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Information about the sightseeing and festivals in China including the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City and the terracotta Warriors, +Chinese New year and the Dragon Boat festival for kids K - 6

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Fun China Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about China

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Learn some interesting information about China while enjoying a range of fun facts and trivia that's perfect for kids! Read about the Great Wall of China, its major cities, population, languages, rivers, animals, economy and much more.

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China is an interesting country with a huge population and a fascinating history.

Over one billion people live there - and we've got some of coolest, wackiest and wild facts about China that will amaze you. Enjoy!

Related: Communism vs Socialism - What's the Difference?

This is a country steeped in ancient history and civilizations that were around way before many others!

History of China

China has a long history and is home of one of the world's oldest civilizations. It's only become a modern nation in the last 20 years, but unbelievably it has changed faster than any other country in the world.

Ancient China was a land of inventions. For centuries, they were way ahead of most other countries in science and technology, astronomy, and math.

They invented heaps of things including paper, the magnetic compass, printing, porcelain, silk, and gunpowder.

China is often considered the longest continuous civilization, with some historians marking 6000 B.C. as the beginning of Chinese civilization.

It also has the world's longest continuously used written language.

Chinese history is all about dynasties. Each dynasty shows a period when a certain line of emperors ruled. The very first empire was the Qin dynasty and began in 221 B.C.

The last emperor was defeated in 1912, and China became a republic.

They also invented toilet paper in the late 1300s, but you only got this luxury if you were an emperor!

The Chinese invented kites about 3,000 years ago. Amazingly they were used to frighten enemies in battle. It was considered bad luck to purposely let a kite go.

In A.D. 130, a man by the name of Zhang Heng invented the first instrument that could monitor earthquakes and could show the direction it was heading in. Pretty cool.

The first known species of Homo erectus, the Peking Man, was found in China and lived between 300,000 to 550,000 years ago.

It is thought that he knew how to manipulate fire. It would be interesting to know how they knew that!

Do you ever make Chinese lanterns? Well they're really awesome but they originate as far back as 250 B.C. Wow. They were a very important symbol of long life and they were used to show families wealth.

The bigger the lantern the richer they were. So best you get making a massive Chinese lantern.

In 1974, a group of farmers uncovered some very old pottery. What they'd actually discovered was the tomb of Qin (259-210 B.C.) who was the first emperor who united China.

The tomb contained thousands of amazing life-sized soldiers, horses, and chariots. Wow that must have been some sight to see.

The Chinese were the first to invent the waterwheel in A.D. 31. That was 1,200 years before the Europeans. They were also the first country in the world to use an iron plow. They were certainly ahead of their game.

China invented suspension bridges in 25 B.C, 1,800 years before such bridges were known in the West. The Chinese are certainly very clever.

Chinese Geography

This is a large country which is made up of heaps of mountains, and plenty rivers. Read on for more.

Stretching 3,100 miles (5,000 kilometers) from east to west and 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers) from north to south, China is a large country, in fact the third largest country in the world.

The total size of China is 3,705,405 square miles (9,596,960 square kilometers).

Approximately 5,000 islands lie off the Chinese coast.

It has loads of different types of landscapes from mountains, high plateaus, sandy deserts, and dense forests. It seems to have everything.

One-third of China is made up of mountains. Ever heard of Mount Everest, the tallest mountain on Earth? Well it sits on the border of China and Nepal.

And guess where that border lies? Right on top of the summit! Would be awesome to see the biggest mountain on Earth!

Mount Everest is called "Zhumulangma" in China, which means Mother Goddess of the Earth.

China has literally got thousands of rivers. The Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers are the most important. The Yangtze is the world's third largest river at 3,915 miles (6,300 kilometers) long.

That is seriously long. If you were travelling 60 miles per hour in a speed boat, it would take you just over 65 hours to travel the length of it. Wow.

China experiences typhoons every year and also suffers from floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and droughts. Maybe it's best not to visit.

Even though China is big, it is all in the one time zone, unlike other large countries.

Nature in China

There are some really cool creatures in this part of the world, read on to see what they're all about!

Remember China has got all sorts of different landscapes, which means that all sorts of species of animals and plants will live in those different habitats.

