10 Geographic Facts About Sichuan Province, China

Sichuan is the second largest of Chinas 23 provinces based on its land area of 187,260 square miles (485,000 sq km). It is located in southwestern China adjacent to the countrys largest province, Qinghai. Sichuans capital city is Chengdu and as of 2007, the province had a population of 87,250,000 people. Sichuan is an important province to China because of its abundant agricultural resources which include such Chinese staples as rice and wheat. Sichuan is also rich in mineral resources and is one of Chinas main industrial centers. The following is a list of ten things to know about Sichuan Province: 1) Human settlement of Sichuan Province is believed to date back to the 15th century B.C.E. In the 9th century B.C.E., Shu (what is present-day Chengdu) and Ba (todays Chongqing City) grew to become the largest kingdoms in the region. 2) Shu and Ba were subsequently destroyed by the Qin Dynasty and by the 3rd century B.C.E., the area was developed with sophisticated irrigation systems and dams which ended seasonal flooding of the region. As a result, Sichuan became the agricultural center of China at the time. 3) Because of Sichuans location as a basin surrounded by mountains and the presence of the Yangtze River, the area also became an important military center throughout much of Chinas history. In addition, several different dynasties ruled the area; among them are the Jin Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty. 4) An important note about Sichuan Province is that its borders have remained mostly unchanged for the last 500 years. The largest changes occurred in 1955 when Xikang became a part of Sichuan and in 1997 when the city of Chongqing broke away to form a part of the Chongqing Municipality. 5) Today Sichuan is divided into eighteen prefecture-level cities and three independent prefectures. A prefecture-level city is one that is below a province but ranks higher than a county for administrative structure. An independent prefecture is an area that has a majority of ethnic minorities or is historically important for ethnic minorities. 6) Sichuan Province is within the Sichuan basin and is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qinling Range to the east and the mountainous parts of Yunnan Province to the south. The area is also active geologically and the Longmen Shan Fault runs through part of the province. 7) In May 2008, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province. Its epicenter was in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. The earthquake killed over 70,000 people and numerous schools, hospitals and factories collapsed. Following the earthquake in June 2008, severe flooding from a lake formed by a landslide during the earthquake occurred in low-lying areas that had already been significantly damaged. In April 2010, the region was again impacted by a magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck neighboring Qinghai Province. 8) Sichuan Province has a varied climate with a subtropical monsoon in its eastern portions and Chengdu. This region experiences warm to hot summers and short, cool winters. It is also typically very cloudy in the winters. The western part of Sichuan Province has a climate affected by the mountains and high altitude. It is very cold in the winter and mild in the summer. The southern part of the province is subtropical. 9) Most of Sichuan Provinces population is Han Chinese. However, there is a significant population of minorities such as Tibetans, Yi, Qiang, and Naxi in the province as well. Sichuan was Chinas most populous province until 1997 when Chongqing was separated from it. 10) Sichuan Province is famous for its biodiversity and the area is home to the famous Giant Panda Sanctuaries which consist of seven different nature reserves and nine scenic parks. These sanctuaries are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and are home to more than 30% of the worlds endangered giant pandas. The sites are also home to other endangered species such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard. ReferencesNew York Times. (2009, May 6). Earthquake in China - Sichuan Province - News - The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/science/topics/earthquakes/sichuan_province_china/index.html Wikipedia. (2010, April 18). Sichuan - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan Wikipedia. (2009, December 23). Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_Giant_Panda_Sanctuaries

The Facade of Civilization Explored in Heart of Darkness...

