Intermediate quiz (quite tough) about the geography, history, traditions and language of China (5)
1. The magnificent Huangguoshu Waterfalls can be found in which province?
Shandong
Gansu
Jiangxi
Guizhou
The Huangguoshu Waterfall, Guizhou is the largest in China, there are nine 'falls' of level; eight cataracts and one large waterfall. It is best to visit between May and October when the river level is high.
2. Which was China's most populous province in 2014?
Sichuan
Beijing
Guangdong
Hunan
Guangdong is top with 106.8 million closely followed by Henan with 100.4 million. See our province table for the full stats.
3. Which province is the coldest in summer?
Xinjiang
Beijing
Jilin
Tibet
Tibet has such a high altitude and thin atmosphere that it does not heat up much in the summer. In winter the coldest province by far in Heilongjiang.
4. Why is the Yellow River so called?
rivers were named after colors
named after color of Imperial robes
named after the Yellow Emperor
carries yellow mud
The Yellow River carries a heavy load of 'loess' which is yellowish calcareous clay from northern China. The Yellow River is heavily used by people along its route and on occasions it dries up before reaching the sea.
5. Imperial designs represent the Emperor as a dragon, but which creature represents the Empress?
phoenix
dove
peacock
pheasant
The Emperor and Empress are depicted as Dragon and Phoenix.
6. In which province did the Taiping rebellion begin?
Fujian
Guangdong
Jiangsu
Sichuan
Hong Xiuquan was born in Fuyuan Springs, Guangzhou and it was in the bustling city that he came across the Christian Bible and founded his rebellion there. It soon spread to neighboring Guangxi province.
7. The Tiananmen Incident of 1976 occurred following the death of which leader?
Peng Dehuai
Mao Zedong
Zhou Enlai
Zhu De
Zhou Enlai was the premier of China for much of the time since 1949. He was seen as affable and flexible rather than doggedly doctrinal. There was a mass outpouring of grief in Tiananmen Square to mark his death. The Gang of Four violently suppressed the crowds that gathered. Four thousand people were arrested.
8. A magpie in a painting symbolizes a wish for what?
job promotion
children
joy
romance
The magpie is a harbinger of joy and as such is used in paintings to wish someone joy and happiness. If a magpie happens to be heard while ruminating on an action is considered a sign that the plan is the right one.
9. The Jesuit missionaries most impressed the Imperial court with their knowledge of what?
astronomy
architecture
medicine
religion
It was the new European methods in astronomy that really impressed the Chinese. Adam Schall and Ferdinand Verbiest in 1664 won a competition to make the most accurate prediction of a solar eclipse against the Chinese astronomers who used traditional Chinese methods.
10. Tanggu or Binhai is the port area for which major city?
Tianjin
Shanghai
Hong Kong
Xiamen
Tianjin is the port serving Beijing and much of north-eastern China.
11. The Supreme Buddha (Siddhārtha Gautama) was born in which country that neighbors China?
Nepal
Burma
Vietnam
India
Gautama was born into a rich household in Nepal living a life of luxury but when at the age of 29 he saw the suffering of people in the outside world he determined to renounce all worldly pleasures and founded Buddhism.
12. Which province is known by the shortened name 'Lu'?
Jiangsu
Ningxia
Liaoning
Shandong
The modern province of Shandong was the center of the state of Lu way back in Zhou dynasty (1042-289BCE). The state of Lu is famous because Confucius was born and lived at Qufu the capital of the Lu kingdom.
13. K2 the second highest mountain in the world is on the border of China with which country?
India
Russia
Pakistan
Kyrgyzstan
K2 is on the border with Pakistan. It is in the Karakoram range and like Mount Everest is directly on the border so half is in Xinjiang, China the other half in Pakistan.
14. Sun Yatsen's mausoleum is close to which major city?
Nanjing
Fuzhou
Wuhan
Chongqing
Sun Yatsen chose Nanjing as his Republican Capital of China in 1912, Beijing was still in the control of the northern warlords when he died in 1925.
15. The Chinese nuclear test facility of Lop Nur is located in which province?
Xinjiang
Qinghai
Yunnan
Heilongjiang
Lop Nur has been used as a nuclear testing site from 1959 to1996.
16. What was the religion of the great explorer Zheng He?
Daoist
Jewish
Buddhist
Muslim
Zheng He (1371 - 1433) was a Muslim. His Muslim faith was a great aid in dealing with the mainly Arab traders he met on his travels; as this era was the zenith of Arab trade. His final journey took him as far as Mecca and Jeddah.
17. Why is Mongolia split into Outer and Inner Mongolia?
Chinese invasion of 1875
Revolution of 1924
Russian invasion of 1918
Historical division between Khanates
After the Russian Communist revolution of 1917 the Russians supported revolution in Outer Mongolia and it became a separate Communist state in 1924, at this time China was a Republic.
18. In which province is the fictional Shangrila said to be located?
Shandong
Yunnan
Guangxi
Xinjiang
The fictional heaven on Earth of Shangrila was created by James Hilton in his book 'Lost Horizon'. There is no location that exactly matches his descriptions but Mount Kawarkapo in Yunnan is as good as any. The Chinese have renamed Zhongdian as Shangrila to cash in on the story.
19. Which is the Chinese language most frequently spoken in Zhejiang province other than Mandarin?
hakka
gan
wu
yue (cantonese)
The Wu language is spoken by over 70 million people. Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang provinces are its heartland.
20. Mount Lushan is close to which major famous lake?
Dongting Lake
Lake Tai
Lake Nanyang
Poyang Lake
Poyang Lake is in northern Jiangxi province just south of the Yangzi River.