1: Colors in China
In China, the red color is common in festivals, weddings, birthdays and other happy moments. The color symbolizes happiness.
Black color is commonly the color for mourning but in China, the color white is adorned for mourning and in funerals.
2: Time & Clocks
The whole of China comes under one single time zone. This is amazing due to the fact that the country is very large.
Su Song, a civil servant had built a clock that was the first mechanical one way back in the 1000s. The clock was very special in that it could keep track of constellations. This helped maintain accurate horoscopes too.
3: The Chinese Language
The language is spoken by almost a whooping 92 percent of the population. The language also happens to be one of the oldest languages that have been continuously used for writing.
4: One Birthday for all
The Chinese New Year is otherwise called the Lunar New Year. The traditional belief goes that the people turn a year older on that day and hence celebrated as the birthday of all, making it the most important holiday.
5: Inventions & Discoveries
There are some interesting facts about China related to the things that were discovered by China, here are they-
Toilet papers were invented in 1300s for only the emperors. The Chinese also discovered the compass, paper, printing and gun powder.
What originated in Britain as table tennis is what has become ping pong in China. It is one of the popularly played games and thought to be a Chinese invention.
6: Omens & Signs
The carp fish is the symbol of perseverance and strength since the scales and whiskers resemble a dragon. Fishes are said to signify abundance. The two words fishes and abundance have the same pronunciation in the Chinese language.
The bat is depicted on textiles, crafts and porcelain items. This is done so because the animal is considered a symbol of good luck traditionally.
Mirrors were used as a protection from ghosts and spirits in ancient China. They were believed to heal a person who has been scared by a ghost. Mirrors were also believed to reveal spirits and hung in ceilings of burial chambers.
7: Nails & Pigtails
Wealthy people used to grow long nails on their little fingers customarily. It denoted the sign of their rank. On the long nail people wore gold or silver guards.
In few parts of the country, the pigtails depicted the marital status of the girl. Unmarried girls wore two while married women wore one.
8: Silky Significance
Sercia was the name given by Russians to China. The name meant ‘Land of Silk’. The secret of making silk was guarded so fiercely that anybody who smuggled cocoons or eggs out of the country was executed.
The silk was believed to be accidentally discovered when silkworm eggs fell into a hot cup of tea and threads started coming out. The cup of tea was for an Empress.
9: Canals & Bridges
1800 years ago, the Chinese had invented suspension bridges before the western world had even conceived the idea.
The Grand Canal in China is 1,114 miles long, making it the longest canal in the World. It has about 24 locks and over 60 bridges along its course.
10: Ice Cream
Marco polo took back the recipe of ice cream to Europe from China where the recipe was invented.