Interesting Facts About China

As one of the biggest superpowers in the world, with an unrivaled population, China also has one of the longest and most interesting histories. A lot has happened here and a lot continues to happen, and in this article we’ll expose a few fun facts that might surprise you.

Chopsticks

The first chopsticks were invented in China. That probably doesn’t come of much as a surprise and certainly can’t be listed as a fun or surprising fact. However, it might come as a surprise to learn that the first chopsticks used in China were made over 5,000 years ago and today there are over 45 billion chopsticks used in the country every year.

Population

This is an interesting fact to get your head around. If you were to line up all of the Chinese population in a single file and then walk past all of them, you would be walking forever. Not only is the population of China bigger than the population of any other country on earth, but because of the rapid rate of reproduction, this is a line that just keeps on growing.

Ghost Cities

In an effort to keep builders busy and to inject cash into the construction industry, China doesn’t stop building and creates a large number of new cities and towns. Unfortunately, not all of these are needed and not all of them are finished, which is why China has so many “ghost” cities, devoid of human life and with buildings that have never been lived in and are being quickly reclaimed by the environment. This has led to suggestions that a financial collapse could be imminent, but in the meantime they can make some money by leasing cities out to film companies looking for post apocalyptic sets.

Air Pollution

You probably already know that China has a huge issue with air pollution, caused by the many businesses that operate without strict pollution laws, and because China is pretty much going through the industrial age that countries in the West finished 100 years ago. You may be surprised to learn that this pollution spread to the rest of the world though, and that close to a third of all of the air pollution in San Francisco actually comes from China.

Good Deal?

Much of the world’s tech is created in China, with cheaply made iPads, iPhones and more. Despite this, these items can still carry a large premium, much like the ones in other countries. And with the young generation eager to get their hand on the latest tech, it seems some of them are willing to do anything. Perhaps the most outlandish story concerning what people have done to get the latest tech was from a boy who sold his kidney to get enough money for an iPad.

Banned

Because of his role in the film Seven Years in Tibet, Brad Pitt has been banned from ever visiting China. Without going into too much detail, China and Tibet don’t have the best of relationships…