They have more than 3,800 species of fish and hundreds of amphibians and reptile species which live in the rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.

Forests are getting cut down, and this is true for China as well. What this means is that the species which live in the forest are under threat.

Their deserts are expanding in the north which will also shrink animal habitats. But the Chinese government has come to the rescue by creating more than 1,200 reserves to protect plant and animal species. Awesome.

China boasts an awesome animal, the giant panda! They live in the misty mountains of southwest China and nowhere else on Earth.

They eat bamboo, and heaps of it, and will often live near strands of woody evergreen plants. You might find them in a zoo, but there are only 1,600 left in the wild. That is so sad.

They've been hunted a lot over the years, which mean they could become extinct.

They also have some other interesting animal like the baiji, which is a freshwater dolphin that is about 8 feet (2.5 meters) long and it has a narrow, pencil-like beak.

There is also the white-lipped deer, which weighs 500 pounds (220 kilograms). It has very large hooves which help it navigate through the mountains where it lives.

Chinese People and Culture

China is one of the most populated countries on earth, and they have some interesting cultures. Read on to find out more about the fascinating Chinese people.

They have a population of 1.3 billion which means they have more people in their country than any other country on Earth.

About a third of the population lives in cities and the rest of the people live in the country. Think about it like this, there are 7 billion people in the world and 1.3 billion live in just this one country.

In this country alone they hold nearly 19% of the Earth's population. That must be one very busy, bustling country.

The Chinese love their arts and crafts, and these have a long history. Thousands of years ago they were the first people to use silk, jade, bronze, wood, and paper to make art.

The artistic writing called calligraphy was invented in China. Hardly surprising if you look at their alphabet.

Ever hear of Confucius? Well his real name was Kongfuzi and he lived over 3,000 years ago. A lot of today's modern beliefs and philosophies are based on what he taught them.

Isn't that amazing? He taught them about morality, kindness and education. How cool is that?

Did you know that there are loads of different languages spoken in China including Mandarin, Yue, Wu, Minbei, Minnan, Xiang, Gan and Hakka.

And even more interesting - did you know that Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world?

Some people enjoy eating specialties like a bird nest soup, frog, snake, scorpion and dog. Well that doesn't sound so good but maybe you would like some of these? Or not!

But not all people in China eat these; it depends where they come from. Hmmmm, not sure a meal here would be on the cards.

Other Cool Facts About China

With such an interesting country, there are heaps more awesome facts to get through. Have a read and then you'll be filled with Chinese knowledge.

China is the second largest economy in the world, after the United States of America. That's quite something.

Did you know that in 2003 they became the third country to successfully send someone floating off into space?

The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made structure in the world. This is going to blow your mind; remember it's man-made and it stretches as long as 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometers). Whoa, that is one seriously long wall.

Wonder where all your toys come from? Well 80% of them are made in China. They had to build heaps of factories to keep up with the demand.

So go take a look at some of your toys and see how many are made in China. Bet it will be most of them.

They also have the fastest train in the world in Shanghai, which goes 268 miles per hour (431 kilometers per hour). That is seriously fast.

Bet you would love to live here - not only do they celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day they also celebrate children's day where kids get presents or money.

Don't go begging your parents to have a special children's day for you now.

This is seriously interesting. The total number of kids in school from kindergarten to university is two hundred million! That is more students than the entire population of Japan. What?

Chinese names usually have a meaning chosen by the family, to reflect something about the person. Also, the last name comes first, usually followed by two syllables that make up the first name.

The Chinese call McDonald's "Maidanglao", which sounds similar and means that there is food made of wheat there; ah the hamburger bun.

Cars are becoming more popular, but there are still loads of people who cycle to work.

It is estimated that about three million people live in caves near the Yellow River. Living in a cave could be quite cool.

In China dragons are seen as symbols of power and good luck. Maybe we should start thinking differently about dragons then.

The Chinese New Year or Lunar New Year is the biggest holiday. On the seventh day, everyone turns a year older according to the lunar calendar. So everyone has a birthday on the same day, wow.

As China has got such a huge population, the government only allows families to have one child. So there are lots of only kids there, with no brothers or sisters.

