160 million

The number of viewers the popular BBC drama Downton Abbey has in China, according to remarks by Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne on a recent trade trip to Beijing. The right to sell merchandise to those viewers won’t go to the show’s producers, though, or even any British company. (Marketplace)

1.1 million

The number of hopeful students in China who are gearing up to take the country’s civil service exams for a chance at a stable and comfortable government post. Nicknamed the “Golden rice bowl,” the tradition dates back more than 1,300 years to tests that ancient imperial governments would hold to select bureaucrats from the country’s scholars. (CNN)

7

The area, in square kilometers, of the disputed, uninhabited islands over which China announced the creation of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone. Despite condemnation from Japan and the U.S., Asian airlines have announced they will comply with rules to report flight paths through the territory. (Reuters)