military superiority
China's geographical position can be said to be unique. Although the traditional factors such as topography and environment can be ignored in modern warfare, from the perspective of traditional warfare alone, China's geographical position and topography can be regarded as a typical example that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
China's east and south sides are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. If it is not a country with very strong maritime power, it is basically unable to cross the Pacific Ocean to land and invade China. Therefore, in ancient times, even in modern history, China's investment in coastal defense was far less than that in defending northern nomads. Generally speaking, the southeast coastal areas have always been very calm, and they have not suffered too many foreign invasions. At best, they are just guarding against pirates from Japan.
In the west and north of China, almost all of them are surrounded by mountains, which is the largest mountain range in the world? The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is composed of Himalayan mountains, almost defends the western part of China. Even in modern times, almost no country can attack China on a large scale through the complex terrain of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
The mountains in the northwest of China, such as Kunlun Mountain and Tianshan Mountain, have become an important barrier to guard the northern part of China like an umbrella, which makes our country surrounded by natural hazards to rely on for defense.
Therefore, in history, except for the nomadic people in Mobei and Northeast China, almost no external forces can pose a threat to our country, and these nomadic people have gradually merged with the Central Plains people in the long river of history and gradually become a part of the Chinese nation.
In addition to external defense, at home, China also has many natural hazards and favorable military terrain. Ma Pingchuan, one of the three northeastern provinces, is very suitable for large-scale corps to fight, and the Great Wall defense line, which is built in accordance with risks and stretches across Wan Li, is a powerful rear area for providing supplies and rest for the troops outside the customs. The ingenious combination of inside and outside the customs constitutes a powerful terrain for foreign operations and supplies in Northeast China.
193 1 year, Japan launched a war of aggression against northeast China. It was not until 1937 that the Sino-Japanese war broke out in an all-round way. The main reason why Japan never dared to launch an all-round attack on China in the six years between is that the Great Wall defense line and the topography of North China are really beneficial to China. If it does not have certain advantages, Japan does not dare to launch an attack rashly.
To the south of North China, which is equipped with the Great Wall defense line, is the rough natural barrier of the Yellow River. As long as bridges are blocked and fortifications are built along the river, the enemy can't cross the Yellow River without absolute superior firepower. Therefore, many powerful nomads in history have also stopped fighting on the north bank of the Yellow River.
In addition, in the west and northwest of our country, there are Sichuan, which is known as "the land of abundance", and Yili, Xinjiang, which is "the south of the Great Wall", as the final foothold and rear area.
Relying on the high mountains and dense jungles stretching for thousands of miles, plus the fertile land and extremely high grain output, Sichuan can completely close its doors and fight a protracted war with foreign enemies.
Ili, on the other hand, relies on the Tianshan Mountains and Himalayan Mountains as a barrier, and the Taklimakan Sands in the east are separated from the Hexi Corridor known as the "Gate of Hell", basically avoiding the threats from the east, south and north. As long as these places are fortified according to risks, they can completely resist the enemy dozens of times.
Throughout history, it is because of these geographical conditions that China is superior in topography. Compared with countries such as West Asia and Europe, the number of times China was invaded by foreign military forces in ancient times can be regarded as very few.
On the economic level
Maritime trade has been an important factor in a country's economic development since ancient times, and China's 18,000-kilometer coastline also ensures that China fully possesses this key element of economic development.
Through the South China Sea and Beibu Gulf, China can trade with Southeast Asia and South Asia unimpeded, while through the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the Bohai Sea, China can trade with neighboring East Asian countries, the United States and Canada on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, and even eastern Russia and Alaska. It can be said that except for Europe, China can talk directly with almost any developed country in the world through maritime trade.
By the end of 20 19, five of the seven special economic zones established in China, including Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Xiamen, are all coastal cities, while other coastal cities, including Shanghai, Dalian and Ningbo, have also developed rapidly in the fields of tourism, foreign import and export trade and marine fisheries by virtue of their own maritime advantages.
On the land side, China is backed by Russia, which has the largest land area and the richest natural resources in the world. No matter from Heilongjiang port in the northeast or Xinjiang in the northwest, it can directly trade with Russia. Due north, there is also a big market in Mongolia that can be exported directly. In addition, adjacent to the northeast of China are the Korean Peninsula and Japan, both of which are world economic powers, which has a good driving effect on China's foreign import and export.
In the southwest, China borders Vietnam, Myanmar and other countries in Southeast Asia. Through roads and railways, our products can be directly sold to every corner of Southeast Asia and West Asia, which is not only very fast but also saves a lot of money in transportation.
Relying on this unique geographical location and geographical advantages, China's economic construction can develop so rapidly, and the "Belt and Road" cooperation initiative is put forward, which is beyond the reach of many countries with general geographical location.
living environment
Although China's land area ranks third in the world, less than that of Canada by more than 200,000 square kilometers, and less than that of Russia by nearly half, the available land area is more than the first two, which is second only to the United States in the world, reaching more than 5 million square kilometers.
Canada and Russia are both countries near the Arctic Circle. Although Canada has a land area of more than 9 million square kilometers, only the border areas near the United States are suitable for people to live in, and its actual usable area is basically the same as that of France.
Although the total area of Russia has reached17 million square kilometers, which is almost two times the size of China, 70% of the land is covered with snow all the year round, let alone people, and even grass can't be planted. The land that can be effectively used is only a piece of eastern Europe and East Asia close to China, with a total area of less than 30% of the whole territory.
In China, because of its superior latitude, most of the land is in the north temperate zone with four distinct seasons, and a small part of the south is in the tropics south of the Tropic of Cancer. Therefore, even though 40% of the land is in the desert, Gobi and plateau areas that cannot be utilized, the available land has reached more than 5 million square kilometers, slightly higher than that of Russia and much more than that of Canada.
It is worth mentioning that in recent years, China has also planted trees and aloe in the Qinghai Basin and Taklimakan Desert, and planted grass and grazed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau, which are regarded as unusable land for rational use. Therefore, with the long-term continuous development, there will be more and more land resources available in China in the future.
Relying on these geographical advantages endowed by God and the industrious and brave national character, China has achieved economic take-off in a short time.