The Facade of Civilization Explored in Heart of Darkness and Heart of the Matter Heart of Darkness and The Heart of the Matter afford glimpses into the human psyche, explorations deep into human nature. In each, the frailty of the facade we call â€Å"civilization† is broken, by external forces portrayed by Conrad and internal ones by Greene. In both stories there is one who falls pray to corruption and one who is witness both submerged in forces that will not be silenced or reasoned with. Wilson sat on the balcony of the Bedford Hotel with his bald pink knees thrust against the ironwork. He looked out toward the ocean - past the spire of the church thrust into the sky in defiance of the uniform serrated, tin†¦show more content†¦Also the setting, though somewhat similar, is still quite distinguishable, allowing for the development of different themes; Conrads is set in a wild outpost deep in the center of Africa and Greenes occurs in a well-colonized port somewhere in West Africa. The natural forces of depravity are rampant, in fact infective, in the steamy, dense jungles in which Kurtz dwells. Scobie, on the other hand, is allowed a more physically peaceful existence, struggling not with the physical but with an inner turmoil. Youre the new captain? Thats right. Have a drink. Wilson took three ice cubes from a small bucket that was now filled with more water than ice, dropped them into a glass identical to the one in his hand and filled it to the brim with pink gin. He handed it to Marlow and refilled his own half-empty glass, almost instinctually. Both sat in silence staring toward the sea, pierced only by the sounds of a vulture alighting from the roof and the clink of the ice against the glass. When I first came here, I would never drink during the day, Wilson suddenly said. Why did you start? Things change. Both stories begin similarly, in each there is an adventurer blindly beginning a journey into the uncontrolled forcesShow MoreRelatedHow and Why Is the Grotesque Used in Tennessee Williams’ a Streetcar Named Desire?2627 Words   |  11 Pagesis the Grotesque Used in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire? Throughout this semester, we were introduced to varying degrees of literary styles and themes. From the epiphanies discovered through American Realism, to the skepticism explored through Literary Modernism, to the conflicts of social conformity and individualism approached by a Post-Modernistic America and its writers. We have had the great opportunity of being exposed to individuals who questioned and pushed the boundariesRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesthorough and critical understanding of organization theory. It is both rigorous and accessible, clearly and unashamedly pitched for readers who wish to engage with theoretical issues whilst also maintaining a practical focus on why organization theory matters. I felt in good hands here, confident that I was being offered a deeply informed, reliable and intelligently constructed account. The opening chapter carefully and helpfully explains terms, including ‘theory’ and ‘epistemologyâ₠¬â„¢ that can form an unexploredRead MoreRastafarian79520 Words   |  319 Pagesganja-smoking illiterates who were of no value to society. Teachers, students, ofï ¬ ce workers, and anyone of social importance could not grow locks, and families would go into mourning when their sons would start sprouting them. I heard the term â€Å"black heart man† used again and again as a means of expressing fear or ridicule of the Rastafarian. And this was in the early 1970s—after Bob Marleys emergence as an international viii FOREWORD star, after Selassies arrival in Jamaica, and afterRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesturbulent phase of the human experience, render it impervious to generalized pronouncements and difficult to conceptualize broadly. As the essays in this collection document in detail, paradox pervades the time span we call the twentieth century, no matter how it is temporally delineated. Never before in history, for example, had so many humans enjoyed such high standards of living, and never had so many been so impoverished or died of malnutrition and disease. If the period from the 1870s is included

Music and Studying Free Essays

Music and studying 1 Running head: DOES MUSIC HELP YOU STUDY Music and studying: Does listening to music help you study? 902421 John F. Kennedy High School Music and studying 2 Abstract In the western world, music is easily available through TV, radio, and videos. Background music is played in many public places like the mall and elevators. We will write a custom essay sample on Music and Studying or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many studies on listening to music while studying has been inconclusive because music can be interpreted in many different ways. Music and studying 3 Music and Studying Affects on studying Music becomes increasingly important in adolescent years with most teenagers averaging around 3 hours of listening to music a day. Teenagers use music to satisfy their emotional needs and portray the world around them. Studies have shown that studying at home has been accompanied by music or TV in the background (Kotsopoulou 1997; Patton, Stinard, and Routh 1983). Research on certain effects on playing music while studying shows very little significant differences between middle school, high school, and college students on whether listening to music helps them concentrate, gets rid of boredom, keeps them company, and helps them learn faster. It also shows that listening to music can interfere with studying. For instance if they sang along or developed to high of an arousal it would then become a distraction. University students showed that music had a more relaxing effect but was also more distracting then in younger students. This could mean the music choices they were listening to were increasing meta-cognitive awareness in older ages. Students at a younger age had the most positive response to fast pace tempo. While university students had a negative response to fast pace tempo. There were few significant differences between nationality and what types of music they played other than instrumental music, arousing and calming music. The Japanese played classical music the least. US played calming music the least and the US and UK played arousing music the least. While the Greeks Music and studying 4 listened to all of these the most. Overall, there is no specific type of music that is best for studying. Young people just often play music they enjoy. Most students do not play music while studying for a long period of time or revising for an exam. Henderson, Crews, and Barlow (1945) explored the effect of music as a source of distraction during the taking of a test. Along with memorising material or learning a different language. But they often play music when thinking or writing. This would suggest that the student are aware of how they will perform while listening to music and studying. Students mainly played music while studying when they were happy or bored and that their mood determined whether they wanted to listen to music while studying. Most students turned off music when they felt it becoming a distraction with there concentrating. Overall, the findings suggest parents and teachers to be not concerned about students playing music while studying. Students are aware of when music can be beneficial to studying and when it is interfering with concentrating. So generally when the music starts to become a distraction they would just turn it off. Music and studying 5 References Kotsopoulou, A. , Hallam, S. (2010). The Perceived Impact of Playing Music while Studying: Age and Cultural Differences. Educational Studies, 36(4), 431440. Cripe, F. F. 1986. Rock music as therapy for children with attention deficit disorder: An exploratory study. Journal of Music Therapy 23: 30–7 Gregoire, M. A. 1984. Music as a prior condition to task performance. Journal of Music Therapy 21: 133–45 How to cite Music and Studying, Papers