The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
2. This building is known by which name?
Beijing Museum
Great Hall of the People
Natural History 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.
3. Where might you find this famous landmark?
Summer Palace in Beijing
Beihai Park in Beijing
Dongting Lake
The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
4. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Harbin
Urumqi
Hohhot
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.
5. Why is this creature so important in Chinese history?
carries the Black Death
producing silk
eats rice pests
It is the caterpillar of the silkworm moth that spins a silk cocoon. It is usually fed on white mulberry leaves.
6. In the pastures of Xinjiang sheep are grazing. What is the name of the type of building used by the herdsmen?
tupiq
yurt
kohte
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.
7. These objects are associated with which religion?
Buddhism
Islam
Confucianism
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
8. This lovely pristine beach is located where?
Sanya, Hainan
Beihai, Guangxi
Hong Kong
Hainan island is famous as a semi-tropical beach resort.
9. Which game are these men playing?
mahjong
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.
10. This is a memorial hall to which important figure in Chinese history?
Sun Yatsen
Zhou Enlai
Yuan Shikai
The Sun Yatsen memorial hall is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; the province where he was born.
11. Where might you find this building of European style architecture?
Shanghai
Guangzhou
Macau
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
12. This demonstration of Kung Fu is at its original place in China where is that?
Shaolin monastery
Wudan 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.
13. Which muscial instrument is this man playing?
dizi
suona
erhu
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'.
14. Where is this famous pagoda?
Kaifeng
Xi'an
Qufu
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. Where can you find this famous building?
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng
Large Goose Pagoda, Xi'an
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, Beijing.
16. 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.
17. Which ancient figure is represented by this massive stone statue?
Qu Yuan
Laozi
Emperor Qin Shihuangdi
Laozi the founder of Daoism is typically depicted as an old man with a long flowing beard.
18. Which famous harbor is this?
Hong Kong
Shanghai
Shenzhen
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
19. In which month might you expect to see this watery spectacle?
June
March
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.
20. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
nine was the Imperial number
nine is a lucky number
represent the Double Ninth Festival
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.