Chinese Shar-Pei Did You Know?

• The Chinese Shar-Pei is AKC's 134th breed.
• The Chinese Shar-Pei is an ancient and unique breed.
• The Chinese Shar-Pei is thought to have originated in the area around the small village of Tai Li in Kwantung province, and has existed for centuries in the southern provinces of China, apparently since the Han dynasty (200 BC).
• Statues bearing a strong resemblance to the Shar-Pei have been discovered dating to ancient times, and Chinese manuscripts with references to "wrinkled dogs" exist.
• The name "Shar-Pei" means "sand-skin", but translates more loosely as "rough, sandy coat" or "sandpaper-like coat" and refers to two distinctive qualities of the Shar-Pei coat - roughness and shortness - that make the breed unique in the dog world.
• The Shar-Pei, like the Chow-Chow, has a blue-black tongue; these are the only two breeds featuring this characteristic.
• The Shar-Pei won full AKC recognition in 1991, but it has been in the US since the 1960's; in the early '70's, fanciers tried to increase interest in the breed by campaigning it under the "Save the Chinese Shar-Pei" motto.