Fun Facts About China

Ice cream was invented in China around 2000BC
when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture
in the snow.
China is the fourth largest country in the world. China is sometimes a day ahead of the United States.
The Chinese year is based on the cycles of the moon. This is called a lunar schedule. A complete cycle of the Chinese calendar takes 60 years. The Chinese calendar dates back to 2600 B.C. It is the oldest known calendar.
Each year is represented by an animal. There are twelve animals which represent the twelve months.
According to readings Buddha named the years after the twelve animals that came to visit him before he left the earth. The Chinese believe that you have some of the characteristics of the animal representing the year in which you were born.


When a Chinese child loses a baby tooth, it doesn't get tucked under the pillow for the tooth fairy. If the child loses an upper tooth, the child's parents plant the tooth in the ground, so the new tooth will grow in straight and healthy. Parents toss a lost bottom tooth up to the rooftops, so that the new tooth will grow upwards , too.
It is considered good luck for the gate to a house to face south.
We know that the Chinese grew rice as long as 5000 BC Archaeologists have found rice grains in farming tools and pots from that period.
Long ago, silk making was a closely guarded secret. Anyone who gave the secret away could be killed.
At one time, Chinese patriots hoped to rid themselves of hated foreign conquerors. To announce the time of an uprising, the patriots hid messages in moon cakes.
Red is considered a lucky color in China. At one time wedding dresses were red. New Year's banners, clothing, and lucky money envelopes are still red.
Fourth graders are expected to know 2,000 of the over 40,000 written Chinese characters. By the time they leave college, they will know 4,000 or 5,000 characters. Each character is learned by looking at it and memorizing it.
Unlike the 26 letters of our alphabet, words cannot be sounded out letter by letter.