If you do have an extra child, you get some rather hefty fines to pay. Because of this there are now 32 million more boys than girls in China. So in the future, where will the boys find their wives?

You must have seen an abacus...it's an ancient counting machine. Not only is it still used in schools to teach math, but you will often see shopkeepers still using it to make some calculations. That's neat.

In Ancient China, exporting silkworms or even silk used to be illegal and punishable by death! My goodness that's a bit scary.

But two monks got away with it - they smuggled silk out of the country in around 550 AD by hiding the silkworm eggs in their walking sticks. They were obviously determined!

So we have to learn 26 letters in our alphabet, now think of this, Chinese students have to learn around 5,000 Chinese characters by the time they leave school.

If they then go on to college they will learn around 10,000. But amazingly it doesn't stop there...there are around 40,000 characters in total. Surely that could take you a lifetime to learn.

In China, number 13 is not considered to be unlucky, but don't be mentioning number four as it's a similar word to death.

But they have a lucky number too...and that's number eight. Interestingly this could explain why the government scheduled the 2008 Olympics to begin on 8/8/08 at 8:08:08 PM.

Kids play some cool games; Tiaoqi (Chinese checkers) and Xiangqi (Chinese chess) are their favorite board games. Soccer and basketball are also popular, as is ping pong, as you don't need much space to play it.

Most kids live with their grandparents while their parents go out and work. Hope they see their Mum and Dad a lot.

Who would have known that ice cream was invented in China around 2000 B.C.? They packed a soft milk and rice mixture in the snow. Wow.

The Chinese year is based on the cycles of the moon and is called the lunar schedule. A complete cycle of the Chinese calendar takes 60 years and this calendar dates back to 2600 B.C.

It is the oldest known calendar in the world. Each year is represented by an animal of which there are twelve to represent each month.

Apparently Buddha named the years after the twelve animals that came to visit him before he left Earth. The Chinese believe that you have some of the characteristics of the animal representing the year that you were born.

Do you know which Chinese animal you are?

Now this is seriously interesting. When a child loses a tooth, there are no tooth fairies here.

If a top tooth is lost it gets planted in the ground so the new tooth will grow straight and healthy, and if a bottom tooth is lost it gets thrown to the rooftops so that the new tooth will grow upwards. Unbelievable.

If the gate to your house is facing south, then you're in for some luck, as the Chinese believe this is like a good luck charm.

At one time that Chinese wanted to rid their country of foreign conquerors. So what did they do? They hid messages in moon cakes and passed them on to each other to announce the uprising. Quite clever.

If you go to China, wear red, it's considered to be very lucky. At one time all wedding dresses were red.

Think fortune cookies come from China? Well they don't; they were invented in 1920 by a worker in the Key Heong Noodle Factory in San Francisco. Who would've known?

Cricket fighting is a popular amusement in China. Many Chinese children keep crickets as pets. Cricket fighting sounds very weird indeed.

Many historians believe that soccer was actually invented in China around 1000 B.C.

Now this is interesting. Try and take a wild guess what the number one hobby is in China is? Ready? Well it is actually stamp collecting.

Unlike other countries, white is used for mourning instead of black. Interesting.

Guess how chopsticks were invented? Well historians believe that as the Chinese population grew, people had to save fuel for cooking.

So they chopped food into small pieces so it would cook more quickly, and these bite sized little pieces didn't need knives....so enter chopsticks!

Ever seen people with a long nail on their little finger? Well in China wealthy men and women grew the nails of their little fingers extremely long as a sign of their rank.

They often wore decorative gold and silver nail guards to protect their nails.

According to legend, tea was discovered by the Chinese emperor Shennong in 2737 B.C.

Apparently a tea leaf fell into his boiling water and there you have it. The Chinese consider tea to be a very important part of life.

We know that martial arts are popular in this part of the world, but what you might not know is that they were actually created from ancient farming and hunting methods.

Wonder how they farmed and hunted to create martial arts from that.

There is another Chines legend about how silk was invented. Apparently it was discovered in 3000 B.C. by Lady Xi Ling Sui, wife of the Emperor Huang Di.

A silk worm cocoon accidentally dropped into her hot tea before the fine threads from the cocoon unraveled in the hot water, and silk was born!

