30 Insane Facts About China You’ll Never Expect

The Great Wall of China is being stolen brick-by-brick by locals to build houses and also by visitors as souvenirs.

2. A Chinese businessman bought a non-functional aircraft carrier from Ukraine, allegedly to use it as a floating hotel/casino. It took more than 4 years to tow it to China. Later the Chinese government bought and modernized the carrier, making it its only aircraft carrier its navy owns today.

3. The reason buildings in Hong Kong have gaping holes is to allow dragons free passage from their mountain homes to the sea.

4. The Chinese army is under the control of the Communist Party and not the national government of China.

5. The Ting Hai effect is a stock market phenomenon in which there is a sudden and unexplained drop in the stock market whenever a film or a television series starring Hong Kong actor Adam Cheng is released.

It is a taboo to wear green hats in China because it signals you as a cuckold.

7. The tomb of the first Emperor of China (Of Terracotta Army fame) has not yet been explored. Ancient historians wrote that the tomb contains rivers of mercury mechanically operated to flow like real rivers. Modern tests have reported mercury levels in the soil over 100 times what occurs naturally.

8. In China, 97% of all counterfeit bills in circulation originate from the templates hand-drawn by 73-year-old painter Peng Daxiang. Peng profited by selling templates between $8000 and $12,000 each to counterfeiting gangs. Peng was arrested in 2013 and is currently serving a life sentence in prison.

9. China has banned time travel on TV, saying that it "disrespects history".

10. A dairy farm (Hong Ning Dairy) in Hong Kong, despite having no cattle on site, has been churning out some 4000 bottles of “fresh milk” made of formula every day since 2008 without the public's knowledge.

China is the birthplace of the seismograph. Built-in 132 A.D., it consisted of 8 metal dragons holding 8 carved balls over 8 frogs. If an earthquake made the ground vibrate, the dragon facing the quake’s source would drop a ball into the mouth of its corresponding frog.

12. People living in Hong Kong and Japan who cannot afford to live in a house, take advantage of McDonalds' "doors are always open" policy and live in their restaurants. These people are also known as McRefugees.

13. In the Yellow River in China, there are so many corpses to be found that it is lucrative to recover them and sell the bodies back to the families of the deceased for 500$.

14. The Last Emperor of China (Pu Yi) lived until 1967, and was a communist prisoner for years tending a vegetable garden, simply known as "Prisoner No. 981".

15. China's Emperor Qin sent his magician (XuFu) to find the elixir of life. The magician sailed away with the "sacrifice" of 6000 boys and girls, lots of wheat, and never returned. Some believe that he settled in Japan and became their first emperor.

In China, women who remain unmarried until their late 20s are given the term "leftover women".

17. In the 1400s, China owned the greatest seagoing fleet in the world. But by 1525, all of China's "Treasure Fleet" ships had been destroyed at the urging of the political elite who had become alarmed at the rise of a newly rich merchant class.

18. The deadliest earthquake in recorded history struck Shensi province in China in 1556, killing about 830,000 people.

19. A tombstone dating to 1342 A.D. was found in Eastern China of a woman named "Katarina Vilioni", sister of Antonio and daughter of Domenico. This suggests a thriving Italian community in 14th century China.

20. There is a Korean eatery in Zhengzhou city, China, where people are allowed to dine at no charge if they happen to be among the five most beautiful patrons of the day.

In China, TV advertisements can only be shown at the end of a 45 minute program instead of during.

22. China has built a new skyscraper every five days, more than 30 airports, metros in 25 cities, the three longest bridges in the world, more than 6,000 miles of high-speed railway lines and 26,000 miles of motorway, all in the last 5 years.

23. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett went to China to encourage their billionaires about the benefits of Philanthropy (giving to their community). They were mainly ignored because Philanthropy (outside of supporting the family) is not part of Chinese culture.

24. China gets a new Billionaire every 5 days.

25. There is controversy over China's top ranking in the international student assessment. Only the three richest Chinese school districts participate in the international student assessment.