On a per capita basis though, the average Chinese person only drinks nine cups of coffee a year, according to a 2021 report by accounting firm Deloitte.
This is no match for coffee drinkers in South Korea or the US, who each guzzle 367 cups and 329 cups a year respectively.
If you do happen to visit Shanghai, you can use an app called Dianping (a Chinese version of Yelp) to help find the best coffee shops.
There are also plenty of other amazing apps in China to check out.
16. Most powerful dam in the world
Ships rising in the lock at Three Gorges Dam. Image by Ymgerman on Shutterstock.
Well, damn, isn’t this cool!?
The Three Gorges Dam, located in Hubei province, has the capacity to produce more energy than any other dam in the world (22,500 MW – if that means anything to you).
China is also home to the tallest dam in the world.
Jinping-I Dam in Sichuan stands at 305 m (1,001 ft) in height!
For context, America’s famous Hoover Dam is a mere 221 m (726 ft) tall.
17. 56 UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The Forbidden City in Beijing is a UNESCO site. Image supplied by Mike Cairnduff.
That whopping number is only bettered by one other country: Italy with 58.
While China may not be in first place here, I still find this a fun and very impressive fact.
UNESCO sites include well-known landmarks such as the Forbidden City, The Great Wall and the Summer Palace.
However, with such a huge amount to see and do, there are also plenty of lesser known places on the UNESCO list, making it well worth a look when planning your China adventure.
18. Summer and Winter Olympics host
Bird’s Nest Stadium. Image by Fandy Zhang on Pixabay.
Even in modern times, China is still making history.
After the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing became the first city to have hosted both the winter and summer games.
Previously, the summer Olympics took place there in 2008.
For me, the coolest thing about this is how they were able to revamp and recycle venues.
Olympic infrastructure is notoriously costly and so it was really nice to see iconic buildings, such as the Bird’s Nest, take center stage once again.
Another prime example of this is the Water Cube, once used for summer aquatic sports, becoming the Ice Cube.
Going forward, the venue will now be able to be used for ice sports, swimming events, and even live performances.
19. Largest human migration
The Great Chinese Migration. Image by C.Hug on Flickr.
This fact might sound a little more dramatic than it actually is.
I’m talking about ‘chunyun’.
This is when millions of Chinese citizens will travel across the country – and even the world – to be with family for Chinese New Year.
Of course, celebrations haven’t been quite so grand for the past few years, but Spring Festival is still the biggest holiday in China.
It’s thought that over a billion journeys are made within China during this period.
Lunar New Year is a wonderful time, filled with celebrations, but it’s not the best time to visit tourist hotspots.
I’ve written more about Chinese holidays to help you figure out the best time to visit.
If you’re not getting off the beaten track, then you’ll benefit from the blog about the best time to visit Beijing and Shanghai.
But even if you have no intention of going to China, you can learn more about the Great Migration by watching the movie, Last Train Home.
Some say it’s one of the best movies about Chinese culture. I encourage you to take a look!
20. Water makes money
China’s richest man is behind Nongfu Spring. Image by Freer on Shutterstock.
Currently, China’s wealthiest citizen is a guy named Zhong Shanshan.
Did he create an app? Does he own a huge tech company? Well, no. He sells water.
An elementary school drop-out turned business tycoon, Zhong is the chairman and founder of Nongfu Spring.
This is a popular brand of bottled water sold across China. Remember, you shouldn’t drink the tap water here.
It’s recognizable by its red bottle cap and the green mountain on its label.
Zhong also controls a company which makes rapid diagnostic tests for infectious diseases, including Covid-19 tests.
At present, according to Forbes, his net worth is about $69 billion. This makes him the richest person in China by a cool few billion and around the 15th wealthiest person in the world.
Here are some other famous Chinese people you should take note of.
21. Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world
Mandarin is spoken much more widely than English. Image by Lars Poyansky on Shutterstock.
Okay, I’m reaching a little here.
This is true only when we look at native speakers. Some data even includes various Chinese dialects in this figure.
With 1.3 billion native Mandarin speakers, and even more learning it as a second language, you might want to brush up on some simple words and phrases before you visit China.
This blog will help you learn some basics, while these Chinese idioms could help you impress the locals.
Psst! A quick travel tip
If you’re planning a trip, don’t forget the Chinese internet is censored.
So, when using hotel Wi-Fi you won’t have access to your favorite sites and apps like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, Gmail and so on, unless you get a VPN before you leave your country.
Check out the top VPNs for China here.
China never ceases to amaze
China is a place that just never ceases to amaze me.
I’m sure a week from now I’ll discover something else about this vast country and my mind will be blown once again.
It was difficult to only give you 21 fun facts today, so I’ll throw in a few quick extras before I go:
- Fortune cookies are not Chinese
- Soccer was invented in China and apparently so was ice cream
- Half of the world’s pigs live in China
- The average life expectancy is 77 years.
Phew! If I don’t stop now, then I never will.
Are there any fun facts about China that I missed? Or did anything really surprise you? Let me know down below. Then, do these China quiz questions and see how smart you are!
Main image credit: Shmelkova Nataliya on Shutterstock.
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