10 Facts That Prove China Can Get Shockingly Weird!

For those of you who are not from China, the weirdo world of the Asian country has the potential to keep you feeling tight in the gut. Some of the ‘things’ that happen in the world’s most populous country truly justify the meaning of ‘weird’. So if someone out there has the heart to go through the most bizarre kind of experiences, visit China. We are sure the pages in your travel diary will run out but the strangeness of the country will continue to surprise or perhaps, shock you.

These over-the-top crazy facts of China will enhance your knowledge of the country by a bit more.

Warning: Get high before you read on!

1. There is something called Ghost Marriage. A reality, yes.

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Ghost marriages are legally binding nuptials in which, one or both parties involved, are dead. What started it all is an unknown story but, the probable reasons as to why such practice is encouraged, are mostly to do with societal expectations like- a widow can show her eternal love for her deceased husband, and families can have their unmarried deceased children marry in afterlife.

And in case you did not know, India along with Sudan, is also on the list of countries with such macabre customs!

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2. They nap just about anywhere, including the rail tracks!

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Chinese people are very particular about their afternoon naps (wujiao). In fact, in Chinese schools, a duration of 30 minutes post lunch is scheduled especially to catch on with some slumber. However, the bizarre things about their napping habit is the fact that they sleep just about “anywhere”!

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3. “Virgin Boy Egg” is a popular Chinese delicacy. And the recipe is crazier than its name!

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Urine of young virgin boys (preferably of age below 10), is collected from school toilets. For preparation, eggs are soaked and boiled in the collected urine. The “delicacy” is sold for 1.50 yuan!

What’s more, in 2008, Dongyang recognized the “eggs in urine” thing as “intangible cultural heritage”! Urine, a cultural heritage?!!

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4. Single ladies rent boyfriend!

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In China, for a woman to not get hitched especially around the Lunar New Year, is considered a social stigma. And to ward off the nosy relatives and family pressures, women who are not able to find love, rent one! No more forever alone ladies, no more forever alone!

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5. When it comes to counterfeiting things, the word “impossible” does not stand a chance here!

Yes, there are fake Apple stores in China. And Mr. Jobs must be frowning from above.

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But what is truly shocking is the use of body doubles (ding zui- substitute criminals) to serve prison sentence on behalf of the actual convicts and, it is common! It is quite a thing amongst the elite Chinese criminals.

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If India were China, Mr. Salman Khan’s court part of life would have become much easier than it already seems to be :). And his duplicates would definitely feel honoured to do it for him!

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6. Because in addition to bikinis, they have facekinis!

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They might look like antagonists from Batman movies, but don’t worry. They are just protecting their skin. Bronze/tanned complexion is becoming quite a trend around the world but of course, with the exception of China. People here love their pale complexion and hence, when on beach, the ladies especially take full precaution for their complexion with the facekinis!

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7. Walmart stores in China sell almost “all” kinds of dead animals!

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Anything that crawls, walks, flies, hops, swims can be served on plate in China. And Walmart here, understands that Chinese need variety. So, from frozen crocodiles to perhaps even shark meat, apparently any animal at all can be found under one roof in China!

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8. To get the idea just how populated the country is, you should visit the swimming pools of China

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All the swimmers can do in such heavily crowded pools is stand at their particular spots. Especially, China’s Dead Sea, inspired by the original Dead Sea, is a 30,000 sq ft swimming pool that accommodates up to 10,000 tourists at one time! And, that is not all. Another swimming pool in Yao Stink district, is alleged to accommodate a staggering 230,000 swimmers at a time! Chinese love to rock together for sure.

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9. Walnut in one eye, ignited dry moxa leaves in one ear. Result? Cured facial paralysis (apparently)!

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Sure traditional Chinese treatments are famous world over for their allegedly high efficacy factors, but existence of cures as bizarre and seemingly dangerous as this one is hard to digest. What’s more, apparently the practitioners of traditional Chinese medicines use ingredients as weird as tiger’s paws, crocodile‘s jaws and bear’s testicles in the medicinal preparations. And allegedly it is because they believe, the more endangered a species is, the more healing properties it will possess.

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10. The Obama Fried Chicken

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Enough Said!

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Try thinking of the weirdest thing in your head.  Now, sorry to burst your bubble but there are good chances that your cooked up weird thing is already a true store in China. 🙂

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