People are not evenly spread across countries in this region. They have been attracted to areas with opportunities to make a living.
China the environment partly explains patterns of population in China. Only about 15 percent of the country's are is arable or able to grow crops. Most of this arable land is in eastern China. This is where people settled long ago to farm. China's big cities all developed here originally to serve as markets for the farming population.
More than nine-tenths of China's people live in the east and this area can be very crowded. Many of its cities are very large. Beijing and Shanghai both have more than 20 million people. Other big cities have grown along the coast. A coastal location provides access to overseas trade.
Which statement best describes arable land?
A. Land that is located in mountains regions
B. Land that is in a desert region
C. Land that is suitable to grow crops
D. Land that is not suitable to grow crops