Obscure Facts About China Everyone Needs to Know

China is a vast country, and with the diversity of landscapes and historical traditions there is much to discover. Some of these insights may completely change your perspective on the Eastern world, modern and ancient. Here we share 10 new must know facts about the Middle Kingdom, from the origin of sauerkraut, to Caucasians native to China, to the mystery of an ancient plague…
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Coming up:
10. Sauerkraut is Chinese Food
9. Chinese People are Diverse
8. Ke-tsiap
7. The Strangest Mass Burial
6. Northern China's Cave Homes
5. The Great Wall is (Partially) Made of Rice
4. Shilin (Stone Forest)
3. Chinese Biological Megadiversity
2. Chinese Engineering has Slowed the Earth
1. Birds are of Enormous Cultural Significance
Source/Further reading:
globalcapital.euromoneycdn.co...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
www.nashuatelegraph.com/encor...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
www.discovermagazine.com/the-...
www.chinadiscovery.com/ethnic...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
pxhere.com/ru/photo/733607
cristangblog.wordpress.com/20...
www.thespruceeats.com/ketchup...
static.openfoodfacts.org/imag...
ru.depositphotos.com/34447299...
www.foxnews.com/science/grues...
www.cbsnews.com/news/gruesome...
www.livescience.com/51662-100...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
depts.washington.edu/chinaciv...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
www.ripleys.com/weird-news/gr...
www.nationalgeographic.com/ne...
www.smithsonianmag.com/histor...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%E...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yu...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
i.pinimg.com/originals/6e/d8/...
www.iucn.org/es/node/489
lntreasures.com/china.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20...
news.cgtn.com/news/2020-05-28...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• China's Three Gorges D...
courses.lumenlearning.com/sun...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-...
www.dnb.de/SharedDocs/Downloa...
www.needpix.com/photo/downloa...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pa...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ki...
www.needpix.com/photo/downloa...

[@Gav_80085]

My friend's wife is Chinese. She's lived in the UK so long she has a UK passport and they have a British child together. At the beginning of the pandemic she posted on WeChat that Boris Johnson was doing something Xi Jinping wouldn't do by going out and meeting real people. Few days later, her parents, still in China, were contacted by the police who asked lots of questions about their daughter ("Is it true that your daughter ... lives on x Street in the UK/works at y/is married to z/etc" - showing how much they knew about her). Her parents asked her to deleted the comment; she did. During a pandemic, Chinese police had enough motivation, time, and money to police the comments of ex-pats. Put that in a list.

[@seankuhn6633]

Simon "freedom" requires Constant vigilance. 9:50 timestamp

[@AtomicDoorknob]

classic china move sadly

[@davidringle7]

You know !! Not surprised

[@AifDaimon]

toxic communism

[@crabsta]

Sorry mate "Wrong Narrative"

[@Niiiiith]

Not gonna bring up the current concentration camp situation that nobody seems to be doing anything about?

[@thegunslinger1363]

Or that they crushed the freedoms of Hong Kong. Not to mention the blatant cover up of Covid 19.

[@jhoover8734]

Why would they even do this video right now? It's not like this is a series they have going with Obscure Facts about other nations, this is the only one. Just seems odd to do a props video for China right now when they had entire world of countries to pick from.

[@kuayinal-kadir6846]

I believe this channel already did a video on that.

[@kuayinal-kadir6846]

@@jhoover8734 China has a long and interesting history that is much more vast then just that of the past couple years.

[@Matthew-nw1zn]

They aren’t obscure facts. All that stuff is pretty well known.

[@1TakoyakiStore]

They revered birds? I guess that's why Mao started a Sparrow genocide campaign.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Consider that Mao wanted to destroy as many traditions culture as he could, so killing birds is entirely consistent with his Marxist madness.

[@perrydowd9285]

Or perhaps given that the two recipes are completely different; they independently developed pickled cabbage. It's not like pickling is rocket science.

[@markhough1027]

10 facts about Ireland would be nice

[@elperrodelautumo7511]

If the CCP wasn’t doing their controlling agenda that makes China look bad, then it would’ve been interesting to learn about the cultural weird facts of China. The thousands of years of history. From kingdoms to imperial dynasties. Collectivism was and will always be China’s advantage in the global position

[@Kabup2]

Also your big disavantage

[@junqiaojohnzhao9517]

It's kind of culture shock for westerners, not the so-called CCP propaganda.

[@T-P.]

