A vast and rich land that remains one of the planet's oldest civilizations, China is both the most populous country and one of the most unique. From the rice fields of the south to the expansive Gobi Desert in the north, China boasts geography, culture, and history like those of no other place on Earth.

33 China Facts That Will Boggle Your Mind

By Joel Stice

Published April 9, 2018

Updated August 3, 2018

From the secrets of the Great Wall to the realities of its pollution nightmare, these interesting facts about China reveal how astounding the land of nearly 1.4 billion people truly is.

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It's the most populous country on Earth at nearly 1.4 billion. Roughly one in five people on Earth is Chinese.Jakob Montrasio/Flickr

More than 30 million people in China live in "cave homes" carved into rock.Lucas Schifres/Getty Images

Some of the Great Wall's bricks are held together by a sticky mixture made of rice and flour.Panayota/Pixabay

Pandas were kept as good luck charms by ancient Chinese emperors who believed that they could ward off evil spirits.Wikimedia Commons

China's air pollution has gotten so bad that it's been linked to one-third of the country's deaths.Wikimedia Commons

The problem has become so bad that some Chinese have started buying canisters of clean air from places like Canada and Great Britain.Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

In 2017, about 144 million metric tons of rice was consumed in China. That's about the weight of 450 Empire State Buildings.Wikimedia Commons

China accounts for a quarter of the world's manufacturing output. For example, it produces 70 percent of cell phones and 60 percent of shoes.Wikimedia Commons

As of recently, one out of every three pairs of socks in the world was made in Datang, which has been nicknamed "Sock City."In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images

Reports about the Tiananmen Square Massacre are still censored by the Chinese government over a quarter of a century later.Jeff Widener/Associated Press/Wikimedia

More than 82 million people in China live on less than $1 a day.Taro Taylor/Flickr

In just three years between 2011 and 2013, China used more cement than the U.S. did during the entire 20th century.Pixabay

China leads the world in skyscraper construction. In 2017, it built 76 skyscrapers. The U.S. came in second with just 10.Wikimedia Commons

Nearly 20 million trees are cut down each year to make the country's 80 billion disposable chopsticks.Vincent Huang/Wikimedia Commons

Each of the clay soldiers in Qin Shi Huang's Terra Cotta army has distinct facial features.Pixabay

They've taken the death penalty mobile with execution vans in order to quickly harvest the organs of those sentenced to death.Scott Meltzer/Wikimedia Commons

Around 80 percent of China's groundwater has become contaminated because of pollution.Wikimedia Commons

The New South China Mall in Guangdong Province is the world's largest mall but many of its 2,350 store spaces remain empty.Wikimedia Commons

China now has 102 cities with populations greater than 1 million and four megacities with populations greater than 10 million.Yinan Chen/Wikimedia Commons

The Chinese invented toilet paper around 851 A.D. By the end of the 14th century, around 10 million rolls were being produced a year.Museum of Fine Arts Boston/Wikimedia Commons

China has the world's largest standing military with more than 2 million active soldiers.Wikimedia Commons

China is around the size of the U.S. but has just one time zone instead of four.SharonL/Pixabay

Because of this, in some parts of Western China, the sun doesn't rise until 10 a.m.Dennis Jarvis/Wikimedia Commons

The kite originated in China around 475 B.C. and was used primarily for military communication.Wikimedia Commons

The country has the world's largest and fastest bullet train rail system with trains reaching speeds of 248 mph.Wikimedia Commons

Wang, Li, and Zhang are the most popular surnames with more than one in five people having one of these surnames.Wikimedia Commons

Marijuana was used as an anesthetic during surgery in China as far back as 4000 B.C.Shanghai Museum/Wikimedia Commons

Cricket fighting is a popular underground "sport" in China dating back more than 1,000 years.Wikimedia Commons

Ketchup originated in China as a fish sauce called "ke-tsiap."Wikimedia Commons

The crossbow was invented by the Chinese some 1,500 years before it was adopted into European warfare.Wikimedia Commons

The world's first paper money was invented during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.).Wikimedia Commons

Half the world's pigs live (and die) in China with the Chinese consuming around 52 million tons of pork a year.ShankarS/Flickr

China's current flag was picked in 1949 out of a contest that included almost 3,000 entries.Wikimedia Commons

Avast and rich land that remains one of the planet's oldest civilizations, China is both the most populous country and one of the most unique. From the rice fields of the south to the expansive Gobi Desert in the north, China boasts geography, culture, and history like those of no other place on Earth.

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Today's China is a global superpower with a population of nearly 1.4 billion people accounting for a multi-trillion dollar economy. But the country's history begins with settlers who arrived as far back as 7000 B.C. Then, starting with the Xia dynasty (2070 – 1600 B.C.) and carrying through to the current People's Republic of China, the country is widely believed to be the longest-running continuous civilization in the world.

Though this civilization's customs and culture may seem foreign to Westerners, China's influence on all of human civilization has long been vast. Ancient China was a land of innovation and invention, giving the world everything from gunpowder and silk to agricultural and medicinal techniques still used today.

This tradition of innovation and leadership has only continued to the present day with China pioneering everything from high-speed rail systems to advancements in robotics — breakthroughs that push the boundaries of what human civilization can accomplish. China's advancements, both now and over the course of the country's history, have come at a heavy price, however.

The expansive quest for industrial domination and a massive population has wreaked havoc on the country's environment in recent decades, for example. Any list of China facts related to pollution is rather grim. First, China's cities have much of the worst air pollution on the planet, with people confined to the indoors on days when the smog reaches dangerous carbon monoxide levels.

Meanwhile, many of the country's waterways including the mighty Yangtze River have become heavily polluted with toxic chemicals, causing species like the baiji river dolphin to be declared all but extinct. While China may often face criticism from the West for damaging environmental practices — not to mention alleged human rights abuses courtesy of the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian regime — the country's contributions to the world and its place in history can't be discounted.