China Trivia – 3

·         The modern word “China” most likely derives from the name of the Qin (pronounced “chin”) dynasty. First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty first unified China in 221 B.C., beginning an Imperial period which would last until A.D. 1912.

·         Toilet paper was invented in China in the late 1300s. It was for emperors only.

·         Despite its size, all of China is in one time zone.

·         Chinese is spoken by 92% of China’s population. There are at least seven major families of the Chinese language, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang, and Min.

·         Suspension bridges were invented in China in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges were known in the West.

·         The bicycle was introduced into China around 1891 by two American travelers named Allen and Sachtleben. The bicycle is now the primary transportation for millions of Chinese. The last Qing emperor (Puyi) rode a bicycle around the Forbidden City in Beijing. China is currently the leading bicycle manufacturer.

·         If the population of China walked past you in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

·         About 700,000 engineers graduate annually from schools in China.

·         China has more English-speaking inhabitants than England.

·         China's money is called renminbi, meaning the "people's currency".

·         The world's largest producer of apples is China.

Hope you enjoyed these Trivia items.