China trivia: 45 questions and answers

Beijing. Beijing is the capital. Nanjing and Xi'an were capitals of earlier dynasties, and Shanghai is the great port and business city.

Renminbi (yuan). China pays in the renminbi (yuan), written ¥. The won is Korea's currency, the yen Japan's and the baht Thailand's.

Mount Everest. Mount Everest, 8,849 m, called Qomolangma in Tibetan, stands on the border between China and Nepal. K2, the world's second highest, is in the Karakoram range on China's border with Kashmir; Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal.

Ox bones and turtle shells. It was carved on ox bones and turtle shells. Shang kings used these oracle bones to ask questions of their ancestors, and many of the characters are still in use.

Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang, the king of Qin, took the title of First Emperor. He was buried near Xi'an with the Terracotta Army. Puyi was the last emperor.

False. False. Simple forms of paper already existed in China, but Cai Lun's improved method, using bark, hemp, rags and fishing nets, made paper cheap and common.

The east coast of Africa. His fleets reached the east coast of Africa, after visiting Southeast Asia, India and Arabia.

True. True. Puyi gave up the throne on 12 February 1912, ending more than 2,000 years of imperial rule.

Beijing. Beijing hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008 and the Winter Olympics in 2022.

False. False. Britain handed Hong Kong back on 1 July 1997. It was Portugal that handed over Macau, in 1999.

Chengdu. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. The name means 'pockmarked old woman's tofu', after the cook, Mrs Chen.

Their shape looks like old gold and silver ingots. Their shape looks like old gold and silver ingots, once used as money, so they stand for wealth. Some cooks even hide a clean coin in one, so warn everyone at the table before eating.

A jelly of meat stock melts when it is steamed. A jelly of meat stock melts when it is steamed. The solid jelly is wrapped with the pork filling and turns to soup in the steamer.

Drink tea. Yum cha means 'drink tea', because dim sum is always served with tea. 'Touch the heart' is the literal meaning of dim sum itself.

True. True. It is stir-fried with peanuts, dried chillies and Sichuan pepper, so people with a nut allergy should ask before ordering.

False. False. Chopsticks standing in rice look like the incense sticks placed for the dead at funerals. Lay them across your bowl or on the rest.

The Mid-Autumn Festival. Mooncakes belong to the Mid-Autumn Festival, when families gather to look at the full moon. Tangyuan rice balls are eaten at the Lantern Festival.

Guangzhou. Guangzhou, the home of Cantonese cooking. For centuries it was the main port where foreign merchants could trade with China.

Nanjing. Nanjing means 'southern capital', and Beijing means 'northern capital'. Nanjing was the first capital of the Ming dynasty.

True. True. Huge blocks are cut from the frozen Songhua River each winter and carved into buildings and sculptures, lit up at night.

Farmers digging a well. Farmers digging a well found the first pieces in March 1974. The three pits hold an estimated 8,000 clay soldiers.

Good harvests. He prayed for good harvests, in the round Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, which is built entirely of wood without nails.

A red sandstone cliff. It is carved into a red sandstone cliff where three rivers meet. It is the largest and tallest stone Buddha in the world.

False. False. That is a popular legend. The palace has 980 surviving buildings with 8,886 bays, or room units.

Chengdu. It is in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, the province where most wild giant pandas live.

False. False. It cannot be seen from the Moon, and even from orbit it is barely visible in perfect conditions. China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, said in 2003 that he could not see it.

False. False. Fortune cookies were made popular in California in the early 1900s, most likely from a Japanese cookie, and are almost unknown in China.

False. False. The United Nations estimated that India overtook China in April 2023. At the end of 2025 China had about 1,405 million people.

Eight. Eight is lucky because bā sounds like fā, to become rich. Four is avoided because sì sounds like the word for death, and fourteen, which contains a four, is skipped in some buildings too.

Gunpowder. Gunpowder, together with paper, printing and the compass, makes up the Four Great Inventions.

One. One. The whole country officially runs on Beijing Time, UTC+8, so in the far west the clock runs well ahead of the sun.

Sichuan. Most live in the mountains of Sichuan, with smaller numbers in neighbouring Shaanxi and Gansu. About 99 percent of their food is bamboo.

Thank you. Xièxie means thank you. Hello is nǐ hǎo, goodbye is zàijiàn and sorry is duìbuqǐ.

Middle country. Zhōngguó literally means 'middle country', often translated as 'Middle Kingdom' or 'Central State'.

True. True. Huǒ is fire and chē is vehicle, a name from the days of steam trains.

False. False. Bù means no or not. To agree, people often say duì, 'right', or hǎo, 'good, OK'.

Duōshao qián?. Duōshao qián? means 'How much is it?'. Cèsuǒ zài nǎr? asks where the toilet is, nǐ hǎo is hello and mǎidān asks for the bill.

Nín hǎo. Nín hǎo uses nín, the polite form of 'you'. Nǐ hǎo is the everyday hello, zàijiàn is goodbye and xièxie is thank you.

False. False. Zàijiàn means goodbye, literally 'see again'. Hello is nǐ hǎo.

Jiùmìng!. Jiùmìng! means 'Help!'. Hǎochī means delicious, gānbēi is cheers and mǎidān asks for the bill.

120. Call 120 for an ambulance. 110 is the police and 119 the fire service.

With phone apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Most people pay with phone apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, which now accept foreign cards. Carry some cash in yuan as well.

True. True. Train tickets are issued in your name, and you show the same passport to enter the station and board.

False. False. Drink boiled or bottled water. Hotels provide a kettle or bottled water, and stations and trains have hot water dispensers.

1 October. Golden Week starts on 1 October, National Day, and lasts about a week. The other very busy time is the Chinese New Year, in January or February.