Despite the fact that China is one of the largest countries in the world, both demographically and economically, many aspects of its life remain unknown to our compatriots. Therefore, in this article we will tell facts about China that are little known to a wide audience.

Chinese

Chinese is the most spoken language in the world; it consists of many dialects. Carriers of the Shanghai version will not always be able to understand speech in the Qin dialect, which is common in Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Some linguists claim in their works that in fact there are 10 related languages ​​in China.

Religion in China

The most common religions in China are Taoism and Confucianism. However, national minorities continue to maintain their beliefs. In the west of China, Uighurs, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks practice Islam, and the Mongols and Tibetans profess Buddhism.

Over the past century, the number of atheists in the country has increased significantly. According to various studies in 2016-2018, their number is in the range of 55-68% of the population.

Despite the active economic development and active modernization of the country, many residents in the countryside continue to live in caves. This phenomenon is especially common in the southern provinces of the country where karst rocks are common.

A feature of the Chinese political system is the fact that after Mao Zedong, all the country's chairmen left their posts voluntarily.According to unspoken laws, a country's leader should not be in power for more than 10 years. At the end of this line, he leaves his post and no longer occupies leadership positions.

Taiwan island

The island of Taiwan has not been subordinated to the country's central authority for more than 70 years. Supporters of the nationalist Kuomintang party escaped here in 1949, who lost to the Communists in the civil war. For a long time (until the 1970s) it was their representatives that the international community considered the official government of China.

Hong Kong

A different political and economic system has developed in Hong Kong. For a long time this city was under the control of European states. Only in 1997, Great Britain transferred this colony to the Chinese government. But here a special system of legislation and taxes continues to operate.

China's military spending

China's military spending is second only to the United States. This allowed us to create a professional and powerful army, the number of which exceeds 2.3 million soldiers. The country’s arsenal also has at least 270 nuclear warheads.

The Chinese fleet is also developing rapidly. Today, he is armed with 1 aircraft carrier (Liaoning), and another 1 (Shandong) will be commissioned in 2020.

For tourists, China became open only in 1983.. And according to modern estimates, its total tourist flow is about 62 million people per year.

The Chinese themselves can go to Taiwan only as part of special tourist groups. For a long time there were restrictions on the entry of citizens of this country into the USA, Canada and Great Britain.

The most popular sports in the country are badminton, basketball and swimming. In recent years, investment in the development of football has increased significantly.

ESports in China

China has a very developed e-sports industry. Games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends are especially popular. Esports clubs like Newbee, Vici Gaming, PSG.LGD or EHOME have huge armies of loyal fans.

Some matches with the participation of Chinese teams gather on local streaming platforms more than 10 million unique spectators. Therefore, it is not strange that the main Dota 2 tournament this year will be held in August in Shanghai.

Shanghai is not only the largest city in the country in terms of population, but also the largest port. To simplify transport communication in 2008, a bridge was opened over the Hanzhongan Bay 35 km long. This made it possible to reduce the length of the road for road transport from Shanghai to the city of Ningbo by 160 km.

A special pride of the Chinese is their railway infrastructure. The total length of expressways in 2017 amounted to more than 13 thousand kilometers. On them, the train can accelerate to 380 km / h.