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China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a rich and complex history spanning thousands of years. From the ancient dynasties of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou, to the imperial period and the modern era, China has played a significant role in shaping the course of world history. Chinese culture is also incredibly diverse and encompasses a wide range of traditions, customs, and practices, including art, literature, philosophy, and cuisine.
China is also a major global economic power, and its economy has grown rapidly in recent decades. This has led to many changes in Chinese society, including urbanization, modernization, and an increasingly globalized culture. Additionally, China is known for its contributions to science and technology, including innovations in fields such as medicine, engineering, and mathematics.
Overall, China is a country with a rich and complex history, as well as a fascinating culture and rapidly-developing modern society. Trivia questions about China can range from its ancient history and cultural traditions, to its modern economy and contributions to science and technology, making it a great topic for a trivia night or quiz.
1. Salix babylonica is the scientific name for the cascading, or shall we say “weeping,” species of what deciduous tree native to the dry areas of Northern China?
Answer: Willow
2. Before China repatriated them in 2019, the largest giant panda population outside of China sat around munching bamboo in the zoo of what American city that anagrams to SEA DINGO?
Answer: San Diego
3. No grandma, it doesn’t have anything to do with a clock! Which viral video and dance challenge platform, known as Douyin in China, was 2021’s most downloaded app in the world at over 650 million downloads?
Answer: TikTok
4. If you order uni at a sushi bar, you're going to get what spiky ocean dweller that anagrams to SURE CHINA?
Answer: Sea urchin
5. Corridors to Mongolia and Russia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh and India are a few parts of the massive Belt and Road Initiative carried out over the past two decades by what ginormous country?
Answer: China
6. Billing itself as the largest solar-powered high-rise in the world, the Sun-Moon Mansion is a 75,000-square-meter building in Dezhou City, Shandong Province, in what country?
Answer: China
7. The Shujing, Chunqiu, and Shijing are considered the foundations of the literary tradition in what country?
Answer: China
8. Including both temperate and tropical forests in its more than 405,000 hectares, the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve lies in Yunnan Province in what Asian nation?
Answer: China
9. Born in 624, Empress Wu Zetian was the first and only woman to single-handedly rule which country?
Answer: China
10. Spreading across 17 square miles, the giant Tengger Desert Solar Park is located in the Ningxia province of what country?
Answer: China
11. Which 37th U.S. president began to normalize relations with China, culminating in his 1972 visit?
Answer: Richard Nixon
12. Chinese architect I. M. Pei designed the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, but his most recognizable work might be a glass structure of what shape at the Louvre in Paris?
Answer: Pyramid
13. Visiting China for the Lunar New Year? Why not make your way to the winter festival in the northern city of Harbin, where artists use saws and picks to make the world’s largest statues out of what material?
Answer: Ice
14. Upon the official creation of the United Nations on October 24, 1945, five countries were named as the permanent members of its Security Council: the U.S., the UK, the Soviet Union, France, and what fifth Asian nation?
Answer: China
15. A Great Wall is a cocktail made with orange vodka, blackcurrant syrup, and a tangerine wedge. The name is inspired by a landmark in which Asian country that cannot, in fact, be seen from space?
Answer: China
16. In December 2018, the U.S. angered China by arranging for the detainment in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, an executive of what telecom company?
Answer: Huawei
17. What crop, the most common to be rotated with corn, was the focus of China trade war discussions because of the fact that 60% of the U.S. crop was exported to China in 2016?
Answer: Soybean
18. Covering nearly 400,000 square feet, the world's largest QR code was created in 2015 by strategically mowing a wheat field in the province of Hebei in what country?
Answer: China
19. On May 27, 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that what nation "is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the...power to do it?"
Answer: China
20. Hangzhou's bike-sharing program is said to be the largest in the world with a fleet of over 60,000 cycles. What East Asian country is it in?
