Geography emerged as a separate school discipline in the educational system of China in the 20th century. The history of its development had several distinct periods, but is largely divided into pre and post 1949. After 1949, the educational system in general underwent major changes that resulted in increasingly greater amounts of geography in the curriculum, especially at the junior middle school level. A major influence during the period came from the Soviet Union's educational system. Following the Cultural Revolution, school curriculum went through another period of change. Three national Drafts of the Teaching Plan issued by the Ministry of Education since 1978 have each made changes in the teaching of geography. The most recent takes effect in 1990. Through teacher education in normal colleges and universities and inservice teacher training, China is addressing the persistent problems of teacher preparation and school equipment in geography.