Top 10 Misconceptions About China

Here are ten common misconceptions about China. Its population is believed to be growing; however, birth and fertility rates have actually declined over the past couple of decades due to the 1 child per family policy. In addition, over 200 million people in China speak English. It is taught early in elementary school.

Top 10 Misconceptions About China - as part of the travel series by GeoBeats. How much do you really know about this country? Here are ten Misconceptions about China. Myth Number 10 - China’s population is growing. Birth and fertility rates have actually declined over the past couple of decades due to the 1 child per family policy. Myth Number 9 – Few speak English. Realistically, over 200 million people in China speak English. It is taught early in elementary school. Myth Number 8 – The Government controls all material on the Internet. While the Chinese internet filtering technology is more refined than most countries, technological advances make it difficult to monitor everything. Myth Number 7 – Women in China are subservient. While male children are preferred, women hold many powerful and successful positions in the workforce. Myth Number 6 – Everyone operates under Communist principles. Though ruled by the Communist Party, businesses run in a capitalistic global market. Myth Number 5 - All people in China are short. In China’s northern region, the average height for men is 5 feet 10 inches and for women is 5 feet 6 inches. A woman from China even holds the Guinness record for world's tallest female at over 8 feet. Myth Number 4 - China created the 1st fortune cookie. It was actually created in California and rarely found in China. Myth Number 3 - Chinese is the language of China. In fact, China currently has 8 language families and over 200 different languages, the most popular being Mandarin. Myth Number 2 – Everyone eats dog meat. The number of people consuming dog meat is declining. Many of them would rather have dogs as pets. Myth Number 1 - Everyone is the same. Statistics show that there are 1.3 billion people living in China, representing approximately 56 different ethnic groups. So which one was the biggest surprise?