1. In the pastures of Xinjiang sheep are grazing. What is the name of the type of building used by the herdsmen?
tupiq
yurt
yak
The yurt is made from layers of felt draped over a wooden framework. It can be very quickly moved to another location as the herdsmen follow their flocks.
2. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
nine was the Imperial number
the orginal nine provinces
nine ancient rites
Yellow roof tiles can only be used for Imperial buildings as yellow was the dynastic color of the Qing dynasty. As three is a potent yang number the square of 3, nine, is an even more potent yang number. It was associated with the Emperor and many things in the Forbidden City are in nines.
Glazed animal sculptures on the palace roof of the Forbidden City, Beijing
3. Where might you find this famous landmark?
Beihai Park in Beijing
Dongting Lake
West Lake in Hangzhou
The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
4. Which ancient figure is represented by this massive stone statue?
Yellow Emperor
Qu Yuan
Laozi
Laozi the founder of Daoism is typically depicted as an old man with a long flowing beard.
5. Where can you find this famous building?
Forbidden City, Shenyang
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Summer Palace, Beijing
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, Beijing.
6. This lovely pristine beach is located where?
Hong Kong
Beihai, Guangxi
Sanya, Hainan
Hainan island is famous as a semi-tropical beach resort.
7. These ruins are part of which Imperial building?
Temple of Heaven
Old Summer Palace
Forbidden City
The style of the stone ornamentation of the Old Summer Palace shows that it was designed by European architects (mainly Jesuits) working for the Qing Emperors.
8. Which famous harbor is this?
Shanghai
Macau
Hong Kong
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
9. This building is known by which name?
Presidential Palace
Great Hall of the People
Central Cultural Museum
Every province has its own internal hall within the ?Great Hall of the People?. It lies on the west side of Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
10. Why is this creature so important in Chinese history?
eats rice pests
carries the Black Death
producing silk
It is the caterpillar of the silkworm moth that spins a silk cocoon. It is usually fed on white mulberry leaves.
11. This is a memorial hall to which important figure in Chinese history?
Chiang Kaishek
Sun Yatsen
Yuan Shikai
The Sun Yatsen memorial hall is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; the province where he was born.
12. Where might you find this famous building?
Urumqi
Lhasa
Lijiang
The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
13. These objects are associated with which religion?
Communism
Daoism
Buddhism
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
14. Where is this famous pagoda?
Kaifeng
Xi'an
Luoyang
It is the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an that was built to house the Buddhist scriptures brought back to China by Xuanzang.
15. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Beijing
Harbin
Changchun
The Russian influence in the province of Heilongjiang is quite pronounced reflecting years of Russian domination in the early 20th century. The "onion" domes of the Cathedral of Saint-Sophia, Harbin is a striking example.
16. Which game are these men playing?
xiangqi
mahjong
chequers
Chinese chess象棋 xiàng qí is played with discs on which characters are inscribed so can look like chequers from a distance.
Erhu is a two stringed violin with the bow string between the two strings. 二胡 èr hú means literally 'two' 'fiddle'. There is a less common instrument with four strings 'sihu'.
18. This demonstration of Kung Fu is at its original place in China where is that?
Wudan monastery
Shaolin monastery
Lhasa
The world famous Shaolin monastery (literally ?Small Forest Temple?) is close to Songshan in Henan; it was immortalized by the 'Kung Fu' series of the 1970s. It is a Zen Buddhist temple and dates back to the Wei dynasty.
19. Where might you find this building of European style architecture?
Hangzhou
Xiamen
Macau
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
20. In which month might you expect to see this watery spectacle?
March
June
September
The Dragon boat festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese calendar. This varies in date on the Gregorian calendar but normally falls in June but in some years it can be in late May.
Do you recongize these places in China?
