10 Things You Should Know About China

Among some of their greatest inventions are: paper, gunpowder, printing.

Paper - the first paper was made in 105 and it was a mixture of mulberry tree bark, hemp, old linens, and fish nets that were ground and created into a pulp and dried in sunlight.

Printing - The diamonond sutra, which teaches the practice of the avoidance of abiding in extremes of mental attachment, is the oldest printed book, with a date of 868.

Gunpowder - In the Tang dynasty, sulphur and saltpeter were mixed with charcoal to make gunpowder

In China, there is a law that states you can only have one child per couple. Parents of twins, triplets are excluded. By having additional children you will end up paying large fines and be excluded from bonuses at work. In March 2008, official Wu Jianmin would review the law, but after the review it ended up being extended for another decade

Terracota Army - Emperor Qin, the first emperor of China, built a terracotta army which consists of life-size figures of warriors built to protect her in her afterlife. The Terracotta Warriors were discovered in March 1974 by local farmers drilling a water well. IT is now a museum covering 16,300 square meters and divided into 3 pits. About 7,000 pottery warriors, horses, chariots and weapons were discovered. It is one of the most significant archeological discoveries in the 20th century

Great Wall - One of the wonders of the world, stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total.The Great wall was built to protect aginst invaders such as the Mongolians. It was first built in 7th Century B.C when China was divided into many small states. After China became unified in 221 B.C., the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty joined the walls. Through many dynasites of building, lengthening and fortification, it is is an amazing sight to see. It can even be seen from space. Depending on the location and the dynasty who built the wall, the Great wall has been made of tiles, lime, stone, bricks and more.

Century Eggs, also known as One Hundred Year or One Thousand Year old Eggs are a delicacy in China . Usually these eggs are processed with special ingredients and buried underground for some days or weeks.

According to wikipedia, China has the most people in the world. As of 2008, China has approximately 1,324,854,000 people. Compare that with the United States of America that has 304,558,000. Here is a bit of trivia for you: China, India, and the United States are 1,2,3 in terms of population. What is the fourth most populated country? Indonesia.

A large mammal that grows to be 5-6 feet tall and weigh about 350lbs. It is a popular symbol of China. These bears do not hibernate in the winter like regular bears. There are two pandas in the San Diego Zoo.

Panda bears are on the endangered list. If you are interested about pandas, you can read about them through the link.

Most of the philosophy revolved around Chinese medicine got started from Taoist philosophy that life and the environment are have an intimate relationship. A major factor of disease according to Chinese medicine is an imbalance of ying and yang, Chinese medicine helps to restore the proper balance of ying and yang. Acupuncture, which helps to restore ying and yang through needles piercing the skin, is fairly safe and therefore a good alternative to those who believe in it.

Tai Chi was originally developed in China as a form of self-defense. In order to do Tai Chi, you perform a series of movements in a very slow manner. You also focus on your breathing. If practiced regularly, it can help you reduce stress and lead to an improvement of health. Sometimes this is called "moving meditation" and it is quickly gaining momentum in the western world.

Red is Chinese people's favorite color and it has a symbolism of courage, loyalty, fortune. In weddings, a red envelope is given to give monetary gifts. If you go into Chinese restaurants, you are likely to see a lot of red since they hope it will bring them good forune.

In the United States we consider 13 unlucky and 7 lucky. In China, they consider 4 unlucky and 8 lucky. The number 8 sounds similar to the word "wealth" in Chinese.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should know that the 2008 Summer Olympics were held in China from August 8- August 24, 2008. The official logo of the Beijing games is called "dancing Beijing". China will feature five mascots which represent a different cultural aspect of China as well as the colors of the Olympic Rings. In brief, there is Beibei who is a fish and represents prosperity; JingJing who is a panda and represents happiness; Huanhuan who is a fire flame and represents passion; Yíngying who is a Tibetan Antelope and represents health; and finally, Nini, who represents good fortune. For the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese have built a stadium nicknamed "the birdnest" because it looks like one. It was supposed to have a retractable roof but later officials decided against it for safety and economic reasons.

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