46 Interesting Facts About China

Last updated on April 30th, 2023

The grand canal at dusk the beauty of the scene, in Hangzhou, China.

31. China has the longest canal in the world. This canal is the Grand Canal of China.

32. Can you imagine wearing paper for clothing or light body armor? Well, this is how strong and durable ancient Chinese paper was.

33. The Chinese too have been to space. This happened on 27th September 2008 when the first Chinese named Zhi Zhigang walked in space.

34. And here is one of the interesting Chinese New Year facts. Do you know that all Chinese share a birthday? Well, according to them, on the New Year, every Chinese turns one year older thus their birthday celebration. This is why the Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China.

35. The Shanghai port of China played a major role in saving Jews during the Second World War. The reason being it was the first and only port to accept the entry of Jews without asking for a visa.

36. The Chinese were also the first to utilize the disastrous effects of gas in war. They did this 2000 years before its first use in the WWI.

37. Archery lovers know that your favorite toy; the crossbow was invented and first used by the Chinese.

38. Fortune cookies may sound Chinese, but they are not part of their culture. In fact, they were invented in 1920 in the USA.

39. For a long time, lanterns were a symbol of life and the family’s wealth. It is said that the wealthiest families had humongous lanterns that required a couple of people to lift up.

40. If you thought we were through with Chinese first, then you are wrong. The Chinese invented the suspension bridge in 25 B.C. Compared to when the westerners built the first one; the Chinese were ahead by 1,800 years.

Bat flying on blue sky,

41. Keep on fearing bats, but for the Chinese, the bat is a symbol of good luck.

42. The Chinese might have also been the first to ride a horse.

43. The Chinese list of olds and first is not yet through. The Lunar Calendar is the oldest calendar in the world dating back to 2600 B.C. It also takes 60 years to complete.

44. You had to be a poet during the Tang Dynasty. This only applied to those who are educated. It was required that educated people greet each other with a poem that has been composed on the spot!

Emperor Qin Shi Huang - First Emperor of China.
Emperor Qin Shi Huang – First Emperor of China. The Terracotta Army or the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses buried in the pits next to the Qin Shi Huang’s tomb in 210-209 BC.

45. The tomb of Qin, the first emperor who is accredited for uniting China, was discovered in 1974. His tomb contained poems, thousands of life-sized soldiers, chariots, and horses.

46. When you wear black as a sign of mourning, in China, they mourn in white.

China – country at a glance

Independence1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established)
Capital CityBeijing
(39°55′N 116°23′E)
Largest CityShanghai
(31.2000° N, 121.5000° E)
Total area9,596,960 sq km
Population1,425,731,615 (est. 2023)
Official LanguageStandard Chinese
BordersAfghanistan, Bhutan, India,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Macau, Hong Kong.
CurrencyRenminbi (yuan)(¥) (CNY)
ReligionBuddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism, and Catholicism
Life expectancy at birth77.72 Years (2022)
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.
Climateextremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrainmostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Mean elevation1,840 m
Lowest pointTurpan Pendi -154 m
Highest pointMount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,848 m
Natural resourcescoal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land
Agricultural land54.7%
Birth rate9.93 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate7.9 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Sex ratio1.04 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
DemonymChinese
Suffrage18 years of age; universal
Literacy ratetotal population: 96.8%
National anthem"Yiyongjun Jinxingqu" (The March of the Volunteers)
National symboldragon
National colorsred, yellow
Government typeCommunist state
Party General Secretary and PresidentXi Jinping
PremierLi Keqiang
Industriesworld leader in gross value of industrial output; mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products (including footwear, toys, and electronics); food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships, aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites
Exports$2,732,370,000,000 (2020 est.)
broadcasting equipment, computers, integrated circuits, office machinery and parts, telephones (2019)
Imports$2,362,690,000,000 (2020 est.)
crude petroleum, integrated circuits, iron, natural gas, cars, gold (2019)
GDP - per capita (PPP)$16,400 (2020 est.)
Internet country code.cn
Time ZoneChina Standard Time (UTC+8)
Calling Code+86
Drives on theRight
Table last updatedJuly 26, 2022