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.
