15 Awesome China Facts and Secrets You Never Knew

China is a country with a rich culture and beautiful landscape. It has brought numerous inventions to the world and has withstood the test of time. China has become one of the world’s superpowers since its founding 5000 years ago. However, though it is one of the most advanced nations in the world, many people still don’t know much about Chinese culture, society, people, language, and politics.

In today’s article, we will go through 15 incredible secrets about China that you need to know now. Some of these may shock you, and others could leave you even more curious about one of humanity’s oldest civilizations. So, relax, and let’s begin.

The President Has No Power

In most democracies worldwide, the highest-ranked elected official is the president, who holds executive power over institutions like the army. For many countries’ citizens, this is the usual method of governance. However, things are different in China.

Though it is a socialist democratic country, China’s president has no real power. Instead, the authority to govern the country goes to the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), who is also the de facto leader. 

The presidential title is a ceremonial role held by the person representing China globally. The title had two-term limits. However, the limits were abolished in 2018, giving the general secretary the power to rule as president indefinitely. Currently, Xi Jinping serves as the president of China and General Secretary of the CCP.

It has the Toughest Language With A Complex History

Most people believe their language is easy and everyone can learn with more effort, but some languages are more complex than others, and Mandarin is the toughest. 

Mandarin is the world’s most complex language because of its characters’ structure and literature. Mandarin was so hard that China’s illiteracy rates were through the roof for centuries because most people could not learn such a complex language.

It took decades and multiple simplifications for Mandarin to be easy enough for the average person to learn. And still, it is the most difficult of all languages on the planet.

Wow, imagine having to use an intense amount of brainpower to speak, read, and write. No wonder Chinese people are so intelligent.

China’s History Runs Very Deep

Very few countries on the planet have histories spanning thousands of years. From Egypt to Iran, these nations have existed before many significant human inventions like writing. China is one of these nations, and its history spans 5000 years. That’s right, Chinese civilization is as old as recorded human history.

Many historians have argued over China’s beginnings, and there has been no definitive time when the civilization started because of the lack of definitive recorded history. However, most popular outlets agree that the Xia dynasty was the starting point of Chinese society. 

Since then, Chinese civilization flourished and grew, making it one of the world’s oldest progressive societies. The nation’s history exists in three eras: Pre-Imperial, Imperial, and Modern China. We are currently in the modern China era.

It Has One of The Largest and Best Cuisines

Whenever you search online for countries with the best cuisines, you will find China on the list, and it is not there for a joke. China has one of the best cuisines in the world. With a rich history spanning millennia, the nation brought many new cuisines and cooking styles.

Foods and delicacies invented by the Chinese include noodles, fried rice, mapo tofu, idli, pasta, ice cream, ketchup, sushi, and miso. 

As for its cooking styles, there are 8 culinary traditions in China. They include:

• Cantonese Cuisine: A culinary tradition that has seeped into many cultures. It includes stir-frying or steaming to reduce the grease content of the food; this cuisine style also encourages mild spice use to prevent overshadowing primary ingredients like rice and eggs.
• Zhejiang Cuisine: This cuisine relies on mild and fresh flavors and has three primary styles: Shaoxing style, which specializes in freshwater fish and poultry; Hangzhou style, which relies on the use of flavorful bamboo shoots; and Ningbo style, which specializes in seafood.
• Shandong Cuisine: This culinary tradition relies on salty flavors and mostly thrives on seafood, vegetables, and domesticated birds. It has two styles: Jiaoong and Jinan.
• Sichuan Cuisine: This cuisine employs spicy flavors, primarily the Sichuan pepper. The culinary tradition has about 40 different cooking styles.
• Anhui Cuisine: This tradition uses wild herbs from land and sea. One popular popular food created from the Anhuinese tradition is stinky tofu.
• Fujian Cuisine: The Fujian Cuisine is notable for its tender, flavorful, and umami-like taste. It is characterized by fresh mountain and sea ingredients for making soups and broths. Popular seasonings in this culinary tradition include shrimp paste, fish sauce, sugar, preserved apricots, wine lees, and rice wine.
• Hunan Cuisine: This cuisine is known for its spicy flavors and deep colors. Techniques used in preparing these dishes include pot roasting, stewing, frying, smoking, and braising.
• Jiangsu Cuisine: This tradition has a soft texture and seasonal flavor selection. The flavors used are pre-determined, and the color has to match the dish’s shape.

It Has Crazy Feats of Engineering

Some people may think that the Germans are the best in engineering, but recently, China has proven that it is, without a doubt, the best engineering powerhouse on the planet. The country managed to build the Great Wall of China, a massive structure that slightly altered the Earth’s moment of inertia.

