1. Over 70% of China’s population uses the same 45 family names.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/ezine/2007-07/20/content_5441241.htm
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/10/how-maps-unlock-the-mysteries-of-chinese-names/280983/

2. There is a bridge between Macau and Zhuhai where cars have to switch which side of the road they drive on.

http://www.cntraveler.com/daily-traveler/2013/04/lotus-bridge-macau-maphead-ken-jennings

3. All pandas in the world are on loan from China. Some have even been FedExed to their new homes.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123132770
http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/pandas-on-a-plane-super-fuel-efficient-fedex-plane-to-transport-pandas-to-china-in-record-time.html

4. In 2010, China experienced the world’s longest traffic jam, which lasted 12 days and was over 62 miles long.

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/the-longest-traffic-jam-in-history-12-days-62-mile-long-47237.html

5. Xinjiang has two times, official Beijing time and local Xinjiang time, and some people wear two watches to keep track.

http://www.ethnotraveler.com/2013/09/bending-time-in-xinjiang/
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/31/world/fg-china-timezone31

6. China is planting the largest human-made forest to stop the spread of the Gobi Desert. Dubbed the “Green Great Wall,” it currently stretches over 500,000 square kilometers.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/sep/23/china-great-green-wall-climate
http://ecocity.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/the-moral-equivalent-of-war-joining-with-our-chinese-neighbors-to-stop-the-spread-of-deserts-in-northeast-asia-continued/

7. Over 30 million Chinese people live in cave homes called yaodong (窰洞).

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/18/world/la-fg-china-caves-20120318
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaodong

8. The Chinese military is training 10,000 messenger pigeons, building a “reserve pigeon army” in case of a war that disables modern communication technology.

http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2049569,00.html

9. Some police in rural China are using geese instead of dogs to stand guard at night.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130725-geese-guard-police-china/

10. Ma Yu Ching’s Bucket Chicken House is the world’s oldest restaurant, in business since 1153 AD.

http://www.thechinesequest.com/2014/01/26/worlds-oldest-chinese-restaurant-ma-yu-changs-bucket-chicken-house/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Yu_Ching%27s_Bucket_Chicken_House

11. The English word “tea” comes from the Amoy (Xiamen) dialect’s word “t’e.”

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=tea

12. Mao Zedong was not the first to have his picture over Tiananmen. An image of Chiang Kai-shek once hung in the same spot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek
Jonathan Fenby, Generalissimo: Chiang Kai-shek and the China He Lost