Beijing Beauties Trivia Quiz

Answer: Meridian Gate

The Forbidden City is one of Beijing's most iconic landmarks. It served as the royal palace for Chinese emperors for nearly 500 years. In total, there are 980 buildings in the complex. Today, the Forbidden City is home to the Palace Museum.

Historically, the Forbidden City has played an important role in Beijing and in China. In 1949, several buildings were damaged during the revolution. Japan had looted (and later returned) some of the treasures housed there during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The commercialization of the Forbidden City is a controversial issue among Chinese citizens.

The Meridian Gate is the largest and most popular entrance into the Forbidden City. It is the only gate that has wings on its sides. According to popular legend, those condemned to death for treason against the empire were put to death at the Meridian Gate, although this is not true.

Answer: The Bird's Nest

The Bird's Nest was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and served as the Games' Olympic Stadium. Afterward, the stadium hosted a number of other sporting events, was transformed into a winter-themed sports park and has primarily been a tourist attraction.

It is nicknamed the Bird's Nest because of the interlocking external steel beams that make the building appear to look like one. That design was intentional as a bird's nest symbolized nature but it was given a modern day appearance.

Answer: Mao Zedong

Tiananmen Square is a large plaza in front of the Forbidden City's Gate of Heavenly Peace or Tiananmen, from which the square gets its name. There are many famous sites located within Tiananmen Square including Mao Zedong's Mausoleum and National Museum of China. Tiananmen Square is most famous worldwide for the 1989 pro-democracy protests that happened there and the subsequent massacre. It was during these protests that the infamous Tank Man photo was taken.

Confucius is buried in Qufu, Shandong Province. Chiang Kai-shek is laid to rest in Taiwan. Bruce Lee is buried in Seattle, Washington.

Answer: Temple of Heaven

There are three buildings at the Temple of Heaven, a Taoist religious site. The two smaller buildings are the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar. However, the most place here is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests where, for centuries, Chinese emperors prayed for good crops.

It had also, on occasion, been used as a prayer site for other reasons. For example, new emperors would sometimes pray there for guidance and good luck during their rule.

Answer: They were the locations of ritual sacrifice

Both the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Moon were the locations of ritual sacrifice during the Ming Dynasty. As expected, the Temple of the Sun saw sacrifices to the sun and the Temple of the Moon saw sacrifices to the moon. Although human sacrifice had been practice in ancient China, the sacrifices given at these locations were not humans but rather animals, crops and other items.

The two temples are located on opposite sides of Beijing. Temple of the Sun is in the east and Temple of the Moon in the west. Both places are open to the public, although the Temple of the Moon's altar is no longer in existence. Neither place ever served as a royal palace.

Answer: It became an indoor water park

The Water Cube's pool that was used for the swimming events during the 2008 Olympics was notorious for the numerous world records that were broken in it. The pool was deeper than most other competitive pools, leading many people to believe that was the reason for the record breaking. However, sports scientists attribute the fast times to the aerodynamic swimsuits.

After the 2008 Olympics ended, the Water Cube was renovated and became an indoor water park with slides, rides, whirlpools and the likes.

Despite the cube's name, it is not technically a cube.

Answer: China World Trade Center

The Ten Great Buildings were all built by 1959 to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China. They were part of the Great Leap Forward.

China World Trade Center was finished in 2010 and consists of three skyscrapers. It is located in Beijing's Central Business District. The third tower in the complex became Beijing's tallest building when it was built in 2010.

Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is a series of houses and gardens that form a hotel complex. When it was built, however, it was used as a headquarters for the Central Cultural Revolution Group led by Mao Zedong and his supporters.

Workers' Stadium is a football/soccer stadium. It is the home arena of the Chinese National Football Team. It has a capacity of over 66,000. The stadium also hosts concerts held by international superstars.

Beijing Railway Station was the largest train station in China. The inspiration for the building was old world Chinese architecture merged with the then-modern architecture of the 1950s.

Answer: Summer Palace

Summer Palace is actually an elaborate complex of gardens and palaces in Beijing. Kunming Lake is a man-made lake designed purposely for the Summer Palace. Construction on the first building of the complex began in 1153 by Prince Wanyan Liang. Over time, various other members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries built new buildings and gardens. The entire complex is 1.1 square miles.

Because the Summer Palace is so large, it is divided into five different areas: Front Hill, Back Hill, Eastern Dam, Western Dam and Nanhu Island. One of the most famous places in the Summer Palace is the Long Corridor, a covered walkway covered in paintings.

Answer: False

Although the vast majority of bamboo in Purple Bamboo Park is green, there is a small section where the purple bamboo grows. The park is actually named after Purple Bamboo Buddhist Temple which can be found within the park. Bamboo is obviously the main feature within the park and can be found everywhere. Boat rides are a popular attraction through the parks waterways.

Answer: Beijing Ancient Observatory

Guo Shoujing was Chinese astronomer whom Kublai Khan appointed to be head of the Beijing Observatory in 1283. Guo Shoujing was considered a revolutionary in the field of astronomy, especially regarding his inventions of astronomical devices one of which allowed him to measure the angles of the sun's rays.