As of June 19, 2024, China became the first country to have a nuclear fusion plant that put out more power than it received. And we can’t forget about Covid 19. In 2020, the Chinese government built a 1,500-patient-capacity hospital in just 5 days. 

Other feats of engineering China achieved include creating 5-nanometer process chips in a few years, expanding the country’s forests by 425,000 km2, and creating a 5GWh solar farm.

It Had One the Fastest Developments Ever Recorded in History

Though China was an advanced society for most of its history, there were times when it faltered and fell in advancement. One of these times was the 19th and 20th century. 

In the 1900s, China faced high poverty and illiteracy rates; this era was the Century of Humiliation. However, China got itself together and rapidly changed its situation. It eradicated most of the poverty from its society and simplified its language, massively improving literacy. Since then, the country has become one of the world’s superpowers.

China is The Fourth Largest Country On Earth 

Whenever a discussion about the largest countries on the planet occurs, most people immediately think about Russia and Canada. However, most people forget that China is the fourth largest nation in the world. It was previously the third until the United States gained more land area and overtook it.

It Has the World’s Largest Dam

Apart from its machines, China is also a powerhouse in creating dams. Two of the three largest dams in the world, the Three Gorges Dam and Xiluodo Dam, are located in the country, and the Chinese government vehemently supports many hydroelectric projects. As of 2024, China leads the world with the most dams, at 80,000.

Also, the Three Gorges Dam is so massive that it is three times larger than the next largest dam. Scientists even discovered it slows down the Earth’s rotation by 0.06 microseconds.

It has the World’s Longest Bridge

Besides having the world’s largest dam, China has the world’s longest bridge, the Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge. 5 of the top 10 longest world bridges are in China.

The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge, which has held its record for more than 14 years, took only 4 years from start to finish. 10,000 people worked on the project, which cost the Chinese government about $8.5 billion.

It has Replicas Of Famous Cities

The Chinese government is known for its efforts to put its citizens in a walled garden. From the Great Firewall to banning multiple websites and services, it isolated itself from most of the world’s internet. However, the government took things further with its famous replica cities.

Yes, the Chinese government green-lit many construction projects that copy world-famous cities. Some include a copy of Paris in Tianducheng, Thames Town in Songjian, and the port of Venice in Dalian. What’s more surprising is the replica of the Great Wall of China located in eastern Jiangxi province, China. So ironic, right?

China Has a Different New Year

You must have wondered if there was any other mysterious and exciting fact about China. Well, there is. China has a different new year. New Year occurs January 1st for most of the world. However, things are different in China.

The Chinese New Year or Spring Festival begins the Lunisolar Chinese Calendar. It usually occurs between January 21 and February 20 and lasts 15 days.

In China, many people get together to celebrate the Spring Festival. They partake in many activities to ward off evil spirits and pray for a good harvest.

Would you be interested in celebrating the Chinese New Year? Let us know in the comments.

It Has the Top 3 Deadliest Disasters

Almost all the facts we have given to this point have been exciting, but as with life, there are good and bad times, and China has seen many terrible times. Natural disasters are not new to the Chinese, as the country has the most tropical cyclones of any nation. 

Besides being prone to natural disasters, China has also faced some devastating destruction that would have been an extinction-level event for other countries.

The top three deadliest disasters on Earth occurred in the country, and they are the 1931 China Floods, which left 4,000,000 people dead; the 1887 Yellow River Flood, which left 2,000,000 people dead; and the 1976 Tangshan Earthquake, which left about 655,000 people dead.

It Has the Longest Speed Rail Network

In 2006, China did not have any extensive speed rail network. It struggled to meet the task of transporting more than a billion people. Then, in April 2007, it began a project that shocked the entire world.

In early 2007, the Chinese government began the first high-speed rail network to connect cities. The work was difficult due to China’s rugged terrain. However, the project continued, and massive success followed. 

As of 2023, China beat all odds to become the top country with the most extensive rail network, about 45,000 kilometers. Many engineers commended it for its incredible feat, as achieving a result on such a scale was nothing short of a technological wonder.

94% of the Country’s Population Live on 43% of the Land

Even though China is big, it has a weird population distribution. About 94% of the nation’s citizens live below east of the Heihe–Tengchong Line. This region is about 43% of China but has most of its people. 

Why? You may wonder. Though China is large, its eastern region has enough arable farming land; this is where most cities are, leading to a one-sided population.

It Has the Most Hackers

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that one of the most populated countries in the world has the most hackers. Yes, China produces the most hackers out of any country on Earth. Wow, did you know that? Tell us in the comment section.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed reading and learning about all the awesome and weird fun facts about China. Don’t forget to share and leave us a comment. Also, you can read our Top 5 Government Atrocities or Search Through Our Database today.