The oldest piece of paper in the world was found in China. Amazingly it dates back to the second or first century B.C. That was some strong paper to survive for so long.

China's Grand Canal is the world's oldest and longest canal at 1,114 miles (1,795 kilometers) long with 24 locks and around 60 bridges.

We think bats are a bit frightening, but in China the bat is a good luck symbol. So we'll have to think a bit differently about bats now.

Bet you didn't know this. In some parts of China, "pigtails" were associated with a girl's marital status.

A young girl would wear two pigtails, and when she married, she would wear just one. So at least the young men knew who was married and who wasn't.

Mirrors were very important in ancient China and they were believed to protect their owners from evil. They would make hidden spirits visible and reveal the secrets of the future.

So if you'd been scared by a ghost all you had to do was look in the mirror and you would no longer be scared.

Mirrors were often hung in burial chambers for this reason. Very interesting.

This is quite something. In 2007, dog food and toothpaste products made in China were recalled because they had poisonous ingredients in them.

In July, China's head of the State Food and Drug Administration was found to have accepted bribes from pharmaceutical companies. He was executed.

The Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008 were the most expensive games in history.It is estimated that is cost a whopping $40 billion. What in the world did they spend it all on?

Now this seems quite bizarre...when they built the Great Wall of China, the Chinese people used rice flour to strengthen some of the bricks.

China has the most goats in the world, with a whopping 170 million of these animals.

This is not a place to commit fraud. It is a crime punishable by death.

China has the most cell phone users in the world...wow.

Almost half of the pigs in the world are kept by the Chinese.

Wow, this is certainly one interesting country with heaps of interesting information. Can you think of any other awesome facts about China that we might have left out?

Now, why not read up on some cool facts about Australia?

Now, why not go way back in time and learn about Ancient China?

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China Facts For Kids in [year](Fun Facts & Chinese Culture)

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China Facts and Information China is an interesting country with a huge population and a fascinating history. Over one billion people live there - and we've got some of coolest, wackiest and wild facts about China that will amaze you. Enjoy! Related: Communism vs Socialism - What's the Difference?

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Here are some interesting China Facts which were chosen and researched by kids especially for kids.

China Facts for Kids

Population: more than 1.423 billion people live in China (2023). The majority of the people live in cities and towns.

Capital: Beijing with 21 million inhabitants is not only China's capital city but also the second biggest city after Shanghai.

Name: People's Republic of China (PRC)

Government: Republic, communist state

Languages: Mandarin or Standard Chinese (official language), while Cantonese (Yue) and Shanghainese (Wu) are among other most spoken languages

Literacy: More than 96% can read and write.

Religion: No main religion, as religious memberships are not supported by the government. Main religions are Buddhist (18%), Christian 5%, Muslim 1.8%, Taoist, Hindu and Folk Religions (22%)

Flag colors: red with five golden stars

National day: 1 October - in 1949 the People's Republic of China was formed

National symbols: dragon and giant panda

National colours: red and yellow

National anthem: 'March of the Volunteers'

History: For many centuries, China has been one of the most advanced civilisations accomplishing major scientific and artistic treasures. The Xia and Shang dynasties are considered as the oldest Chinese civilisations. Over the centuries many emporors ruled the country, the last emperor of China, the last ruler of the Qing dynasty, was Pu Yi who abdicted in 1912. In the 20th century the world was shaken by bloody wars and from 1937-1945 Japan occupied large industrial areas in China and took over the Chinese government. Since 1949 the Communist Party of China rules the country. The president of the People's Republic of China is Xi Jinping - since 2013.

Where is China? - China Map

China is located in the eastern parts of Asia and is the largest country that is entirely situated in Asia.

Chinaborders 14 countries.The countries bordering China are: Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar (formerly called Burma), Laos, Vietnam and North Korea (you will find them on the map below).

China has 23 provinces including the island of Taiwan.

(Please note: Taiwan is an independent country and has its own currency and government. Taiwan is officially called "Republic of China", but not part of China, however, China sees Taiwan as part of the country and as a rebel province as Taiwan is not recognised as a sovereign state by the UN.)

There are also two SARs, which are Special Administrative Regions, that have some autonomy: Hong Kong and Macau in southern China.

