Interesting Facts about China


Fact #1 – Chinese go to the hospital for everything. There are no personal family doctors. When I first came to China this came as as a surprise. My friends would tell me they have to go to the hospital. I thought they had a serious illness or disease. But it turns out most of the time it was a common cold or flu bug. Still whenever I have a cold someone will invariably ask me if I am going to the hospital and I have to remind myself that hospitals are the only place to go for medical care, no matter how small. It's no wonder they are so popular. To register and get a consultation with a doctor (often times Master or P.H.D. program graduates) costs between $0.25 and $.0.75!


Fact #2 – Driving has a whole different set of rules here. No doubt if you have been in China before, you know that taking to the roads can be a heart stopping experience. At the beginning of my time in China every single trip across time would present five to ten moments when I thought there was no way the driver could possibly avoid a crash. My friend told me that in China if you let other drivers in, then you will never get where you are going. There is just a continuous stream of vehicles. The rule of right of way is “whoever gets their bumper in first has it!” After several years in China, I now find myself upset if the driver is slow and doesn't race through traffic changing lanes. Lest you think that Chinese drivers are poor, think again. They go through rigorous and costly driving lessons far more difficult than what the States puts its drivers through. Drivers here have lightning fast reflexes and can stop on a coin if a pedestrian gets in their way.



Fact #3 – Want to know the biggest migration in the world every year? It is not birds going south or arctic reindeer, it happens right here in China. Each year at Chinese Spring Festival roughly 230 million Chinese city workers head back to their hometowns to celebrate Chinese New Year. Ticket prices soar and public transportation turns into a sea of people. One reason for this mass migration is that China institutes a 15 day nation wide holiday. Actually China has four or five public holidays every year when everyone gets off at the same time. Because everyone is off at the same time, everyone travels at the same time. This is in stark contrast to America, where nationwide holidays are short and workers have a lot more discretionary time off.

Fact #4 – China boasts one of the highest percentages of male hand bag carriers in the world. Whereas top brands like Gucci and Prada cater to women in Western countries, they are starting to realize the importance of targeting men here. The reason so many Chinese men carry expensive handbags is simple. The highest denominations of Ren Men Bi (Chinese Yuan) is 100. That is the equivalent of about $14. Checks aren't used and cash is. This means that large wads of cash are carried about as a must to conduct business. Wealthy businessmen buy these handbags to put in piles of cash. Also Chinese guys will cheerfully carry their wives or girlfriends purses and handbags. Sometimes you can catch sight of a burly gym rat carrying a bright red handbag with hearts on it, quite a sight!

Fact #5 – Elderly people in China have a completely different lifestyle than their Western counterparts. Early in the morning you might hear music drifting in your apartment window. It is probably women (and a lot of men too!) who have gotten up early to dance. Parks, local complexes, and sports stadium grounds are filled with public dancing. It is a great form of exercise as they really get into it. Besides that many occupy their time with social exercising, jianzi (kicking a weighted shuttlecock in a group), Tai Ji, or Ma Jiang. I have found that most elder people in China keep in great shape because of their daily exercises. Many times they will walk backwards or tap their biceps or other body parts to loosen up and keep limber.




10 interesting facts about China as an economic powerhouse


A two-decade long run has catapulted the Chinese economy to amazing heights. It is said China will will become new economic powerhouse in the next few years. And China has always been the topic of much conversation world wide. Let`s review China from the following 10 interesting facts to see how China’s economy has reached incredible scale.

1. Artificial christmas trees
China is not only the world’s largest textile producer, but also a leader in Christmas tree manufacturing industry. 85% of the world’s artificial Christmas trees are made in China.

2. Pig-keeping Empire  
China is not only the most populous country in the world, but also a counry with the biggest number of pigs. United Nation`s 2008 data shows that in 2008, there were 446.4 million pigs in China, more than the total of other 43 countries.



3.Daily smoking
Chinese people light 50,000 cigarettes per second. The WHO said the number of smokers in China is constantly increasing in the past few years, 66 percent of Chinese men smoke at least one cigarette a day.

4. “Ghost Towns” spread all over the country
In recent years, China carried out large number of constructions including rural areas. And “ghost town” also appears in many places. It is estimated there are more than 64 million vacant apartments around the country.



5. Lonely McDonald
South China Mall, the world’s largest shopping mall, should have 1,500 stores, but in fact 99% of the shops are still vacant at present, only a small number of restaurants, including McDonald’s can be found there.

6. Construction boom continues
China still make great efforts to carry out construction. The result is that there is no country consumes so much cement than China, 53% of the global demand for cement is from China.

7. Barbie dolls are too sexy
Chinese are either high on building houses or produce textiles and toys, such as Barbie dolls and stuffed animals. Nearly 70% of the toys in the world are from China. However, Chinese people rarely buy Barbie, because blond Barbies are too sexy for them. In China the market manily sell cute Barbie dolls.

8. There are tens of millions of Christians in China
In this Confucian-and-atheists-dominated country. There are about 19 ​​million Christians according to the 2008 figure.

9. Rapid development
In 2010, China overtook Japan to become the second largest economy, Chinese people today have 4 times of wealth than that of 10 years ago.

10. Everything is under control
Giant companies in China are all controlled by the state including Petro China and the Bank of China. Business managers and government are closely linked.

