China Facts and Information – Interesting Facts about China and its People

Know interesting facts about china including demographics of China, people of china, major cities of china, Great wall of China, inventions, History, Geography, political movements, art and literature, and current events.

• The most populated habitat in the world belongs to China. With a population that ranges from about 1.2 billion to 3 billion people, China occupies one-fifth of the world’s population.
• Majority of the people in China constituting 93% of the total population are Han Chinese and the rest consists of 350 minority groups. Amongst them 55 groups have their own culture, language and religion.
• In terms of land space China holds the third place in the world. Russia and Canada are its forerunner. There are about 31 provinces, autonomous regions and special municipalities.
• Chongquing, Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin are the four largest cities of China that are under direct control of the central government.
• The minority groups include Mongols, Tibetans, Yugur and Bai and they occupy almost half of China.
• Only 15% of land in China is favorable for agriculture, thus there is a great strain on the land to feed so many people.
• More than 70% of the Chinese population speaks Mandarin Chinese.
• Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and in parts of Guangdong province.
• 24% of the world speaks Chinese.
• According to economists China would become the world’s largest economy and the wealthiest nation by 2012.
• The popular beverage, tea, was popularized in the world by the Chinese.
• China manufactures 60% of the world’s bicycles.
• It was in China that gunpowder was first discovered and used in fireworks, signal flares and in small missiles used by the military.
• China claims to be the oldest continuous civilization in the world for the past 4000 years.
• China is one of the few countries where fossils of homo gigantus have been found. Homo gigantus is more commonly called “Big Foot”.
• China has been under communist rule since 1949.
• People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 by the Communist leader Mao Zedong. He began a cultural revolution in which schools and universities were shut down, intellectuals and artists of all kinds were dismissed, persecuted and sent to labor in the rural areas or killed, temples, monuments and other art crafts were destroyed. All religious institutions were closed and religious leaders were sent to jail.
• Even though the communist government preaches atheism there are five prominent religions practiced in China which are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestant Christianity.
• The red background of the Chinese flag symbolizes the bloodshed throughout the revolution and it’s also the traditional color of the Chinese people.
• Paper was invented in China in the 2nd century B.C. People started to use plants, such as hemp, to make thin paper.
• During the 3rd century B.C., the Qin emperors started to build a massive wall to stop smuggling. Later dynasties built walls against Mongolian tribes to the North. The Great Wall of China is one of the largest construction projects ever to be completed. It stretches across the mountains of Northern China and Northwest Beijing. It is made up of masonry, rocks and packed earth.
• Chinese believers in Falun Gong are routinely executed and have their organs sold on the black market. The Chinese government also uses Falun Gong prisoners to conduct medical experiments. Some countries now ban organ exports from China due to their illegal practices.
• Ice cream was invented in China around 2000 B.C. when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in the snow as a treat.

These are some of the most interesting facts about China and Chinese people that you may or may not have come across. The country has vast historical significance and is one of the most prominent nations of the world soon to emerge as the wealthiest country in the world.