Surnames are not evenly distributed throughout China's geography. In northern China, Wang is the most common surname, being shared by 9.9% of the population. Next are Li, Zhang and Liu). In the south, Chen is the most common, being shared by 10.6% of the population. Next are Li, Huang, Lin) and Zhang.

Only 4,100 of the 24,000 family names used throughout China's 5,000 years of history are still in use today.

The findings were the result of a two-year research project by Yuan Yida, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who supervised a survey of 300 million people across the country.

Li is a big surname in China with a large population. Surname Li families were originally the lineal descendants of Emperor Zhuan Xu, also named Gaoyangshi, and the emperor was once given the land of Gaoyang according to historical records. His grandson Gaotao became an official known as "Liguan" which was as similar as a judge in modern times.

Chinese surnames are very meaningful
Surname is an important symbol of the passing on of culture not only in China but also in the whole world. However, it is only in China that they are handed down in the most complete and meaningful manner.

Given the current popularity of Chinese tattoos you might be surprised to learn that for a long time tattooing in China was regarded as a 'bad' thing.