Chinese Life Trivia

• You never have four people: "two plus two does not equal four"! This is because the word for 'four', Sì, sounds very similar to the word for 'death', Sǐ.
  Conversely, the number 'eight', Bā, is considered very lucky. Indeed, the Beijing Olympics started at 8:08pm on 08/08/2008.
• The Chinese drive on the right-hand side of the road, most of the time... They are fairly flexible with this, which can be unnerving at times but we are yet to witness an accident (fingers-crossed!)
  Also, the Chinese often use their horns to make sure people and other vehicles are aware they are there, rather than as a sign of aggression as in other countries. With the many users of the roads and the aforementioned flexible road rules they frequently let each other know they are there!
• The sewage system of China can not handle toilet paper, meaning used toilet paper is collected in bins next to the toilet. This is cleared regularly! Furthermore, most toilets in China are not the sit-down kind, but 'squatty' toilets which are set in the ground and users squat over them. These are quite easy to use, but are a suprise to many!
• Chinese list ordered items from largest unit to smallest, i.e. Year/Month/Day, and so on. The range of values may be listed as '10-1'. That is just how it is!!
• Many visitors to China may encounter gastro-intestinal problems. These are not (necessarily) due to hygiene practices, but rather that our guts are not used to the normal bacteria of the region. Of course, the chilli-laden foods of some regions may bear a part as well...
• Whereas in many Western countries a tan or skin colouration may be considered 'healthy', instead in China white skin is seen as desirable and many skin products boast whitening properties.
• The Chinese currency has three levels: the Yuán or Kuài, the largest; the Máo or Jiăo, 1/10th of a Yuán; and the Fēn, 1/10th of a Jiăo. This represents the breadth of wealth in the country, that some sectors are reliant on a currency worth 1/100th of the major currency.
• Sea urchin is not as tasty as it may look. My opinion, enough said.