Answer: China
21. Titan Rain was a series of attacks on U.S. computers that started in 2003. The hackers gained access to defense networks at places like Lockheed Martin and NASA. Which country did the attacks originate from?
Answer: China
22. The $600 million Zoji La tunnels project will connect the rest of India to its very militarized Himalayan border with what other superpower?
Answer: China
23. From 1958 to 1962, Chairman Mao led a social and economic campaign meant to modernize China that's known as The Great Leap...WHAT?
Answer: Forward
24. The Opium Wars were primarily fought between the British Empire and what country?
Answer: China
25. In 2016, China's Tsinghua University announced an international postgraduate award program called the Schwartzman Scholarship modeled after the hallowed Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University. This prestigious 1-year master's degree program is hosted in which Chinese city?
Answer: Beijing
26. Which multinational corp based in China that’s one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in the world got the top spot in IPO history after it hit $231 value in 2019? You might need “One Thousand and One Nights” to go through all the listings of things you could buy from the website…
Answer: Alibaba
27. Mount Fuji may be the tallest mountain in Japan, but it’s certainly not the tallest in Asia. That title belongs to Mount Everest, which sits on the border of Nepal and the disputed Tibetan region of what country?
Answer: China
28. The U.S. Immigration Act of 1882 is the first and only time that federal law prohibited immigration to America from a specific country. What country is that?
Answer: China
29. What president of China, in office since 2013, studied chemical engineering in college before rising through the ranks of regional politics? He portrayed himself as a heroic figure, standing strong against Western influences on behalf of the Chinese people.
Answer: Xi Jinping
30. Nicknamed “The Eye” or sometimes “The Evil Eye” due to its impressive luminous central sphere, the Tianjin Binhai New Area Library is 363,000 square feet of more than 1.2 million books in which country?
Answer: China
31. The Mukden Incident was used by what country as a pretext to invade China in 1931?
Answer: Japan
32. What superpower nation is the world's leading producer of solar energy?
Answer: China
33. Which dog with a repetitive name may have been referenced in ancient China as resembling lions with their blue-black tongues?
Answer: Chow Chow
34. With a futuristic design evoking a giant eyeball, the Tianjin Binhai Library is an institution housing more than 1.2 million volumes in what country?
Answer: China
35. Sometimes called the maidenhair tree, which large, deciduous species with fanned leaves that is native to China is considered a “living fossil” because it’s over 270 million years old?
Answer: Ginkgo
36. In 2023, China banned the import of Japanese seafood after the latter country's controversial announcement that they would discharge wastewater from what prefecture's nuclear power plant?
Answer: Fukushima
37. The Gaokao is the national college entrance exam in which Asian country?
Answer: China
38. The Kowloon peninsula constitutes the mainland portion of which territory of China?
Answer: Hong Kong
39. In 2020, Pepsi introduced a version flavored with osmanthus, a flowering plant native to East Asia, its first exclusive flavor for what extremely populous nation?
Answer: China
40. Known in its home country as Bìguìyuán, Country Garden Holdings is the largest property developer in what Asian nation?
Answer: China
41. Of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, which one has the fewest number of letters in its name when spelled in English (no abbreviations)?
Answer: China
42. Beijing Capital International Airport is the largest airport serving China's capital city and goes by what 3-letter airport code? Hint: the code is based off the city's former Romanized name.
Answer: PEK (for Peking)
43. On the TV show "Firefly," the Anglo-Sino Alliance government featured a flag blending elements from the flags of the United States and what other current Earth country?
Answer: China
44. The tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, is famous for having an "army" of thousands of soldiers sculpted from what material whose name literally means "baked earth?"
Answer: Terra Cotta
45. To help maintain the wall’s strength and longevity, a “sticky” version of what popular grain, which is also used to make sake, was mixed within the mortar to build The Great Wall of China?
Answer: Rice
46. One of China's most expensive private estates is Taohuayuan, a 1,663-acre property in what city whose tourist attractions include the much more modest-sounding Humble Administrator's Garden?