Miss Tibet



Looking for Love - China

In-depth video: China lands high-tech J-15 jet on new carrier

China's Ghost Cities

This is China

Chasing the Dragon: 'China will overtake US as world's largest economy'

source: www.calligraphyforgod.com
source: bbs.chinadaily.com.cn (vincent01)


Interesting Facts about Smoking

Smoking Overview:


In the United States:
• 20.6% of U.S. adults smoke
• 40% of non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke
• 54% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke
• Smoking causes 443,000 deaths every year!
In Kentucky:
• More than 8,000 Kentuckians will die this year from tobacco-related illnesses
• 28.6% of Kentucky adults smoke which is one of the highest rates in the nation
• 17% of Kentucky youth smoke

CHINA
  • The facts about smoking in China are scary and getting scarier by the minute:
  • It produces more tobacco than any other country.
  • It has an estimated 350 million smokers — that's 1 in 3 of the world's smokers.
  • 36% of the population smoke, including 70% of all Chinese men. Most of them have no knowledge of the facts about smoking or any awareness of the consequences they face.
  • More than one million people a year die in China from tobacco-related diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease.
  • These 1 million smokers were mainly aged 35-69 and this figure is predicted to increase to 2 mil in just 15 years.
  • In fact the biggest killer in China is lung cancer, beating road accidents (and if you drive in China, you'll know what this means!).



CUBA — home of smooth cigars and black tobacco cigarettes:
  • In an effort to have Cubans live longer, Fidel Castro issued a stop smoking resolution back in Feb 2005, banning smoking in enclosed public spaces, such as halls, theatres, sports facilities, transport, and designated areas in clubs and restaurants. Cubans laughed at the idea and mostly ignored this attack on their sacred vice, and the authorities are not interested in enforcing the ban.
  • Castro himself quit chomping on cigars in 1986 to try and set a good example to other Cubans and to support his health ministry's anti-smoking efforts.
  • Cubans took no notice and currently 40% of the population of 11.2 million smoke.
  • The cheapest pack of cigs costs ½ a day's pay and one cheap cigar costs ¼ of a day's pay.
  • Smoking death statistics for Cubans, that cancer and heart disease are the leading causes of death, with the highest percentage caused by smoking.
  • Doctors are some of the heaviest smokers even though they were banned from smoking during work back in 1990.


ENGLAND & WALES
45,000 people die each year from COPD (chronic bronchitis and emphysema), or diseases precipitated by COPD, such as pneumonia, heart disease and stroke. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. A smoker is 10 times more likely to die of COPD than a non-smoker. Global deaths are estimated to be 4.8 million.


How does smoking affect health?

• On average, adults who smoke cigarettes die 14 years earlier than non-smokers
• Harms nearly every organ in your body
• Causes coughing and wheezing
• Causes yellowing of teeth and fingernails
• Leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality
• Increases risk of developing heart disease
• Increases risk of having a stroke
• Increases risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Increases risk of hip fractures and cataracts
• Increases risk of pneumonia
• Women: increases risk of premature birth or low birth weight babies
• Women: increases risk of cervical cancer

Pap tests
• Men: increases risk of prostate cancer


How does secondhand smoke affect health?

• Secondhand smoke exposure is responsible for 49,400 deaths each year
• Known to cause cancer
Living with a smoker increases a non-smokers chance of lung cancer by 20-30%
• May trigger asthma attacks in non-smokers with asthma

Effects of secondhand smoke on children’s health
• Increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
• Increased number of ear infections and colds
• Increased risk of pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma


What Happens When You Quit Smoking?

20 minutes
Blood pressure and heart rate return to normal
8 hours
Carbon monoxide in blood decreases to normal
24 hours
Risk of having a heart attack decreases
48 hours
Nerve endings start to regrow
Ability to taste and smell is enhanced
2 to 12 weeks
Circulation improves, less coughing and wheezing
Improvement in lung function begins
1 to 9 months
Cough, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease
Phlegm production decreases
Cilia (tiny hair like structures) in the lung regain normal function
1 year
Risk of heart disease and heart attack reduced to half that of a smoker
5 to 15 years
Risk of stroke returns to that of a non-smoker
10 years
Risk of lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas cancer drops
15 years
Risk of heart disease and heart attack similar to risk of those who have never smoked


10 Smoking Facts That You Don’t Know


10. The legal age of tobacco purchasing is increased from 16 to 18 in many countries except in Japan, where the minimum age is 20 years for that.
9. Scientists say that smokers lose 14 years of their life due to smoking.
8. After smoke is inhaled, nicotine reaches the brain within 10 seconds and is found in every part of the body.
7. Urea that is a major component of urine is added to flavor the cigarettes.
6. Smokers normally smoke after having a meal; because they think that it allows food to digest easily but in fact the body’s priority moves to protecting blood cells other than digesting food.
5. Around 25% of the cigarettes are sold around the world are smuggled
4. Brands like Marlboro, Kool, Camel and Kent owns around 70% of the cigarette market.
3. U.S cigarette manufacturers earn a lot more in selling the cigarettes to countries all over the world than by selling to Americans.
2. Now with blended tobacco some toppings are mixed to add flavor like clove, licorice, orange oil, apricot stone, lime oil, lavender oil, cocoa and many other.
1. Cigarette is the only most traded item in the world. More than $400 billion is earned by the industries each year.


Children Smoking in Indonesia


Justin Bieber Smoking Weed!!!


Indonesian baby on 40 cigarettes a day


5 Weird Reasons Not to Smoke


Watch the graphic new anti-smoking TV advert showing tumour growing out of a cigarette


Smoking the Supply




source: www.mc.uky.edu
source: www.quitguide.com
source: www.tiptoptens.com