China for Kids | China Geography

China is the fourth largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and the USA.

Although China is so large, there is only one timezone!

Most people in China live in the eastern parts of the country, the western parts are only sparsely populated.

The Pacific Ocean forms the natural border in the east and southeast and southwest of the country. In the west, there are the Himalayas, which is the highest mountain range in the world.

Most of the western parts of the country lie on the Tibetan mountainous plateau. In fact, mountains make up the majority of the landscape, dominating over 70% of the landmass.

The huge country has many different climate zones ranging from tropic zones to arctic zones.

In the north, there is the vast Gobi Desert. Deserts make up about 20% of the country.

China Facts | China Superlatives

China is the second most populous country in the world as it is home to almost one fifth of the world population.

The highest mountain on the border with China is the Mount Everest, the world's highest mountains, with 8,848 metres (29,000ft).

The longest river in China is the Yangtze River with over 6,300km (3,914miles) in length. This is also Asia's longest river.

China has the world's longest sea-crossing bridge. The Hongkong to Zhuhai-Macao bridge was opened to traffic in October 2018.

The Gobi Desert which stretches over China and Mongolia is the largest desert in Asia.

China Facts
Attractions for Kids

Great Wall of China: Walk along parts of the over 8,850 km/ 5,500 miles long Great Wall which once was the border of the old Chinese empire. The wall stretches across China from the Korean border into the Gobi desert. This is the longest wall in the world and newer archeological findings report that the entire defence works including the Great Wall and all its branches stretches over 21,000 km/ 13,000 miles! Did you know, that the name in ancient Chinese actually meant 'The 10,000-Mile Long Wall' or 'Incredibly Long Wall'?

Terracotta Warriors: See the over 5000 sculptures of life-size soldiers, made from terracotta, in Xian. The sculptures which are on one of the world's most famous archeological sites, are older than 2,000 years.

Forbidden City in Beijing: The Forbidden City houses the Palace museum with the Chinese Imperial Palace and the Summer Palace, that were still used until 1911.

Potala Palace in Lhasa/Tibet: This is where every Dalai Lama has held his official residence until the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1950

Wolong Giant Panda Nature Reserve near Chengdu: See the pandas in their natural habitat and visit the breeding and research centre to learn more about the endangered pandas.

Guilin: The rough limestone karst mountains along the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo are very picturesque. People enjoy rafting on river.

'The Bund' in Shanghai: Shanghai is the largest and most populated Chinese city with the busiest port in the world. The Bund is the megacity's main shopping and business district.

Hong Kong: Visit Victoria Harbour. Enjoy the amazing views of the skyscrapers along the shoreline or get to the top of Victoria Peak and have a bird's eye view of the city and the harbour.

Read more about awesome China family attractions and Chinese landmarks here: Landmarks in China
China Facts | Chinese People

Almost one in five people on our earth live in China, while the country is smaller than the USA. The Chinese government lifted the one-child policy in 2016, now Chinese parents are allowed to have two children.

China surpassed India in population numbers in April 2023.

Many Chinese live in the 'megacities' of the country. Megacities are cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. Six of the 33 megacities in the world are located in China.

In rural areas the living standard is still very poor and many people live there live in huts or along the rivers in stilt houses.

The Chinese love music and opera plays, although the voices of the Chinese opera singers may sound strange to our ears.

Chinese New Year, also called the Lunar New Year, is the biggest celebration on the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar start at the end of January/early February each year and every year another animal sign symbolises the strength and the weaknesses. There are 12 zodiac/animal signs and thus every 12 years the animals signs start over again. 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit. Read more here. 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon.

Children look very much forward to the Chinese New Year celebrations which are two weeks long celebrations over the new year when they get gifts, often money wrapped in red envelopes or red packets, from family and friends. Popular 'Lion Dances' also take place during this time. The dragon is the most celebrated symbol of prosperity and strength.
Which zodiac sign are you? Read more about the Chinese New Year celebrations here.

China Facts | Chinese Language

Although Mandarin Chinese is the official language, in many regions other languages are spoken such as Cantonese, Shanghainese, Hainanese or Mongolian.

