entirely different scale.

[AnthonyWarrickArt]

Is it just me or did his voice start getting increasingly more frantic as the video went on? Lol he was calm and composed at the beginning by the end it sounded like he was sliding off his chair he was so excited

[smitty]

I moved to Shanghai a few years ago, and I was so shocked by the population distribution. I knew it was a large country with a massive population. I didn't know they basically ALL live in a relatively small part of the east of the nation. When you look at a satellite view of it, it all looks like one massive, nation-sized city

[jameshw]

This is is fascinating to me, having never learned about Chinas geography. Our own little example here in California is the Sierra Nevada range, where one side is deep forests and snow, and the other is desert.