Xi'an - A Select History Trivia Quiz

Answer: It is one of the oldest

Xi'an has a history going back some 3,100 years, making it the second oldest Chinese city in continuous occupation after Luoyang at around 4,000 years. As Chang'an, it was the capital city for more than ten dynasties and at times amongst the world's largest.

Although Xi'an is one of China's larger cities, Shanghai takes the title and is, by some definitions, the largest city in the world.

Answer: Silk Road

The Northern Silk Road, starting in Xi'an, was established around 2,100 years ago and extended to the Mediterranean, some 6,000 kilometres to the west. It saw the likes of Chinese silk and porcelain being exchanged for high-value goods like dates, pistachio nuts and saffron. Some of the other "goods" passing along the trade route included various technologies - and the Bubonic plague.

Answer: Camel

Large caravans of merchants and tradesmen travelled the route accompanied by guards to protect the caravans against marauding bandits. Many parts of the route passed through dry and barren lands well-suited to camel transport. Most merchants only travelled short sections of the route.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), established by the Mongolian ruler Kublai Khan, was one of the golden periods of the Silk Road. He removed many of the toll gates and got rid of much of the corruption along the route. Marco Polo reached China along the route and spent time at the court of Kublai Khan.

Answer: Stone Age

The Neolithic (or new stone age) period was characterised by the development of more permanent settlements and the start of farming. The development of metal-working brought this era to an end.

The settlements at Banpo were surrounded by a large moat. Houses were partially-subterranean, round in shape, and made of wood and mud with thatched roofs. Graves and pottery kilns were sited outside the moat.

The Wei River is the main tributary flowing into the Yellow River (or Huang He).

Answer: Via the Silk Road

The Silk Road brought many merchants and diplomatic envoys from the West who settled in Xi'an. The Grand Mosque, one of perhaps ten mosques in Xi'an, is unusual in being Chinese in architectural style rather than Arabic.

Answer: Clay

This garrison is probably better known as the Terracotta Army. There are estimated to be over 8,000 soldiers, each of which is unique. Made from baked clay, they are part of a much larger complex or necropolis. The army also included horses, war chariots and a command post for high-ranking officers. The army was armed with real-life weapons including swords, spears and crossbows. More than 2,000 years later, some of the swords still carry a sharp edge and are in pristine condition.

Answer: The KMT and CPC signed a truce

For a while Chiang Kai-shek's fate hung in the balance. However he was released after agreeing to the truce. The truce enabled a united front to be presented to the invading Japanese, however it was an uneasy truce and frequently broken. The CPC were able to re-group and gain the upper hand in the civil war with the ending of the Japanese threat in 1945.

One of the arresting generals (Yang Hucheng) was arrested and subsequently executed in 1949 on Chiang Kai-shek's orders; the other (Zhang Xueliang) was put under house arrest for 40 years until Chiang Kai-shek's death in 1975 and then released. He died in 2001.

Answer: Buddhism

Sometimes called the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the original five-storey building lasted 50 years and was replaced with a ten-storey structure by 704. A large earthquake in 1556 knocked down three storeys and has been attributed with giving rise to the Chinese proverb: To save one life is better than to build a seven-story pagoda. Another story is that a monk, looking for some meat to eat and seeing a flight of geese, asked for a goose which then conveniently fell out of the sky. This is said to have prompted his sect to become vegetarian, presumably after eating the goose.

Answer: Monkey: A Folk Tale of China

Monkey is Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, one of the main characters of the book. He is rescued by the monk Xuangzang (Tripitaka in the book) and accompanies him on his journeys. "Journey to the West" has been adapted into many forms of media: opera, plays, films, paintings, comics, TV series, music, dance and even games. There are over 15 films based on elements of the book.

Answer: Alarm bell

Other than providing a dominant landmark in the area, it was also intended as a way of sounding a warning of attack. For a time, it was sounded at dawn with the nearby Drum Tower (also built by Zhu Yuanzhang) used to mark time during the day and at dusk.

The Bell Tower was originally next to the Drum Tower however over the centuries, development of the city has moved the city centre. In 1582 the tower was moved a kilometre to its present location.