The Chinese writing is done from top to bottom in little symbols or signs, called 'characters' of which an adult usually knows about 8,000 different characters. With 13 years most Chinese children can read and write 3,000 characters.

Some Chinese words good to know:

Ni hao! means Hello!

Xie Xie means Thank You

Gong Xi Fa Cai means Happy Chinese New Year

China Facts | Chinese Food

The traditional diet in China contains low amounts of protein such as meats or dairy products. Many Chinese dishes are vegetable and soya based. Chinese often eat/drink soup for breakfast and rice based dishes are eaten throughout the day.

Soy, vegetable and rice products are the most common ingrediences in Chinese dishes. Chinese mainly eat with chopsticks and drink their soups instead of eating them with a spoon as we do. Here is some typical Chinese food:

Springrolls: The fried rice paper rolls are surely the most famous food export

Chow Mein: stir-fried egg noodles with chicken strips

Tofu: soy bean curd used in many dishes

Sweet and sour pork: fried cubed pork and fried vegetables in a sweet and sour sauce often made with capsicum peppers and pineapple

Peking Duck: duck roast with crispy thin skin, often served with plum sauce

Dim Sum: Steamed dumplings filled with minced meat or vegetables
Read more about Chinese Food on our new special page here: Food in China
China Facts | China Animals
Read more about endangered animals in China on our special page here: Animals in China
There are many endangered animal species living in China. Among them are the Giant Panda, the South Chinese Tiger and the Chinese Alligator.

China economy

China is part of the BRICS countries - together with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa. China is already considered a world superpower by many. China's economic strength rivals that of the USA and the USA.

The country is rich in natural resources and the top producer of aluminium and iron ore, cobalt, graphite and processed copper among other minerals.

The huge Asian country is also the world's top producer of rice and beer!

The main trading partners are the USA, Japan, Australia and Germany.

Popular Pages

China Facts | Resources

Central Intelligence Agency. "China" CIAWorldFactBook. Last updated 15 August 2023. Last accessed 23 August 2023

BBC News. "World's longest sea crossing". BBC. 23 October 2018. Last accessed 23 August 2023

Maggie Hiufu Wong. "China's Top Megacities". CNN World. Updated 6 March 2019. Accessed 23 August 2023

Miriam Hoffmann. "China Family Adventure". Last accessed 2 February 2022. Great resources to learn more about China can be found on this site. The informative and well laid out website is written and maintained by a Chinese expat and her children and gives comprehensive information and important China facts.

China Highlights. Another good site for China facts and information the main attractions of China is this one. Click here. Last accessed 23 August 2023

View some great images of the Great Wall on the page of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre here. Last accessed 23 August 2023

Also find good info on TravelChinaGuide on the Great Wall here. Last accessed 23 August 2023

Return from China Facts to Kids-World-Travel-Guide Homepage
Feel free to contact us if you or your school would like to join in our schools project. Looking forward to hearing from u! And enjoy learning more great China Facts soon:-)

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China Facts for Kids | China for Kids | Geography | Attractions

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Our China Facts for Kids will provide you with country facts, information on people and culture about China for kids

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2017 is the Chinese Year of the Rooster! Join in the celebrations here at National Geographic Kids with these cool facts about China, from its ancient empire to the modern day...
Article continues below...

1) The Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 15 days.

2) In China, every year is represented by one of 12 animals.

3) China's Bailong Elevator carries visitors more than 300m up a cliff's edge.

4) You can buy green-bean-flavoured ice pops in China!

5) In Ancient China, soldiers sometimes wore armour made from paper.

6) In 2010 a 2,400-year-old pot of soup was unearthed in Xi'an, China.

Did you know that we have a FREE downloadable Imperial China primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!

9) People race boats with dragon designs at a Chinese festival in the spring.

10) Chinese monal birds sometimes build nests in caves.

11) Put together, all of China's railways lines could loop around earth twice!

13) 7th-century Emperor Tang of Shang had 94 'ice men' who made him ice-cream.

15) Asiatic golden cats in the country's south sometimes communicate by spitting.

16) Developed about 5,000 years ago, the earliest chopsticks were used for cooking, not eating.

17) Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city in the world.

18) Chinese white dolphins, which live off southern China, are often pink.

