Chinese Culture Quiz

Did you also know that That's Mandarin has classes in Beijing?

Rice cooker, fortune cookie, and rickshaw are all Japanese inventions, while Iron plate armor, ceramics, taekwondo are Korean.

China has thousands of rivers. The Yangtze and the Yellow River are the most important. At 3,915 miles (6,300 kilometers) long, the Yangtze is the world's third-largest river.

Visiting places like this in China is only one of the perks of studying and working here. See what else awaits for you on an adventure of living in China.

The Chinese zodiac, known as Sheng Xiao or Shu Xiang, features 12 animal signs in this order: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Originated from ancient zoolatry and boasting a history of more than 2,000 years, it plays an essential role in Chinese culture. The 12 Chinese zodiac animals in a cycle are not only used to represent years in China, but also believed to influence people’s personalities, career, compatibility, marriage, and fortune.

Red is the national color of China. While traveling to China, you would see red everywhere. The lanterns that are on the buildings are red. People are wearing red. Festivals have all kinds of decorations which are red. The flag of China is red. So, red is everywhere. This is because in Chinese culture, red means vitality, long life, happiness, success. It is a color that is thought to bring luck, recognition, and fame. This is why Chinese people give to each other during Chinese New Year red envelopes with money, as a gift. Red is a color that is present during weddings too.

In spite of the similarity in pronunciation between these two words, “报纸 (bàozhǐ), meaning newspaper” is pronounced in a different way from “包子 (bāozi), which means steamed buns” in terms of the second character. 纸 (zhǐ) in “报纸 (bàozhǐ)” should be pronounced with a tongue-rolling sound, which is not necessary when it comes to the pronunciation of子 (zǐ) in “包子 (bāozi)”. Therefore, be careful with how you pronounce them when you are in a shop as you wouldn’t be able to get what you want if you make a mistake.

Read more about similar pronounciatione here!

The Ministry of Public Security of China surveys registered names and populations every year. According to the most recent report released in 2021, surname Wang is still the most common surname in China, followed by surname Li.