So you think the world knows about America because out government was so nice to the world

[@Kabup2]

@JJ 88 That's true, but the union is kept by force and fear, thus providing terrain to dictators. And they always scrub the population. What they have now is just another imperator, the history repeats itself.

[@seankuhn6633]

You mean Taiwan.... SHAME ON YOU FOR SPREADING CCP LIES

[@modernhaze3]

Yea no wonder BIRDS especially Sparrows are the most important part of Chinese history i wonder why didn't mention it from the great leap backwards

[@Kabup2]

We already have a bird disease from there.

[@seankuhn6633]

SHAME

[@averageGoat_meh_eh_eh_eh]

@@Kabup2 you don’t even know your own history lel

[@AcornElectron]

Hindsight is 20/20 huh? Who’d have thought that birds eat locust ...... 🙄

[@MrWolfheart111]

Yup... we know. An obscure fact... it is not.

[@pakde8002]

The amount of people identifying as Han is greatly exaggerated as many ethnic groups have been assimilated into the Han group. It's like Americans from a melting pot identify as Americans first and mostly have forgotten where they're originally from. Many Han people who take an ancestry DNA test are shocked to discover they aren't even little bit Han. The reason is that Han is the default national ethnic group and other ethnic groups are seen as inferior, so somewhere back in the day grandfather started saying the family was Han and that's all the other generations have known.

[@modernhaze3]

So they're are the knock off brand off Han Chinese trying to pass as Authentic Han Chinese

[@DarkZerol]

@@modernhaze3 It's totally similar to how lots of Caucasians in America don't label themselves as British, Italian, French, Germans, Sweeds and whatnot despite the fact they are almost exclusively all of European descent. The majority of Chinese in China have very much not be bothered and just call themselves as Han Chinese despite historically a number of them being of other sub-ethic Chinese group.

[@niamtxiv]

Exactly.

[@FortisKnight]

Thanks for the rockin’ video Master Simon!😎

[@sylviahoffman9440]

These were some amazing facts. Thanks for your research

[@kr-pm1xg]

Lots of different animals in China... And every one of them.. Is on the menu.

[@natalieg90]

Natural blond . . Shows pic of ginger Chinese kid 😂

[@markgreen2238]

You always live and learn when Simon speaks.

[@liam6nugget]

The whole magpie section made me laugh. The only thing a magpie has ever given me is a bruised head

[@indianacones8410]

I'm gonna safely assume you also live in Australia😂

[@liam6nugget]

@@indianacones8410 you wouldn’t be wrong 😂

[@jasonbickford5418]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. It was very informative

[@charlottehardy822]

All those criticising this video for promoting China should think about the fact that if people outside China don’t remember things they will be lost to history because they don’t suit the regime. It is obscure facts not widely known atrocities and failings of communist China which is a different but very important subject.

[@JeffersonSteelflexx]

Anybody criticizing this video is childish

[@Azginarth]

@@JeffersonSteelflexx Are they really? China is directly responsible for almost wiping out endangered species around the globe because of the traditional Chinese medicine. Also, the government doesn't really "recognize" other minorities, quite on the contrary actually.

[@gabbyn978]

After Mao Tse Dong had finished his Long March, he was living in northern China in exile. There he dwelt in one of these loess homes and wrote his politcal theses. Tourists can visit the site on a guided tour. It was depicted in a documentary series about China, that was made shortly after Mao's death - I think I watched it in 1978 or so, which was called Beyond the great Wall. They showed the interior, but I cannot say if this room was simply carved out of the ground, or part of a sunken patio, because I somehow missed the part that would describe it. The place looks surprisingly comfortable, with its compound glass pane for a window.

[@Warhawk76]

Great video as always. China is so fascinating!

[@Zundfolge]

Part of Simon's "Get to know your future overlords" series.

[@ericpopovic7124]

You are about as useful as a fence post.

[@dv7k189]

The red dragon is made out of paper, but it still scared pooh bear who startled and lost his grip on his spiky red balloon, and coronavirus floated away.

[@Zundfolge]

@@ericpopovic7124 This applies to ANYONE who has EVER posted a comment on a KZbin video. :p

[@uniquefreak13]

@@ericpopovic7124 is a fence post not a useful thing? I find your comment about as useful as a chocolate tea cup

[@georgiancrossroads]

You know Simon, when you billboard Great Wall Of Rice that's what we want. So where is the video that takes us into some colossal Chinese warehouse to look at this bulwark against famine? Where's the wall of rice? Thousands want to know.

