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Department of Geography and Resource Management UGEB 2151 China's Mega-Projects in The New Millennium (1st Term, 2021-2022)
Department of Geography and Resource Management UGEB 2151 China's Mega-Projects in The New Millennium (1st Term, 2021-2022)
Lecturer: Dr. WANG Lang (Sino 243), Phone 3943 6638, E-mail <lang.wang@cuhk.edu.hk>
Tutor: Ms. ZHOU Zhengke (Sino 251A), Phone 9298 1516, E-mail <zhouzhk@link.cuhk.edu.hk>
Course Outline
China has built the highest railway in the world (Qinghai-Tibetan railway), and a 4,200-km
natural gas pipeline from Xinjiang to Shanghai, and restored the flow of the nation’s longest
inland river (Tarim River) in Xinjiang. Some other mega-projects committed since the 1970s have
also been completed, including the Three-Norths Afforestation Shelterbelt (Green Great Wall),
the Three Gorges Dam, the North-South Water Transfer Scheme, the Clean Water-Blue Sky anti-
pollution schemes, and the designation of nature conservation reserves to preserve biodiversity.
More recently, high-speed railways have been constructed. These projects have been conceived
for decades and some are highly controversial on their environmental, economic and social
impacts. While the scale and impacts of these projects are unprecedented in the history of China,
are they environmentally sustainable and acceptable by the people? What are the purposes of
these projects and are there other alternatives? How will these projects affect China’s sustainable
development in the 21st century?
The course focuses on the background, decision-making process, pros and cons as well as long-
term implications of the mega-projects. Lectures will be supplemented with slides and videos
from time to time.
Course Content
Course Objectives
Being the most populous country in the world, China is facing the problems of over-population,
resource depletion, desertification, droughts, floods, pollution, loss of biodiversity, unbalanced
regional development etc. Since 1978 the economy has grown rapidly and as of to date, it has
become a rising economic power of the world. However, environmental problems arising from
rapid economic growth have reached a point whereby sustainable development of the country is
threatened. The objectives of this course are fivefold:
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1. To keep abreast with the latest development in China;
2. To understand the contradictions in China’s huge population, fast growing economy,
inadequate energy and resources per capita, and environmental sustainability;
3. To examine China’s decision-making processes in infrastructure construction;
4. To understand the principles, mechanisms and effects of environmental degradation at the
local, regional and national levels; and
5. To understand China’s response to new challenges in the 21 st century with respect to
national security and sustainable development goals (SDGs).
This course focuses on the objectives and implications of mega-projects in China while the
technical details will be briefly discussed. The course content is meant to be comprehensive,
integrated and multidisciplinary. After taking this course, students are expected to have a
comprehensive understanding about the latest development in China. The expected learning
outcomes shall include:
Learning Activities
There will be lectures, quizzes, mini quizzes, group-based project and a term paper for this
course. Lecture notes are posted on Blackboard before/after each class. There will be two in-
class mini quizzes based on video watching. Participation and answering True/False and MC
questions in each of the 2 sessions. There will be three in-class quizzes. Both MC and essay
questions will be asked in the quizzes. A group-based project will also be conducted. Grouping
and selected topics will be finalized and announced in Blackboard after the add-drop period. Each
student is also required to submit a term paper and a field trip report at the end of the term. The
topics and guidelines will be announced after the add-drop period.
Assessment
Students will be assessed continuously. Questions in the quizzes are either extracted from the
required reading list or have been addressed in lectures. You are advised not to skip any classes
and read comprehensively.
All students are required to participate, unless permission due to special reasons is given by the
instructor. The visit date will be scheduled on a working day based on class survey. The purpose
of the visit is to learn about the operation of the solar farm and sewerage water treatment works
with the focus of the three SDGs. Based on what you will see and learn in the visit, you are
required to attend group discussion and complete a field trip report around 2000 words.
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Class Schedule
5 8 Oct
Lecture West-East Gas Pipeline Project Wang
Quiz 1 Quiz 1 (10:30-11:15 am)
6 15 Oct Lecture West-East Electricity Transmission Project Wang
13 3 Dec
Lecture Combating water pollution Wang
Quiz 3 Quiz 3 (10:30-11:15 am)
Most of the reading materials are available in the Reference Room (Room 220) of the Department
of Geography & Resource Management. Some of the books are reserved in the University
Library. Additional references may be given after each lecture.
