westfw:
The 12MHz crystal is probably for the USB chip. There should be a second crystal (or a tiny resonator) connected to the AVR.
The picture you posted shows a 12 MHz crystal by the MCU as well as by the CH340.
Aren't crystals more expensive than ceramic resonators? Seems odd they would make that decision when Arduino uses the resonator on their official boards. I don't think I've seen a cheap clone with a crystal on the MCU before.