China’s 10 Most Interesting Facts!

By Deborah Halls Last updated Apr 28, 2022 0

China is presently regarded as having one of the world’s fastest-expanding economies. Every day, it appears like new buildings are being built. China, on the other hand, is home to some of the world’s oldest written records. China’s history and culture are both fascinating and intriguing.

It would take a lifetime to understand everything there is to know about China, but here are some facts you may not have known about the country.

1. The world’s third-largest country (by area) China, after Russia and Canada, is the world’s third-largest country by area. Despite being the world’s third-largest country, China possesses the world’s greatest population. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the State Council’s Seventh National Population Census Leading Group Office, China’s population is 1,411,778,724.

The male population is 72,339,956, accounting for 51.24 percent of the total population, while the female population is 688,438,768, accounting for 48.76 percent. The overall population sex ratio is 105.07.

Ethnic minorities make up 125.47 million people or 8.89 percent of the population.

17.95 percent of the population is between the ages of 0 and 14, 63.35 percent is between the ages of 15 and 59, 18.7 percent is 60 years or older, and 13.5 percent is 65 years or older.

The Han ethnic group has a population of 1286.31 million people, accounting for 91.11 percent of the total population. Ethnic minorities make up 125.47 million people or 8.89 percent of the population.

2. Virtual Private Network (VPN) (VPN) If you’re considering a trip to Beijing or other parts of China, you should consider downloading a VPN first. This is a good idea because Google, Facebook, Twitter, and a long list of other services are not available in China. The best VPN for China in 2022 may be found here.

A VPN allows users to access these sites by making it appear as though they are accessing the internet from a different location. Bonus fact: You can watch Netflix while traveling with a VPN while still protecting yourself from security dangers and hackers.

3. China was the first country to invent toilet paper. Can you picture a future where toilet paper isn’t available? I’d rather not. We frequently take for granted this basic invention. This requirement may never have been invented if it hadn’t been for the ancient Chinese in the 6th century AD.

The paper had been used as a wrapping and padding material in China from the 2nd century BC, but the earliest documented usage of toilet paper in human history was in early medieval China in the 6th century AD. (en.wikipedia.org）

4. In China, the color red is associated with happiness. If you’ve ever attended a Chinese New Year celebration, you may have noticed that the color red is prevalent.

In Chinese tradition, red is a lucky and auspicious hue. The color red is related to the element fire, which represents life, vitality, and light, as well as good fortune and joy. This is why red is not permitted at Chinese funerals.

Zhongguo Jie literally translates to “Chinese Knots.” It’s a type of knotting art. Year after year, it is presented as a sign to wish individuals health and happiness. Chinese knotting is a decorative handicraft art that arose in China during the Tang and Song Dynasties (960-1279 AD) as a form of Chinese folk art. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was very popular (1368-1911 AD). Chinese traditional decorative knots are also a part of the art.

5. It is not a Chinese custom to eat fortune cookies. Despite the fact that fortune cookies have long been connected with China, they were not invented there. Although there is some controversy about where the fortune cookie originated, most people believe it was invented by a Japanese immigrant in San Francisco, California.

A fortune cookie is a crisp, sugary cookie with a piece of paper that is commonly made from flour, sugar, vanilla, and sesame seed oil. Biblical quotations, as well as aphorisms from Confucius, Aesop, and Ben Franklin, appeared in early fortunes. Later fortunes contained lottery numbers, smiley faces, and jokes, among other things. They’ve been employed by politicians in campaigns, and fortunes have been tailored for weddings and birthday celebrations.

6. In China, there is only a one-time zone. China is the world’s third-largest country, spanning five time zones geographically. During the Republic of China, from 1912 to 1949, all five time zones were used, but China has since decided to use only one standard time.

In China, the time is set by a single standard time offset of UTC+08:00 (eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time). Beijing Time (BJT, Chinese: ) is the official national standard time. Take a look at Beijing Time.

7. China’s National Sport is Ping Pong. Ping pong may not be considered a sport by some, but after watching the heated ping pong bouts in China, you may reconsider. Table tennis, popularly known as ping pong, has been designated as the People’s Republic of China’s national sport.

When it comes to ping pong champions, China fully dominates. China has won every gold medal in ping pong in the last three Olympics, and the top five ping pong players in the world are all Chinese.

8. China was the first country to discover tea. Tea has been drinking and used in China for thousands of years. When it was originally employed in the 10th century BC, it was frequently used as medicine. Tea practices and usage have developed and evolved since then. Chinese tea is surrounded by a whole culture and art form. Tea can be grown, brewed, served, and consumed in a variety of ways.

Longjing Tea, as it is known in my birthplace of Hangzhou, literally means “Dragon Well,” a location perfect for growing the famed green tea. One of China’s top green teas, Longjing Tea, is one of the reasons for Hangzhou’s international popularity. Hangzhou’s Longjing mountain area, southwest of the West Lake, is where the tea is grown.

9. The world’s largest canal is located in China. The Grand Canal, which runs from Beijing to my hometown of Hangzhou, is the world’s longest at 1776 kilometers. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is not only the longest but also the oldest canal in the world.

The Grand Canal is a canal in Venice, Italy. The Grand Canal (China), commonly known as the Beijing-Hangzhou (Jinghong) Grand Canal, ends in Hangzhou. It is often regarded as the world’s first and longest artificial waterway, stretching 1776 kilometers from Beijing in the north to Hangzhou in the south.

10. A Chopstick Museum may be found in Shanghai. Although this museum is small, it houses 2,000 pairs of chopsticks dating back to the Tang Dynasty. The museum’s proprietor, Lan Xiang, has traveled all over the world to create his huge collection.

Chopsticks from Korea, Japan, and Thailand, dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, are on display in five categories: bamboo, wood, metal, jade, and tooth bone. It has evolved into China’s only family chopsticks museum.

Mr. Lanxiang, the company’s creator, is a well-known folk collector who is known in the collecting community as “China’s first chopsticks collector.”