1. How long is the reservoir created by the Sanxia Daba (Three Gorges Dam) along the Yangzi River?
400 miles [644 kms]
100 miles [161 kms]
60 miles [97 kms]
The flooding of the Yangzi valley displaced at least one million people. The dam has the largest lock and is the largest hydro-electric system in the world.
2. Wanfujing is a famous shopping street in which city?
Shanghai
Beijing
Tianjin
Wangfujing is one of the most famous shopping streets of Beijing; it is located in Dongcheng District.
3. The Star Ferry runs between which two places?
Macau and mainland China
Kowloon and Hong Kong Island
Nanjing and Chongqing
The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry in Hong Kong that is mainly now a tourist attraction. It was established in 1888 when there were no bridges to the island of Hong Kong.
4. Which is China's third largest province by area?
Inner Mongolia
Sichuan
Guangxi
Inner Mongolia is surprisingly large, it marks an important buffer zone beyond the Great Wall and is partly covered by the Gobi desert.
Jilin mountains
5. Sanjiangyuan Three Rivers National Park is the source of which major rivers
Pearl; Yellow and Yangzi
Indus; Ganges and Yangzi
Mekong; Yellow and Yangzi
Sanjiangyuan is a large area in south-eastern Qinghai province with the Mekong eventually heading south, the Yangzi east and the Huang he (Yellow) river north.
6. Which country ran the island of Macau until 1999?
Germany
Japan
Portugal
Macau was governed by Portugal for nearly 450 years. Macau stands on a rocky peninsular on the mouth of the Zhu (Pearl) River estuary connected by bridges to Taipa and Coloane Islands .
7. What is the average height of the Tibetan plateau?
14,500 feet [4,420 meters]
9,500 feet [2,896 meters]
16,500 feet [5,029 meters]
The high altitude of Tibet makes breathing difficult. Winters are harsh and summers cool and short.
Qinghai-Tibet railway near mountains at Golmud, Qinghai
8. The Yu (or Yuyuan) gardens are a famous spot in which city?
Nanjing
Suzhou
Shanghai
Shanghai's Old Chinese City has the narrow alleys, temples and markets typical of an old Chinese town. It has the famous traditional ?Yu Gardens? which were originally built in 1537.
9. What do the Chinese call their own country of China
Zhongguo
Sinica
Hanguo
The Chinese people themselves have several names for their own country. 中国 zhōng guó is the official name. It means literally 'middle or central' 'country; kingdom or region' and was based on the traditional view that China is the center of the civilized world.
10. The Hunza Valley is a historic land route into China, which country does it lead to?
India
Pakistan
Myanmar
Hunza is in the disputed area of Kashmir but is usually considered part of Pakistan. The Karakoram Highway passes through the valley at the Kunjerab Pass.
11. The Changbai mountains are on the border of China with which other country?
North Korea
Laos
Russia
Changbai means ‘forever white’ as the mountains have permanent snow cover. The border with North Korea runs directly through the volcanic Lake Tian.
12. Which of these provinces is NOT considered part of the region of Manchuria?
Inner Mongolia
Shanxi
Liaoning
The homeland of the Manchu people is spread along the Liao river, surrounded by mountains on three sides and the North China Sea to the south-west.
13. Xinjiang is home to many ethnic groups; which one is acknowledged in its official name?
Uyghur
Kazakh
Tajik
The Uyghur (Uigur) people represent about 43% on the population of Xinjiang, closely followed by Han Chinese at 41%.
14. What is the name of the Chinese currency?
won
renminbi
dong
The distinction between the name of the currency ( 人民币 rén mín bì) and the units (元 yuán) is like the difference between the British term sterling for the currency and pound as the unit.
15. Which province is the most northerly in China?
Gansu
Inner Mongolia
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang stretches marginally further north than Inner Mongolia. It shares its harsh, cold winters with its Russian neighbor.
16. Which province was the most recently created?
Xinjiang
Chongqing
Shanghai
The province of Sichuan was split into two parts in 1997, which had by far the largest provincial population. The eastern section of Chongqing is governed by Chongqing and part of the Yangzi river valley.
17. Excluding Macau which province has the lowest population in China?
Ningxia
Tibet (Xizang)
Hong Kong
Although the second largest in area Tibet has a low population - and so has the lowest population density of any province.
18. The city of Guangzhou stands on which major river?
Jiang river
Pearl river
Li river
Guangzhou, on the Pearl (Yu) river estuary, has been a major port for many centuries. Hong Kong and Macau stand on either side of the large outflow into the South China Sea.
Medium level quiz about the geography of China.
