China is the most populous country in the world. With close to 1.5 billion people, it contains one-fifth of the population in the world. Its long history and varied geography make it a fascinating place to learn about. Check out all the resources below and grab the FREE printable portion to learn about China!
Note: For ideas on how to organize your unit study and see the other 12 countries in this series, visit the Learn Countries of the World page.
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Printables to Learn About China
The printable portion of the unit study contains China Notebooking Pages, a Map Scavenger Hunt, a Following Directions activity, a math activity about Chinese currency, Famous People notebooking pages, and book summaries. Grab all 22 pages below and gain access to the printables from the other 12 unit studies, too!
Videos About China
10 facts to learn about China for elementary students (3:00 minutes)
These two videos give a good overview of Chinese history for older students. (9-10 minutes each)
China also has many unique animals and here is a great video for introducing them. (15 minutes)
You can also visit the pandas in China with The Travel Kids (7 minutes)
Research More About China
Kids World Travel Guide contains a lot of information to learn about China along with beautiful pictures.
Ducksters has a variety of information about China including information about the geography, economy, and government of China as well as famous Chinese people with links to learn more about some of them. There are also several links to information about Ancient China.
National Geographic Kids has a slideshow of related pictures, fast facts, the history of China and more.
Cool Kid Facts has a narrative version of facts about China written in a larger font making it good place for younger children to learn.
Hands On Activities
Make a Chinese Rattle Drum. And check out this list of videos with Chinese drums.
Or try a Paper Lantern craft and check out the Chinese lantern festival.
This Chinese dragon puppet is super cute. Watch a Dragon Dance competition.
Make Plum Blossoms with tissue paper. Plum blossoms are a favorite flower in China and often can be seen in Chinese art work. Cherry blossoms are also popular. Here is a cherry blossom drawing video.
Terracotta Soldier: Watch this video and then make your own soldier with clay.
Or make a Chinese Zodiac Wheel.
Get some exercise in by trying some Kung Fu moves.
Make Chinese Food
Rice, soybeans, and a variety of vegetables are staples in Chinese food.
An easy dish to make with your children in Fried Rice.
The Spruce Eats has a variety of Chinese meat and vegetable dishes to go with your fried rice.
For dessert, try making your own Fortune Cookies!
For a variety of Chinese recipes, check out Red House Spice.
Famous Chinese People
Included in the printable portion of the unit study there are notebooking pages for the following famous people of China. Here are some resources to research them:
Sun Tzu: Research, Here is a summary of the book he wrote. The book itself.
Dalai Lama: Research, Who is the Dalai Lama? book, Video
Bruce Lee: Research, Who Was Bruce Lee? book, Video
Jack Ma, businessman: Research, Video
Yao Ming, basketball player: Research, Video and video
Fan Bingbing, actress: Research
Jackie Chan: Research, Who Is Jackie Chan? book, Video
Play Chinese Music
Find a Chinese playlist on your favorite streaming service or listen to this collection from youtube.com.
Learn Chinese
Rock ‘N Learn offers 40 minutes videos for a variety of categories of Chinese words. Aimed toward younger learners.
This a good beginner Chinese video to expose older students to common phrases.
Duolingo is another free way to learn Chinese.
Non-fiction Books to Learn About China
Fiction Books About China
There are many children’s books set in China. Here are a few chapter books to get you started.
Elementary grades:
Middle School:
Movies About China
PBS series The Story of China contains 6 episodes containing different aspects of Chinese history.
Pandas the Journey Home is a National Geographic film about pandas living in Wolong National Nature Reserve in China. Available to rent on Amazon.
Born in China by Disneynature follows panda, golden monkey and snow leopard families in China.
The Karate Kid (2010) is about an American boy who moves to China and is appropriate for ages 9 and up.
Mulan (1998): Disney take on a Chinese fairy tale for ages 5 and up.
Seven Years in Tibet (1997) is about a mountaineer in Tibet who meets the Dalai Lama. It can be rented through Amazon and is appropriate for ages 13 and up.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) is an award winning martial arts movie available to rent through Amazon and appropriate for ages 12 and up.
“Go to” China
Here is a list of four museums in China with links to their virtual tours.
Check out one of these 12 webcams around China!
Or one these 18 webcams in China.
What other activities have you used to learn about China?
Other ideas for learning about different countries:
