Thanks to decades of strong double-digit growth, China boasts one of the largest and most powerful economies in the world.
Here are 10 interesting facts about China, its economy and its people...
10. China's GDP has multiplied tenfold since 1978.
While customers of Chinese exports aren't complaining about this growth, economists have a bevy of issues to take up with China, including currency manipulation, exploitation of labor and environmental pollution.
9. There are more cell phones in China than people in the U.S.
Even still, those subscribers make up only 60.8% of the country's total population.
China Mobile (NYSE: CHL)is the world's largest cellular service provider, with a total of 558.9 million mobile subscribers.
8. China is crawling with KFC's.
Yum! Brands is an American company that owns Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, A&W and WingStreet.
But in China, KFC has been the big winner -- there are currently close to 3,000 KFC's in mainland China.
Yum! claims that it opens nearly one new KFC in mainland China every day.
7. China is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities.
As China ostensibly moves toward a floating exchange rate, they may be forced to unload some of that debt, which could really put the United States into a bind by restricting our debt financing ability.
[China could be changing how it deals with the U.S. dollar. Understanding basic economic theory can help boost even the most diversified portfolio. Read more about how China's policy changes will likely have an impact on every American in this educational article, How Money Manipulation on the Other Side of the World Could Affect American Portfolios.]
6. Nearly one-third of Chinese adults live with their parents.
According to a 2000 world marriage pattern study by the United Nations, the average marrying age is 24 and 22 for men and women, respectively.
In Chinese culture, people usually live in their parents' homes until marriage. According to the same study, Americans marry about four years later than Chinese and embrace living alone before then.
5. China is the source of more than 77% of the U.S.'s pirated goods.
In a recent Los Angeles crackdown, approximately $12 million of contraband was confiscated, including cigarettes, iPhones and yet-to-be released DVDs.
4. Over 75% of the Chinese population supports the 'one-child' policy.
This prohibits many Chinese families from having more than one child.
Although seemingly despotic, the policy is supported by over 75% of the Chinese population according to a study by the Pew Research Center.
3. More than 135 million people in China live on less than $1 a day.
Even though China has the world's second largest economy, it is still considered to be a developing country by the World Bank.
2. Only 43% of Chinese Citizens live in cities.
Also, rural towns still rely on the strength of their young boys to pass on the family name and care for the parents when they age. They're so prized, Time Magazine reports, that in some rural populations 80% of kids between ages 5-10 are boys.
1. Starting a business takes 38 days.
Though the central government is slowly releasing its grip as the planner of the economy, it is not yet as encouraging to entrepreneurship as many western nations. To start a business costs 130% of the average worker's income and taxes eat up a whopping 64% of profits.