1. This demonstration of Kung Fu is primarily associated with which place?
Lushan
Lhasa
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.
The view is from “The Peak” on Hong Kong island looking over Victoria to Kowloon.
5. Where might you find this European style building?
Macau
Hangzhou
Xiamen
The old part of Macau has a number of buildings of colonial Portuguese design including the church of Sao Lourenco.
6. Where might you find this famous landmark?
Beihai Park in Beijing
Old Summer Palace in Beijing
Xi'an
The famous White Dagoba stands in Beihai Park and was built in the Mongol dynasty.
7. Where might you find this famous building?
Lhasa
Urumqi
Kunming
The Potala palace in Lhasa is the winter palace of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.
8. Why is this creature so important in Chinese history?
carries the Black Death
eats rice pests
producing silk
It is the caterpillar of the silkworm moth that spins a silk cocoon. It is usually fed on white mulberry leaves.
9. In the pastures of Xinjiang sheep are grazing. What is the name of the type of building used by the herdsmen?
kohte
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.
10. This striking church can be seen in which Chinese city?
Urumqi
Harbin
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.
11. These objects are associated with which religion?
Confucianism
Islam
Buddhism
This form of stupa which often contains sacred Buddhist relics is common in Tibet, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia.
12. Why are there nine mythical beasts behind the 'man on a hen' on this roof?
ninth Imperial dynasty
nine was the Imperial number
nine is a lucky 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
13. This building is known by which name?
Presidential Palace
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.
14. This lovely pristine beach is located where?
Qingdao, Shandong
Beihai, Guangxi
Sanya, Hainan
Hainan island is famous as a semi-tropical beach resort.
15. 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.
16. Which muscial instrument is this man playing?
guqin
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'.
17. These ruins are part of which Imperial building?
Ming Tombs
Forbidden City
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.
18. Where is this famous pagoda?
Qufu
Xi'an
Hangzhou
It is the Great Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’an that was built to house the Buddhist scriptures brought back to China by Xuanzang.
19. 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.