Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Asian Football Cup Update:Group B Match Uzbekistan 1 - China 2


Asian Football Cup Update: China v Uzbekistan, Brisbane Stadium (Kick off 1 pm 14th January 2015). Uzbekistan took an early lead after 22 minutes through a goal from Odil Ahmedov against the run of play, a speculative long-range shot from outside the box that  deflected off the legs of the Chinese defensive midfielder Wu Xi and at half time Uzbekistan led China 1-0. Ten minutes into the second half Wu Xi made amends after converting a cross from Jiang Zhipeng which floated over the head of Uzbekistan goalkeeper Ignatiy Nesterov. At 69 minutes China then went one up with a spectacular long range solo strike from substitute Sun Ke. Uzbekistan sadly could not find a late equaliser. Uzbekistan coach Mirdjalal Kasimov said that whilst they had the better of the first half, China responded well and made the most of two defensive lapses in the second. China now goes through to the semi final. Uzbekistan must now must beat Saudi Arabia (after their 4-1 win against North Korea yesterday) in  Melbourne on Sunday the 17th January to decide the pool runner-up and a spot in the semi finals. Good luck Uzbekistan!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Altai - The ancestral homeland of the Turkic Peoples

The Turkic peoples are thought to have originated in the areas in and around the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Gradually they spread out and occupied large tracks of Siberia and Central Asia. In time groups emerged from within the Turkic horde, amongst whom are the Karluk (Uygur and Uzbek), Kipchak (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Karakalpak and Tatar) and Oghuz (Turkmen, Azeri and Turks).  It is also regarded as the homeland of other nationalities Mongolians, Koreans and even Hungarians. The Ural-Altaic languages to whom all the groups (Turks, Mongols, Koreans and Hungarians) speak are named after the region.

Altai Mountains



The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. They stretch for 1,200 miles across southwestern Mongolia from Siberia plain to the Gobi Desert. The mountains are of moderate height. There are several peaks over 4,500 meters. Those that are higher than 3,000 meters are snowcapped throughout the year. The region is rich in lakes and streams. The Ob, Irtysh and Yenisei all have their sources in the Altai. The Altai people live mainly in the broad plateaus, steppes and valleys of the ranges, where water is plentiful. The Altai complex of mountain ranges embraces the water divide mountains for all of Asia: the South Altai, the Inner Altai and the east Altai. The Mongolian Altai is connected to this mountain complex, rising to the southeast of the Siberian Altai region.

A varied region it has many landscapes forests, steppes, wild rivers, lakes, deserts, snow capped mountains and abundant wildlife.  The climate is continental with extremes in temperatures occurring between the summer and the winter. The mountains help to mitigate the extremes to some extent by causing a winter temperature inversion that produces an island of winter temperatures that are warmer than those in the Siberian taiga to the north and the Central Asian and Mongolian steppes to south and east. Even so temperatures drop as low as -48°C in the winter. The mountains are a gathering point for precipitation in a region that otherwise is dry. The most rain falls in July and August, with another smaller period of rain in late autumn. The western Altai receives around 50 centimeters of precipitation a year. The eastern Altai receives less: around 40 centimeters a year.

 Snow leopard

Natural vegetation in the region includes steppe grasses, shrubs and bushes and light forests of birch, fir, aspen, cherry, spruce, and pines, with many clearings in the forest. These forest merge with a modified taiga. Among the animals are hare, mountain sheep, several species of deer, bobac, woodchucks, lynx, polecats, snow leopards, wolves, bears, argali sheep, siberian ibex, mountain goats and deer. Bird species include pheasants, ptarmigan, goose, partridge, Altai snowcocks, owls, snipes and jays. In the streams and rivers are trout, grayling and the herring-like sig.


Siberian ibex