Noely's Interesting Map

China's World Map

    At first glance, you may say, "This map is wrong. It looks weird." Weird, yes from an American perspective. Wrong, not quite. This map is China's map of the world. The first key difference I noticed was where the countries were located. Traditionally, in the United States and most parts of the world, Europe is in the center of the map, the Americas are in the eastern hemisphere, and Asia is in the western. However, I took notice of China's centered position and the tiny European countries. This sizing and localization of the world map bring in the idea of centrism that I find interesting. I realized by looking at this version of this map that the maps that I am used to and are used all around the world hold a Eurocentric view of the world, holding Europe at its center and making other countries like Africa smaller than what they actually are. 

    When examining this map I quickly decided to look for Taiwan. I would have expected to either see the country not have a color at all or it to be the same color as China. As I should have guessed, it was the same color as China, pink. Through China's map, you can take notice of their geopolitics. Although few countries officially recognize Taiwan's independence (the U.S. is not included), through this map you can see China's perspective of dominance it has over the country. This detail was interesting to me because I realized even geography can be about perspective and your environment. A student in China is going to learn that Taiwan is rightfully a part of China and not raise any questions about it because it is what they have been taught. There is no reason to question if you were made to believe it is true. 

    The final detail I was intentionally looking for was China's 9-dashed line, which I quickly counted and spotted. The 9-dashed line interests me because it was the reason the Barbie movie was banned in Vietnam. China claims that the "South China Sea" belongs to them while Vietnam contests the "East Sea" corresponds to them instead. Both nations claim to have control over this sea and I find it amusing that Vietnam took it so seriously as to ban the highest-grossing film of 2023 over an assumed 9-dash line. This, again, feeds into my interest in the geopolitics of the world. 

Click here to take a closer look at the map!