[@syreallewyatt5048]

Beautiful country and history, its too bad their political history is so sad. Honestly one of the most interesting cultures on the planet. And, every environmental video of their country is just amazing. Its like a completely separate world

[@Tiny_Sequoia]

"Birds have cultural significance." not the sparrow though, eradicate those right Mao?

[@seankuhn6633]

How can simon put his name on this? Why so careless must be intentional like ted cruze SHAME

[@112313]

Sure, a western country hunted the dodo to extinction, nobody says anything, but china consumes bird's nest, everybody loses their mind. The level of anti chinese sentiments here is astounding.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

You really don't understand Maoism. He intent was to destroy anything and everythinng about traditional culture and replace it with his mad vision. Killing sparrows was entirely consistent with his Marxist ideology that sought to overturn social and cultural norms and impose its own.

[@BadBed1982]

@@112313 A couple of issues with your comment 1 - Many things have been said about the dodo being hunted to extinction, but they are not relevant to this video. This video is about China, so the theme of the comments are about China. 2 - No one here was alive when the dodo was hunted to extinction, but I am alive while China are doing the terrible things that they do. So it makes more sense to be angry at something that is still happening and could be stopped, than something that happened over 300 years ago. Your anti western sentiments are astounding and your comment was completely pointless.

[@MaxBeaulieu]

Giveme the facts fact boy.

[@wrongsalvation8904]

I got the notification one minute after it dropped. Miracles!

[@sagesheahan6732]

They do exist! 😛

[@bevoss7573]

It must be a sign, your 2021 is going to be awesome!

[@ID0ntDrinktheK00laid]

This is my first notification in an extremely long time and I'm signed up for all subscriptions. I received my notification after 4 hours.

[@JoelMMcKinney]

As long as Simon belittles people like trump he will remain safe for the narrative, and they won't cancel him like everyone else.

[@wrongsalvation8904]

@@bevoss7573 we can only hope.

[@charlieknight8563]

Showing LOVE for my absolute FAVORITE CHANNEL PERIOD Thank You mr Simon Whistler for another great video once again and yes great beard too, thank you and have a blessed day and everyone else reading this.

[@anniebranwen4148]

Native American people are also from China , you just have to look at them to see the simular features . I love China wonderful history and people .

[@anniebranwen4148]

@@rmontgomery7510 thanks for the insight

[@anniebranwen4148]

@@rmontgomery7510 thanks for the insight annie

[@giusepperoberto2343]

Should check out masaman's channel if ethnic origins interest you.

[@russellmohr9758]

What's stranger is that the loess soil that made up the cave city is found in only one other place in the world and that place would be in Council Bluffs, Iowa......Go figure!!

[@hair2050]

Guys, you really need to do your homework on the rich and Great Wall. I’ve spent 10 years studying the Ming wall in the Beijing area, where I live, and no, the paper you mentioned didn’t text mortar from the Great Wall. It was from a city wall. I have done testing of the mortar of the Beijing area wall and the tests were inconclusive. However we, Cambridge geologist partner in crime and I, agree that due to the, in some locations, the extremely hard wearing long lasting near pristine mortar, it’s almost certain that the methods of enhancing the mortar as outlined in the paper were implemented in these locations.

[@davidostendorf3938]

Whoo Simon!

[@PineappleStickers]

The map at 1:55 has me curious. Would love to see a Geographics video on the Uninhabited zones in China and why they're empty

[@cckmanofsteel2393]

saying ketchup is chinese because the chinese had fish sauce? Someone correct me.....but that seems like a massive stretch

[@ianpage2509]

Ketchup is the descendent.

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Where do you think it from?

[@wagwanbennydj6003]

This is actually the best channel on KZbin in my opinion love your voice and content boss

[@amitkumarsingh1709]

Please make more videos on China

[@ORBIT1212]

this one is awesome i learned a lot this definitely needs another episode or two;/// and d@mn @Simon how many jobs do you have sir! get your hustle on bro, love your content.

[@andrewfell7642]

The last time I was this early my.. ya know the rest

[@ianpage2509]

You have given me a great dilemma...your mom joke or “that’s what she said”....

[@PieterPatrick]

They love birds... Mao: kill all the starlings!

[@scipio109]

Simon Kraut doesn’t mean specifically cabbage it is a generic term used for herbs and plants or for the green parts of carrots, potatoes etc. That said Sauerkraut is only prepared with cabbage as far as I know

[@timonuotio6395]

What about those conentration camps that they have in there.? Right now.!

[@Mattteus]

Says sauerkraut, shows picture of cole slaw...

[@lumen8r]

Coincidentally, I now have more chins than a Chinese phone book due to nearly a years worth of COVID-19 shutdown in my industry and the inactivity that’s caused. Circle of life, I suppose.

[@lysasstuff]

Simon I love your videos and I’ve been subscribed to all of your channels for quite some time but please could you slow down when speaking? X

[@pouch2598]

When you said, "pilfer lunch at the seashore.." I lost it! I hate seagulls. "Beach Buzzards," or "Beach Rats' I call them. Anyone who has spent an appreciable amount of time in or near their domain, has had at least one experience with the vermin pirating their picnic, or 'pilfering their lunch. They are bold, and voracious scavengers who thrive near human populations. I throw my car keys at them religiously! My cousin thought I was a cruel jerk, until he spent a week with me at the beach. I don't target them specifically; it's just a noise thing to scare the "scouts" away. If you're fool enough to feed them, a hundred more of their buddies will descend upon you!

[@baophan3515]

Empress Dowager Cici is not Han. She’s Manchu.

[@martijnburer]

the facts that xi (who is han) tries to "re educate" other chinese tribes into han, will make the second fact obsolete in a few years.

[@AifDaimon]

3. Megadiversity that's been all but wiped out due to the locals' disgusting appetites

[@NajwaLaylah]

You forgot the most endangered species in China: _Homo sapiens sapiens_ , Uighur Mongolian, and Tibetan versions.

[@slevinkolebra]

Their still butt hurt about the Khan thing.

[@alice5515]

Everyone needs to know!! Number 10 Sauerkraut is Chinese Food 😂

[@Chetglass_]

China invented ketchup, riiiight

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Who you you think invented it? It definitely wasn't Americans, or Europeans, even though sauces were a part of European culture for centuries.

[@tedphillips2501]

How about doing a video on when Mao had all the sparrows killed?

[@seankuhn6633]

Thing is he did, and im 85% sure it was in multiple vids on his 100 channels... makes it a little weirder imo tho

[@owenshebbeare2999]

That was because Mao wanted to destroy any any all traditional culture, in line with Marx's mad ideology, so killing birds, as opposed to respecting them, is consistent with that.

[@jantschierschky3461]

Dams causing measurable slowing is well documented with lake mead, Argyle dam long before the 3 gorges

[@mamanoneyall51]

So, one could say, global warming. Earthquakes, flood is due to the 3 gorge dam. Lol, we slowed earth.

[@robertkerr4199]

I wonder if rice flour is the secret ingredient in Roman concrete... had anyone tried making modern concrete with it?? I'd bet dollars to donuts on it... of which I have neither..

[@Williamfuchs420]

Can you really call something thats made of completely different ingredients the same thing? The name ketchup may have came from there but tomato ketchup isn’t anywhere near the sauce its named after

[@ShrimplyPibblesJr]

Garum was fish sauce too, and it was Roman.

[@Iamtheliquor]

Birds are of enormous cultural significance in china? Thanks to China, so are bats now

[@magnificus8581]

Next thing he'll be telling us is that English muffins are Chinese

[@DeAthWaGer]

Next time collab with China Uncensored ;)

[@markwolfshohl6562]

“Allegedly “. Very informative on a place called “Chiner “. Allegedly

[@voljimba2181]

waoah....my first first?

[@natalieg90]

First comment to get a comment as well 😅

[@thegingergyrl455]

👏🏻

[@the_hanged_clown]

8:56 lmao yeah, barely! and it's actively falling apart!

[@zioncardman18]

Everyone needs to know about our soon to become world overlords!

[@yungone969]

Overlords

[@steveadams5190]

Yeah, I couldn't help but feel like we are trying to be groomed. 🤨

[@yungone969]

😂

[@johnscott8955]

It's nice to be shown about some of the great things about China, that it's despicable government isn't the sum total and that there is a rich history.

[@ironclay3939]

WOW I was expecting something biased and negative but it was fair

[@its.cassie]

Meanwhile, in Alberta, magpies are the equivilent of trash pandas

[@NajwaLaylah]

So, in other words, China is *not the father* of tomato ketchup, just the source of a term for some varied kinds of sauce.

[@OhioCruffler]

Has Simon become a Wu Mao?

[@typhoon2minerva]

I thought the first westernize ketchup was made from mushroom before tomato

[@Fed.Hunter]

the people who dislike this must not like learning

[@ringo1692]

I hope a magpie will fly into my life soon 🙂🙏

[@patrickshalligan]

You didn’t mention that they have ancient pyramids older and larger than the Egyptian pyramids. You should do a video on those and also to why the CCP has completely closed them off and keeps them a secret.

