1. 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.
2. Where might you find this famous building?
Chengdu
Urumqi
Lhasa
The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
3. Which game are these men playing?
backgammon
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.
4. Why is this creature so important in Chinese history?
producing silk
eats rice pests
eaten by giant pandas
It is the caterpillar of the silkworm moth that spins a silk cocoon. It is usually fed on white mulberry leaves.
5. Where can you find this famous building?
Iron Pagoda, Kaifeng
Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Forbidden City, Beijing
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests within the Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) complex, Beijing.
6. In which month might you expect to see this watery spectacle?
June
March
August
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.
7. 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.
8. These objects are associated with which religion?
Daoism
Islam
Buddhism
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
9. Where might you find this European style building?
Hong Kong
Macau
Xiamen
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
10. This lovely pristine beach is located where?
Weihei , Shandong
Hong Kong
Sanya, Hainan
Hainan island is famous as a semi-tropical beach resort.
11. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
nine is a lucky number
nine was the Imperial number
ninth Imperial dynasty
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
12. This is a memorial hall to which important figure in Chinese history?
Chiang Kaishek
Sun Yatsen
Mao Zedong
The Sun Yatsen memorial hall is in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province; the province where he was born.
13. Which famous harbor is this?
Hong Kong
Wuhan
Macau
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
14. Which ancient figure is represented by this massive stone statue?
Mao Zedong
Laozi
Qu Yuan
Laozi the founder of Daoism is typically depicted as an old man with a long flowing beard.
15. Which muscial instrument is this man playing?
guqin
erhu
sheng
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'.
It is the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an that was built to house the Buddhist scriptures brought back to China by Xuanzang.
17. Where might you find this famous landmark?
Beihai Park in Beijing
Summer Palace in Beijing
West Lake in Hangzhou
The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
18. This building is known by which name?
Presidential Palace
Natural History Museum
Great Hall of the People
Every province has its own internal hall within the ‘Great Hall of the People’. It lies on the west side of Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
19. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Harbin
Urumqi
Shenyang
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.
20. This demonstration of Kung Fu is primarily associated with which place?
Shaolin monastery
Lhasa
Lushan
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.