Answer: Suzhou
47. Representing a total of 30.8% of the population, Wang, Li, Zhang, Liu, and Chen are the five most common surnames in what country?
Answer: China
48. Which Asian country is the world's largest producer of goose meat by quite an extreme margin?
Answer: China
49. What “M” River, the sixth longest in Asia, originates in the Tibetan Plateau of China and reaches the sea in Vietnam?
Answer: Mekong River
50. Which creature with the binomial name Ailuropoda melanoleuca precedes “diplomacy” in the name of a diplomatic practice undertaken by China in which these creatures are gifted to other countries?
Answer: Panda
51. During the Song Dynasty (around the 11th century CE), paper money—called “flying cash”—was invented in which country?
Answer: China
52. Originating in China over 10,000 years ago, sericulture is the practice of raising an animal with the scientific name "bombyx mori" in order to produce what material?
Answer: Silk
53. Which FinTech company based in China and linked to Alibaba owns Alipay and shares its name with a one-by-one marching insect?
Answer: Ant Group
54. Now forming part of the name of a major airline, Cathay is a historical name of which country? Marco Polo referred to this country by the name Cathay in his writings.
Answer: China
55. In 1842, the signing of the Nanking Treaty ended the first Opium War between Great Britain and the Qing dynasty of which country?
Answer: China
56. According to Democratic Senator Mike Mansfield, "Only Nixon could go" to what country, which he literally did in 1972?
Answer: China
57. In September 2021, which Asian country declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal?
Answer: China
58. Focused on the trillion-dollar pharmaceutical distribution market, Yaoshibang is a fast-growing startup based in what populous nation?
Answer: China
59. In what country were the first gas wells drilled in or before 347 A.D.? The gas was burned to evaporate brine to make salt.
Answer: China
60. What sport was involved in the improvement of U.S.-Chinese relations in 1971, when the U.S. national team in that sport was invited on an all-expenses paid trip to China? This term was used with the word “diplomacy” to describe it.
Answer: Ping Pong
61. Based on a classic story of a Taoist monkey who travels to India to bring back sacred scriptures, "The Monkey King" was a 6-minute-long Pepsi ad that was wildly successful in 2016 in what country?
Answer: China
62. If you ride the Qinghai-Tibet railway, the sky-high view might make you feel like you’re on a plane. At 16,640 feet above sea level, the Tanggula Pass is the world’s highest point on a railway. What country are you traveling through if you see it?
Answer: China
63. Accounting for approximately 134 million tons in 2020, what country is the world's largest supplier of wheat?
Answer: China
64. Which Chinese property developer incorporated in the Cayman Islands and headquartered in Shenzhen was once the most valuable real estate company in the world, but filed for bankruptcy in 2023?
Answer: China Evergrande Group
65. Which country developed the Hóng Qí-9 (HQ-9) long-range semi-active radar-homing surface-to-air missile? (Yeah, the description is kind of a mouthful. They also just call it the “red flag” or “red banner”...)
Answer: China
66. Linguists now prefer to reserve "Cantonese" for the prestige dialect used in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), instead calling the larger language family of southern China by what three-letter name?
Answer: Yue Chinese
67. The U.S., UK, the then Soviet Union, and what fourth global power were considered the “Big Four” who President Franklin Roosevelt declared would be tasked with bringing out world peace?
Answer: China
68. Technically, all land in China is owned by the state and is leased out to purchasers for periods of how many years?
Answer: 70
69. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, and Journey to the West are among the medieval-era novels known as the "Classics" of what country?
Answer: China
70. Hakka is a language group that is primarily associated with Taiwan and the southern part of what Asian country?
Answer: China
71. Which Asian country’s flag with a red background and yellow stars arranged in the upper left corner debuted on October 1, 1949, when it was hoisted by the People's Liberation Army on a pole in Tiananmen Square?
