1. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Urumqi
Harbin
Beijing
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.
2. Why is this creature so important in Chinese history?
eaten by giant pandas
producing lacquer
producing silk
It is the caterpillar of the silkworm moth that spins a silk cocoon. It is usually fed on white mulberry leaves.
3. This lovely pristine beach is located where?
Beihai, Guangxi
Sanya, Hainan
Hong Kong
Hainan island is famous as a semi-tropical beach resort.
4. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
nine ancient rites
represent the Double Ninth Festival
nine was the Imperial number
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.
5. Where can you find this famous building?
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Forbidden City, Shenyang
Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, Beijing.
6. Which game are these men playing?
weiqi
xiangqi
chequers
Chinese chess象棋 xiàng qí is played with discs on which characters are inscribed so can look like chequers from a distance.
7. This building is known by which name?
Great Hall of the People
Natural History Museum
Beijing Concert Hall
Every province has its own internal hall within the ?Great Hall of the People?. It lies on the west side of Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
8. Which famous harbor is this?
Macau
Hong Kong
Tianjin
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
9. Where might you find this famous building?
Lhasa
Chengdu
Kunming
The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
10. In which month might you expect to see this watery spectacle?
August
June
March
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.
11. Which muscial instrument is this man playing?
erhu
dizi
yangqin
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'.
12. These ruins are part of which Imperial building?
Old Summer Palace
Summer Palace
Ming Tombs
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.
13. These objects are associated with which religion?
Islam
Daoism
Buddhism
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
14. Where might you find this building of European style architecture?
Macau
Shanghai
Guangzhou
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
15. This is a memorial hall to which important figure in Chinese history?
Zhou Enlai
Zhu De
Sun Yatsen
The Sun Yatsen memorial hall is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; the province where he was born.
16. Which ancient figure is represented by this massive stone statue?
Confucius
Laozi
Yellow Emperor
Laozi the founder of Daoism is typically depicted as an old man with a long flowing beard.
17. Where is this famous pagoda?
Qufu
Xi'an
Hangzhou
It is the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an that was built to house the Buddhist scriptures brought back to China by Xuanzang.
18. This demonstration of Kung Fu is at its original place in China where is that?
Shaolin monastery
Lushan
Wudan monastery
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 famous landmark?
Beihai Park in Beijing
Old Summer Palace in Beijing
West Lake in Hangzhou
The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
20. In the pastures of Xinjiang sheep are grazing. What is the name of the type of building used by the herdsmen?
yurt
kohte
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.