Veeck, G., C.W. Pannell, C.J. Smith., Y. and Huang (2007). China’s Geography:
Globalization and the Dynamics of Political, Economic and Social Change. Lanham:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 1-14.
Ash, R.F. and R.L. Edmonds (1998). China’s land resources, environment and
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agricultural production. The China Quarterly, 156:836-879.
Chen, B. (1999). The existing state, future change trends in land-use and food
production capacities in China. Ambio, 28(8), 682-686.
Ma, H., O. Les, and J. Gibson. (2009) China's energy situation in the new millennium.
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 13 (8): 1781-1799.
Smil, V. (1999). China’s Agricultural Land. The China Quarterly, 158: 414-429.
《中国的环境保护(1996—2005)》白皮书.
http://env.people.com.cn/GB/57414/57415/65503/65506/4435268.html
2. Mega-Projects
Chau, K.C. (1995). The Three Gorges Project of China: Resettlement Prospects and
Problems. Ambio, 24:98-102.
Edmonds, R.L. (2000). Recent development and prospects for the Sanxia (Three
Gorges) Dam. In T. Cannon (ed.), China’s economic growth: The impact on regions,
migration and the environment (pp. 161-183). Basingstoke: Macmillan; New York: St.
Martin’s Press.
Jan, G.P. (1998). Water resource management: the Three Gorges Project in China. In
D.K. Vaipeyi (ed.), Water resource management: A comparative perspective (pp. 51-
70). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
Li, H. (2001). Reservoir resettlement in China: Past experience and the Three Gorges
Dam. The Geographical Journal, 167, 195-212.
Liu, C. (2000) Environmental Issues and the South-North Water Transfer Scheme. In
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Edmonds, R. L. (eds.), Managing the Chinese environment (pp. 175-186). Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Chau, K.C. (2004). Xinjiang. In Yeung, Y.Y. and Shen, J. F. (eds.), Developing China’s
West, (pp.251-276), CUHK Press, Hong Kong.
Xiaoping Yang, Jufeng Gong and Paul D White (2006). The key role of water
resources management in ecological restoration in western China. Geographical
Research, 44(2):146-154.
China decides Tarim-Shanghai natural gas pipeline route. (2000, February). Oil & Gas
Journal, 98(9), 38.
China launches massive gas pipeline campaign. (2000, June). Oil & Gas Journal,
98(23), 63.
China: Green light for west-east pipeline. (2002, March). Petroleum Economist, 69(3),
37-38.
Smil, V. (1998). China’s Energy and Resource Uses: Continuity and Change. The
China Quarterly, 156:935-951.
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張學良, 聶清凱. (2010) 高速鐵路建設與中國區域經濟一體化發展. 現代城市研究.
(6) 7-10.
Johnson, T., F. Liu and R.S. Newfarmer (1997). Clear Water, Blue Skies: China
Environment in the New Century, World Bank, Washington D.C., Chapters 1, 7 & 8.
Kang, O. and L. Yong (1998). Management and utilization of water resources in the
People’s Republic of China. In D.K. Vajpeyi (ed.), Water resource management: A
comparative perspective (pp. 33-50). Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.
Ding, D., H. Bao and Y. Ma (1998). Progress in the study of desertification in China.
Progress in Physical Geography, 22(4), 521-527.
Steffen, A (2003). The fall of the Green Wall of China. WorldChanging. 29 December
2003.
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/000252.html
Chen, G. (1999). Forest change: Hydrological effects in the Upper Yangtze River
Valley. Ambio, 28(8), 457-459.
Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to
the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and
regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.
With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are
aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures. In the case of group projects,
all students of the same group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is
responsible should there be any plagiarized contents in the group project, irrespective of
whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed directly or
indirectly to the plagiarized contents.
For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based
and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the
system upon students' uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. Assignments without the
properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers. Only the final version of the
assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.
The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose
(e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect
shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submission. It is common and
acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale
reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be
obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.
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