Answer: China
72. Geese are a common motif in the paintings of Xu Beihong, a 20th-century artist considered to be one of the first to integrate Western techniques into the brush painting traditions of what country?
Answer: China
73. Only two cities in the world have a metro system that is considered to be over 400 miles long. Both are located in which country?
Answer: China (Shanghai and Beijing)
74. Johannes Gutenberg gets oodles of history book credit, but in fact there is clear documentation that movable type was invented 400 years earlier (circa AD 1045) in what country?
Answer: China
75. Fan Zhengdong of China is ranked number one by the International Federation for which alliterative sport? At only 25 years old, Fan has already surpassed superstar Ma Long, even though Long consistently outperforms Zhengdong at the Olympics. We're looking for BOTH words here.
Answer: Table Tennis
76. Not to be confused with the club store, which shipping company based in Beijing is one of the largest in the world and one of the top brands in China?
Answer: COSCO
77. Artificially-induced logistics demand hits super high levels on Black Friday and what Black Friday equivalent in China that sounds like speed dating?
Answer: Singles' Day
78. Notable for its criss-cross architecture and 70-story height, the Bank of China Tower is a famous financial building located in the Central district of what Special Administrative Region of China?
Answer: Hong Kong
79. More than 500 million of the Flying Pigeon PA-02 bicycles have been made, many multiples more than the next-most popular model of bicycle. The Flying Pigeon brand has been state-owned since the mid 20th century by what country?
Answer: China
80. What river, located entirely within China, is the longest river in Asia and the longest river in the world to flow entirely within one country?
Answer: Yangtze
81. According to 2022 data from Savills, which city in China is the most expensive city in the world to buy property, with the average cost per square foot being around $4,530?
Answer: Hong Kong
82. The "Legalists" were a third and fourth century group of political thinkers and statesmen who dominated the political culture of what country?
Answer: China
83. Between 2021 and 2023, the global installed capacity of concentrated solar power went from 6.8 GW to 7.5 GW, mostly because of a few new CSP projects in the UAE, Dubai, and what Asian country?
Answer: China
84. What controversial structure, built along China's Yangtze River, became the world's largest power station in 2012 and is also the world's largest concrete structure?
Answer: Three Gorges Dam
85. What is the world’s largest peanut-producing nation? This country produces well over twice what the second-largest peanut-producing nation grows.
Answer: China
86. In early February 2023, which province of China announced plans to allow unmarried people to have children in response to low birth rates?
Answer: Sichuan
87. In what country would you find Shishi High School, the oldest school in the world still operating? The school dates back to 141 BCE, seven centuries older than King's School, Canterbury, which is the second oldest.
Answer: China
88. "Sericulture" is the name for the cultivation of what animal, scientific name Bombyx mori, which began in China over 5,000 years ago?
Answer: Silkworm
89. What is the English-translated name of the global development initiative adopted by the Chinese government in 2013? The goal is to invest in both land and sea trade infrastructure between China and 152 other countries and organizations.
Answer: Belt and Road
90. The largest aquarium in the world is located in what country? Its enclosures contain almost 13 million gallons of water.
Answer: China
91. With a 3,500 MW capacity, what solar park in China is only second fiddle to the larger planned project of over 10,000 MW, China’s Gonghe Talatan Solar Park?
Answer: Midong Solar Park
92. Asia's largest waterfall complex, consisting of 18 waterfalls with a combined width of 101 meters, is located at what site in China?
Answer: Huangguoshu
93. Which Beijing-based edtech unicorn startup is the biggest online tutoring app and learning platform in China, having helped more than 200 million students with their homework since it was founded in 2012?
Answer: Yuanfudao
94. Starting December 23, 2021, China enforced a lockdown on what centrally located city, the capital of Shaanxi Province, due to a surge in COVID-19 cases?
Answer: Xian
95. What is the best selling beer brand in the world? It is sold mostly in China.
Answer: Snow
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