The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
2. These ruins are part of which Imperial building?
Ming Tombs
Summer Palace
Old Summer Palace
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.
3. Where might you find this famous building?
Chengdu
Lijiang
Lhasa
The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
4. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
represent the Double Ninth Festival
nine ancient rites
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.
Glazed animal sculptures on the palace roof of the Forbidden City, Beijing
5. These objects are associated with which religion?
Judaism
Communism
Buddhism
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
6. This is a memorial hall to which important figure in Chinese history?
Chiang Kaishek
Zhu De
Sun Yatsen
The Sun Yatsen memorial hall is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; the province where he was born.
7. 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.
8. Where might you find this European style building?
Hangzhou
Guangzhou
Macau
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
9. Where is this famous pagoda?
Hangzhou
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.
10. Which ancient figure is represented by this massive stone statue?
Emperor Qin Shihuangdi
Mao Zedong
Laozi
Laozi the founder of Daoism is typically depicted as an old man with a long flowing beard.
11. Which muscial instrument is this man playing?
erhu
guqin
suona
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'.
Every province has its own internal hall within the ‘Great Hall of the People’. It lies on the west side of Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
13. This demonstration of Kung Fu is primarily associated with which place?
Shaolin monastery
Lushan
Taishan
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.
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
15. Where can you find this famous building?
Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Summer Palace, Beijing
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, Beijing.
16. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Shenyang
Beijing
Harbin
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.
17. Which game are these men playing?
xiangqi
weiqi
mahjong
Chinese chess象棋 xiàng qí is played with discs on which characters are inscribed so can look like chequers from a distance.
18. In which month might you expect to see this watery spectacle?
April
August
June
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?