[@plumber1337]

What, no mention about the Uygur re-education camps?

[@mucanan]

Not first!

[@jaredkennedy6576]

Did Danny write this from his basement lair? After all the anti-communism talk on Business Blaze, this should help appease the Chinese.

[@themanlett2351]

Am in the toptenz for comments aye

[@womble321]

Tartar source? Lmao

[@tomcat505]

Simon, what about the fortune cookie? 🥠

[@joycejames8461]

It read "You will continue to grow and prosper and will record at least five new videos and set up a new channel tomorrow."

[@MF_UNDERTOW]

So what you’re saying is that China could give Charlie a run for his money in the annals of birdlaw?

[@rustyboone1434]

Simon knows what's up. Thank you Simon.

[@c.l.7525]

China is a vast country...The Beard of Knowledge dictates....

[@averageGoat_meh_eh_eh_eh]

Beards are illegal in China

[@maximusaurelius610]

So ketchup has its origins from Vietnam not China ... u just contradicted yourself O.o why even claim it comes from Chinese origins ? When you said it’s thought to be originated from Vietnam ...

[@Lowmanification]

Even more so when he describes that the "ketchup" from southeast Asia is NOTHING like the ketchup we know today and was at best only an inspiration to create a condiment.

[@twocvbloke]

Whatever went wrong with them eh? :P

[@manuele.itriagom.728]

CCP blocked this video in China haha

[@Li.Siyuan]

Please note that no. 4, the so-called “shilin" seems to be called "línshí". Were you to have looked at the carving in the rock-side at around 6:38, you'd have seen ”林石“ written, (the character 石 meaning 'stone' is not well formed, even more so than 林 'forest'). A quick check on something like Google Translate would have shown you the correct name and given you the correct pronunciation, something mangled in the video. "Shí lín" is literally stone-forest but the Chinese characters are reversed in real life.

[@mybackhurts7020]

I just came here for the comments I wasn’t even paying attention to the video 🤪 I knew it would be interesting

[@NajwaLaylah]

You know why the Chinese origin of German sauerkraut is shrouded in mystery? Want to guess? It's because fermenting vegetables and grains is not unique to China, and China probably didn't invent the German version. Bonus: China under the CCP also lies and says they invented kimchi, which originated in Korea.

[@dannyjackson5883]

Chinese people in the UK are cool

[@JohnDoe-tt6bh]

Concentration camps? You should know about those too.

[@the_hanged_clown]

thumbs down for no mention of the Uyghurs

[@the_hanged_clown]

@Finn Hansen I wasn't aware you spoke for a majority. anyways the fact it's being suppressed means that someone cares quite a bit, just not for their well-being.

[@the_hanged_clown]

@Finn Hansen why shouldn't I? it's Islam that's radical not Muslims... that aside though re-education camps, once established as a "need" will inevitably be used for any and all dissenting voices, yours included.

[@ringo1692]

@@the_hanged_clown ol Finn here has been toeing the party line in a lot of comments that are critical of China, I'm guessing he just might be an agent or a bot...🤔🤔🤔

[@the_hanged_clown]

@@ringo1692 thanks for the heads up mate

[@ringo1692]

@@the_hanged_clown De nada my brother 😉👍

[@seankuhn6633]

Another great video otherwise

[@jameelchoudhury]

Free my Uighur brothers and sisters

[@AdrianCarlisle]

Cabbage they serve me😳 in an hour i could be sky writing...

[@petermuller7687]

I had really hoped that this would be a countdown of china current concentration camps.

[@lynneforesman1647]

Just asking...Wouldn't slowing the earth down enough to be measured, significantly contribute to global warming?

[@Zeivusgaming]

I was just wondering that myself. Shouldn't the motion help "shake off" the heat from the Earth's surface by stopping heat from condensing in the first place? Not that I would expect the Chinese and their sympathizers to be honest about that.

[@Da_Ninja_Genko]

Sauce

[@markwolfshohl6562]

Cole slaw Baldie

[@soozonthebeach]

😁😁😁😁

[@steffenschiller3189]

Verdammt! My cultural world collapses around me! Sauerkraut is not German but Chinese! How can I live on knowing this heavenly mana does not sprout from my beloved country!

[@moisesminaya4352]

China, our new overlords

[@A13X_H_22]

No blaze?