Facts
Trivia
CHINA FACTS
• Official language of China: Putonghua, most commonly referred to as “Mandarin,” spoken by more than 70 percent of the population.
• Family name (Smith) appears before given name (Joe) in China.
• Renminibi (RMB) is the official currency of China. One RMB unit is a Yuan (¥). 1 Yuan = 0.146171 U.S. Dollars (3/3/2009 – Yahoo Currency Converter). Currency fluctuates daily, but only minimally.
• China has only one time zone (12 hours ahead of East Coast; 15 hours ahead of Pacific).*
• History: China was first united during the third century B.C. and stretches back over 5,000 years.
• Communist government divided into Executive Branch: Chief of State (elected President) and Head of Government (nominated by President); Legislative Branch: National People’s Congress (unicameral, elected members); and Judicial Branch: Supreme People’s Court (appointed by legislature).*
• Population: 1,330,044,544 (July 2008 est.)*
• World’s fourth largest country.*
• Beijing July Temperature (avg.): High – 87 Low – 70 **
• Suffrage age: 18 (universal)*
• Capital: Beijing
• Largest Cities: Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin*
*Source: C.I.A The World Factbook
** Source: The Weather Channel
CHINESE TRIVIA
• China owns 20% of the world’s population.±
• 94% of Chinese people live in eastern third of the country.±
• China is only the third nation (Russia, U.S.A.) to launch a manned space flight. ±
• The 2008 Sichuan Earthquake left 87,000 Chinese missing or dead. ±
• China (2007) has 37 million more males than females. °
• 2002 Population and Family Planning Law and policy permit one child per family, with rare exceptions for second child, often in rural areas.ˣ
• Over 40% of China’s labor force works in agriculture.ˣ
• Coal is China’s most popular fuel source.ˣ
• China has 33 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.ǂ
• Applause is a sign of welcome in China. ǂ
• The style of Chinese cuisine most familiar to Westerners is Cantonese, though the country’s cuisine is distinct to each or it’s four major regions.ǂ
• In China, antiques (100 years old) are marked with a red seal by the government. ǂ
• Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest public square.ǂ
• Chinese Central TV (CCTV) is the country’s state run television station.ǂ
±Source: National Geographic
° Source: People’s Daily Online
ˣ Source: U.S. Department of State
ǂ Source: World Travel Guide