10 Fun Facts About the World That Sound Absurd But Are Actually True

8- China has only one time zone

That’s pretty wild considering how China is almost the size of the United States, which has six time zones! Interestingly, China didn’t always operate on Beijing time. Beijing Standard Time was only established in 1949 — a decision by Chairman Mao Zedong in the name of national unity. Before that, in 1912, there were five recognized time zones that were five and a half to eight and a half hours past Greenwich Mean Time. Luckily, working around one time zone is but a mild inconvenience to the Chinese. However, travelers planning to backpack through China should prepare for their body clocks to get a little confused