Country Fact File

The facts and figures

• Capital: Beijing
• Population: 1.3 billion
• Currency: Yuan Renminbi (RMB)
• Time Zone: GMT + 8.00
• International dialling code: +86
• Languages: Mandarin

The Fun stuff

• Read
  • Wild swans by Jung Chang
  • River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler
  • Riding the Iron Rooster by Paul Theroux

• Watch
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001)
  • The painted Veil (2006)

• Do
  • See the Terracotta Warriors
  • Travel along the world-famous Silk Route
  • Cruise down the breath-taking Yangtze and Li River.

• Eat: Eating dumplings, bamboo shoots, black moss seaweed, egg rolls, and oranges on Chinese New Year will bring wealth, while eternal youth or a long life is achieved through eating noodles, Chinese garlic, chives, and peanuts.

• Cost of a beer: 82p (RMB 9) approx.

• Did you know?
  • As China has a population of 1.3 billion people, roughly one in every five people in the world is Chinese
  • Toilet paper, ice cream, the compass, gunpowder and kites are among the many inventions to come out of China. Funnily enough though, fortune cookies were invented in the USA, not China
  • The Chinese wear white at funerals rather than black
  • In the late empire, wealthy men and women grew their fingernails and decorated them with gold and silver as a sign of their social status
  • The bat is often depicted in Chinese porcelain and textiles as it is a symbol of good luck
  • The Chinese calendar takes 60 years to complete. It originated in 2600 BC and is the oldest calendar in the world.

• Useful links:
  • Lonely Planet
  • FCO’s Locate Service