20) China's Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys live at a higher altitude than any other primate except humans.

21) More people speak Mandarin, a Chinese Dialect, as their first language than any other language in the world.

22) China is home to a cluster of ancient rock pillars called the Stone Forest.

23) China's Leshan Giant Buddha, a gigantic stone statue, has 5.5-m-long eyebrows!

24) China's giant pandas are good swimmers.

25) Many Chinese emperors considered themselves to be descendants of dragons.

27) Half of all pigs on earth live in China.

28) It took around 37 years to make the Terracotta Army, a set of around 8,000 clay soldiers built in Xi'an to guard an Emperor's tomb. Take a look at these super-impressive statues in the video, below!

29) Dogs get special treats on one day of the Chinese New Year celebration.

30) Chinese brides often wear red, a colour considered to be lucky.

Country fact file: China

Read our more in-depth profile on China to learn more about its secrets.

OFFICIAL NAME: People"s Republic of China

FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Communist state

CAPITAL: Beijing (Peking)

POPULATION: 1,393,783,836

OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Chinese, Mandarin

AREA: 9,596,960 square kilometres

MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES: Himalayas

MAJOR RIVERS: Yangtze, Yellow

China's geography

Stretching 5,000 kilometres from east to west and 5,500 kilometres from north to south, China is one seriously huge country! It has lots of different landscapes, too, including mountains, high plateaus (areas of level high ground), sandy deserts and dense forests.

One-third of China's land area is made up of mountains. The tallest mountain on Earth, Mount Everest, sits on the border between China and Nepal.

Chinese people and culture

With a population of over 1.3 billion, China has more people than any other country on Earth. About a third of the population lives in cities, and the rest of the people live in the countryside.

Arts and crafts have a long history in China. Thousands of years ago, the Chinese were some of the first people to use silk, jade, bronze, wood and paper to make art. The artistic writing called calligraphy was invented in China.

Much of China's modern beliefs and philosophies are based on the teachings of a government official who lived nearly 3,000 years ago - Kongfuzi, also known as Confucius. He taught people the value of things such as morality, kindness and education.

China's nature

China's diverse habitats are home to hundreds of species of animals and plants. More than 3,800 species of fish and hundreds of amphibians and reptile species live in the rivers, lakes and coastal waters.

China's forest wildlife is threatened by logging and clear-cutting (clearing the land of all trees) for farmland. Expanding deserts in the north are also reducing animal habitats. The good news is that the Chinese government has created more than 1,200 reserves to protect plant and animal species.

The giant panda lives in the misty mountains of central China and nowhere else on Earth. They can usually be found in thick bamboo forests, where they feast on the leaves of this woody evergreen plant. Sadly, due to habitat loss and hunting, these beautiful bears are on the endangered species list, and it's estimated that only around 1,800 remain in the wild. Although that doesn't sound like many, panda numbers have actually grown by 17% since the 1970s - good news! You cancheck out our panda facts, here.

China's government and economy

China is ruled by a very powerful central government. A huge workforce and lots of natural resources have driven economic change. This has forced the communist* government to allow more economic and personal freedoms, but it has come at a huge cost to the environment, too.

Many experts predict that the 21st century will be the 'Chinese century.' Whether or not that proves to be true, there is no doubt that what happens in China will affect many other nations.

Chinese history

China is the home of one of the world's oldest civilisations, but it has only recently become a 'modern' nation. In the last 20 years, China has changed faster than any other country in the world.

Ancient China was a land of invention. For centuries, China was much more advanced than most other countries in science and technology, astronomy and maths. The Chinese invented paper, the magnetic compass, printing, tea porcelain, silk and gunpowder, among other things.

* Communism is a system which aims to create a society where everything is shared equally among the people.
* A republic is a form of government where the people elect their leaders to run the country

Words adapted from kids.nationalgeographic.com. Photos: Getty Images UK.

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30 cool facts about China! | National Geographic Kids

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2017 is the Chinese Year of the Rooster! Join in the celebrations here at National Geographic Kids with these cool facts about China, from its ancient empire to the modern day... Article continues below... 1) The Chinese New Year celebration lasts for 15 days. 2) In China, every year is represented by one of 12 animals.