1. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Shenyang
Harbin
Urumqi
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. Which muscial instrument is this man playing?
yangqin
erhu
dizi
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.
4. This lovely pristine beach is located where?
Qingdao, Shandong
Hong Kong
Sanya, Hainan
Hainan island is famous as a semi-tropical beach resort.
5. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
nine ancient rites
nine was the Imperial 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.
Glazed animal sculptures on the palace roof of the Forbidden City, Beijing
6. In the pastures of Xinjiang sheep are grazing. What is the name of the type of building used by the herdsmen?
teepee
yak
yurt
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. Where can you find this famous building?
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Summer Palace, Beijing
Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, Beijing.
8. Where might you find this famous building?
Lijiang
Lhasa
Chengdu
The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
9. Where might you find this European style building?
Shanghai
Macau
Hangzhou
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
10. These ruins are part of which Imperial building?
Temple of Heaven
Old Summer Palace
Chengde Resort
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.
11. Which game are these men playing?
mahjong
xiangqi
weiqi
Chinese chess象棋 xiàng qí is played with discs on which characters are inscribed so can look like chequers from a distance.
12. Why is this creature so important in Chinese history?
producing silk
eats rice pests
producing lacquer
It is the caterpillar of the silkworm moth that spins a silk cocoon. It is usually fed on white mulberry leaves.
13. These objects are associated with which religion?
Daoism
Buddhism
Islam
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
14. Which famous harbor is this?
Shenzhen
Hong Kong
Shanghai
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
15. Which ancient figure is represented by this massive stone statue?
Mao Zedong
Laozi
Yellow Emperor
Laozi the founder of Daoism is typically depicted as an old man with a long flowing beard.
16. Where might you find this famous landmark?
Xi'an
Dongting Lake
Beihai Park in Beijing
The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
17. In which month might you expect to see this watery spectacle?
March
October
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.
18. This is a memorial hall to which important figure in Chinese history?
Sun Yatsen
Yuan Shikai
Zhu De
The Sun Yatsen memorial hall is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; the province where he was born.
19. This demonstration of Kung Fu is primarily associated with which place?
Lushan
Taishan
Shaolin 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.
Do you recongize these places in China?
