For thousands of years, the ancient Chinese thought they were pretty much alone on the planet Earth. They knew there were people to the north, the Felt Tent People - the Mongols - but they did not know that other advanced ancient civilizations existed anywhere else.  China's natural barriers to the west, south, and east helped to protect these early people from invasion. China's natural barriers include seas - the China Sea and the  Yellow Sea, both located in the Pacific Ocean. These seas provide a huge coastline, which provided trade routes and easy access to food.   China's natural barriers also include mountains, deserts, and rivers.  As you can see, China has many natural barriers, all of which helped to keep her isolated from the rest of the world for many thousands of years.  Mountains Deserts Rivers   Geography of China  Ancient China: Geography Timelines and Maps Free Ancient China Presentations in PowerPoint format  Return to Ancient China Index