Short facts about China

- China has 1.3 billion people, a little over 20 percent of the world’s population.

- The Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar based on the cycles of the moon. The date varies from year to year but typically falls in January or February.

- The twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig, with each year represented by one of the animals. A full Chinese zodiac is twelve years. A complete calendar cycle is sixty years.

- The money used in China is called renminbi, meaning the people’s currency. The basic unit is the yuan.

- The Great Wall can be seen by the human eye from outer space.

- Giant pandas are a national treasure in China. There areabout 1,600 pandas living in the wild today.

- The compass, paper, gunpowder and printing are called the Four Greatest Ancient Chinese Inventions. Other Chinese inventions include fireworks and ice cream.

- China is the homeland of tea, and its cultivation dates back two thousand years.

- Mount Qomolangma (also known as Mount Everest), the highest point in the world, is located
between China and Nepal.

- In China, a person’s family name comes first, followed by the first name. There is no middle name.

- The three most popular Chinese family names are Li, Zhang, and Wang.

- In ancient China, Chinese characters were written on animal bones, turtle shells, silk, or bamboo slices.